Today's Tip! - Simple Steps to a Good Layout

Simple Steps to a Good Layout

Here's a few things to consider when doing a scrapbooking layout:

Let a Theme Rule
Build your scrapbook page around a theme such as a trip to or a wedding and then decide how many photos you need to "tell your story".  If using more than one photo on the page, each photo should relate to the theme or to each other.  Keep the layout and page meaningfull and neat.

Generally, you'll want to use three to six photos on a page. For more photos, a two-page spread would work great (and this is my personal preferenct).  For each occasion or theme, select the only best photos for your scrapbook page.

Tip 1: You don't have to use ALL your photos in your scrapbooks.  Trying to use them all will either drive you crazy, or will seem like such a monumental and tedious task/ that you never even get started!!!!  To keep the fun, and your sanity, give yourself permission to scrapbook only the best photos or those which hold significance, even if it's not the "perfect shot".

Tip 2:  If you need more help in planning effective and eye-catching layouts, try using scrapbooking sketches. There are many different sources out there and, even if you use the same sketch for every layout, different papers, patterns, themes, and embellishments will make them all look different.

How to Arrange Photos
Select a focal point and then choose a main photo that will serve as your focal point before leading your eyes to the rest of the page.  A good layout design idea would be a photo that represents the overall theme and such a photo will, generally, require minimum cropping.

Bear in mind that the focal point does not have to land right smack in the center of the page.  Instead, highlight its importance by placing it slightly off-center, tilting it ever so slightly, or giving it a multi-layered mat.

Maintain Flow and Balance - With the focal point photo placed, the other photos should contribute to the flow and balance of the page.  Good placement will be evident when you seamlessly follow the "story" from one photo to the next.  Overlapping, or angling, works to direct the eye from the start to the finish point of a layout. Make a stronger visual impact by skewing only one or two photos and not every piece in your layout.  Try experimenting with different locations, sizes and angles of the photos to see what works best for your scrapbooking layout design.

After experimenting with different scapbooking layouts, step back log objectively at layout for a few moments. Is there a good flow and balance? If not, continue to make adjustments here and there until it "feels" right. If the answer is yes, time to adhere your layout to the page.

Crop It the Right WayProperly cropping a photo should improve the look of it by eliminating unnecessary details. Cropping narrows the focus to the subject and also allows you to fit more photos onto a page.  However, be careful that you don't overdo it, as too many shapes on a page could end up making it look very busy.