tips for digital photography

Posted on: 3 December 2015

When you're celebrating a person's life (such as at a wedding or an anniversary), it's useful to create some form of photo display. The two most common displays, the photo collage and slide show, each have their advantages and disadvantages. Make sure to fully consider both options before choosing.

Why Choose A Photo Collage?

Photo collages are generally useful if you have artistic skill and about two to three days to work. You will choose photos and make either a physical collage or a digital one. Making a physical college is tricky: it requires cutting out photos and gluing them to a large piece of wood or cardboard. Each photo should be arranged in an artistically intriguing way or in a way that catches the eye.

The nice thing about physical collages is that you don't need a computer to display them. However, digital collages (which require image editing software to make) can be displayed by a large projector to increase its size. Generally, they are more useful for situations when you need a lot of photos in a small place, such as at a funeral.

Why Choose A Slide Show?

People that make slide shows often choose them because they're a lot easier to make than a collage. Generally speaking, you just need to upload your photos to a computer, run them through a slide show program, and arrange them in a logical fashion. You'll likely need to create some form of display labeling the photos, but those can be easily drawn or designed with an imaging program.

The main disadvantage of slide shows is that you're likely going to be limited in what you can achieve artistically. While transition filters and other effects can be utilized, they won't let you create the dense effect of a collage. As a result, they're more useful in situations where a logical and reasonable display of photos is expected, such as at a graduation or athletic award event.

Which Should I Choose?

In the end, the choice really depends on what you want to achieve with your presentation. If you're trying to create a dense and artistic representation of a person's life (and have some artistic skill), a college is a great choice.

However, if you have limited artistic skill or want to create an easier-to-understand display (one that shows one picture at a time), slide shows are probably the safer bet. They may not be as mentally or artistically engaging, but they still serve a purpose.

Whichever choice you make, be sure to double-check the quality of all your photos to make sure there are no fingerprints or smudges. Small imperfections like that will really throw off the quality and make the person who's life you are supposed to be honoring unhappy.