I love turning our vacations into wall art… we look up and remember the treasured moments together and reminisce.  It makes the vacation last a lot longer if you are still thinking about it at home afterwards.  Here are some of the tips I’ve developed after traveling throughout more than forty countries:

1.    Decide which wall you are planning to put your vacation pictures on so you can decide on color scheme for all of your clothes.  Then dress everyone in complimentary colors.  I set clothes out for the whole family with a particular day in mind while I’m packing to go on the trip.  For example when we were shooting with weapons in the KGB Museum in Prague us girls wanted the Angelina Jolie “Tomb Raider” look so everyone wore black.   When we were in Japan I knew there would be lots of reds so we went with red.  Yes, I am particular, but we have fun doing it.  It’s like being the costume designer on a movie set; now that would be a fun job!

2.    If you already have vacation pictures were you wore clashing clothes then turn them into black and whites or sepia.

3.    Take each shot you want to capture in vertical and horizontal format so you have flexibility when you get home and are deciding how to align them on the wall.

4.    Take the person up close with the back drop you want as the back.  It adds more interest when you look at the photos from a distance and the person you are trying to capture doesn’t look like a speck in the distance.

5.    If you are taking pictures for a more formal area like a dining room, wear more formal clothes and have an elegant night out at a nice restaurant, theatre or opera.

6.    16 x 20 size looks great as do 11x 14s with matting for larger areas. 

7.    Black and whites look great with a simple, thick black frame to set the picture off.

8.    Add the location and even the year on the picture since friends often like wondering around looking at them too…

Thanks to mpix.com for getting outstanding quality prints within 23 hours of ordering online!  No wonder the photographers recommend them.  Thanks Neal Wheat!

These are the pics we chose for our walls from our vacation this summer.