How to Size Prints to Hang on Your Wall
- How to Make Your Portraits Look More Professional
- The Differences Between a Good and Bad Canvas Print
photo by KatarzynaBialasiewicz via iStock
I’ve been going crazy being stuck inside so much lately, and one of my brilliant ideas I had was to try and take on a ton of home improvement projects. Crazy. I know.
But one of those home improvement projects is hanging different photography prints around my house. As far as home improvement projects go, I’d say this one is pretty fun because I can get the whole family involved in choosing which canvas prints we’d like. I do have to be honest, though. If we always went with the one my young son wanted, we would probably have around 2 dozen photos of him in every room of the house.
While printing photos is a pretty easy task, I did come across some sizing problems while doing this project and figured I may as well write an article about learning how to size prints for your home. Unfortunately, there are a couple of different approaches that interior designers take when it comes to the size of artwork, so learning how to size prints can be confusing just due to the conflicting information.
Typical Sizing Rules
photo by KatarzynaBialasiewicz via iStock
When it comes to learning how to size prints for a typical household, there are some general rules you need to follow.
The first is that whenever you start hanging photos on the wall, you need to keep in mind that the most prominent photo should be at eye level, which is about 60 inches from the floor. This means that if you’re creating a gallery wall, the middle of the gallery should be at eye level. Conversely, if you’re hanging just one photo, or a series of photos all in a line, they should also be above 60 inches from the ground.
Unfortunately, a lot of tips for hanging pictures require a little bit of math, but it’s easy and I’ll walk you through it.
The next general rule is that you should measure the length of your open wall space and multiply that length by 0.57. So, a wall that is 12 feet long can feasibly fit a canvas print that is 82 inches wide.
If you’re instead choosing to line up a series of photos in a row, then you would want to make sure that all of them together do not exceed that width. Keep in mind that you need to account for the 3 to 6 inches you’ll need in between each photo.
Sizing for Gallery Walls
photo by FilippoBacci via iStock
However, learning how to size prints for a gallery wall changes all the rules. Well, most of them. One rule that stays the same is that you’ll want the middle of your gallery at eye height from the floor.
But, if you have a series of more than 8 photos you want to hang together, you can lessen the length of spacing you need between each photo. This gives your gallery wall the look of one larger photo when each small image is taken together.
Now, there are differing rules about how to size prints for a gallery wall, but one of my favorite recommendations is to simply make sure that your whole gallery isn’t larger than the 0.57 measurement we did earlier and that the left side of your gallery wall can take more weight, i.e. larger photos.
The reason this is true is that people from most cultures read from left to right, so we are used to examining art the same way.
When learning how to size prints, you want to keep it as simple as possible.
Learn More:
How to Properly Break Sizing Rules
photo by Highwaystarz-Photography via iStock
Now, you can definitely listen to as many or as few of the rules I’ve outlined above. The best thing about learning anything, even learning how to size prints, is that the rules are made to be broken.
Still, there are recommended ways to break these rules. The first is to purposefully use images that are too large for the space you’re putting them in in order to make that space look larger. I’ve used this tactic in bathrooms before and hung photos that were nearly the whole length of the wall. This goes against most “how to size prints” tips, but it works to make an incredibly small space less small.
Depending upon the type of photos you’re using in your space, you may never have to learn how to size prints at all. For instance, if you’re purposefully choosing absurd photos to hang up, then it’s perfectly fine to purposefully choose to size those photos much too large or much too small.
For example, I had a friend who hated all of the requirements about how to size prints, so she instead decided that she only wanted prints that were incredibly difficult to find. Everytime she has a friend over, it’s basically an Easter egg hunt for them because they’re always wondering what odd photo may be hidden around the next corner.
No matter how you choose to size your prints, you’ll need a canvas print maker that can create exactly what you need.
That’s why I always work with CanvasHQ. Each of their canvas prints are not only handbuilt, so that they retain their quality, but they’re completely customizable. Whether you have a child going into a dorm room that needs a 6” canvas, or you’re looking to decorate your master bedroom with a 90” canvas, CanvasHQ can create exactly what you’re looking for.
I’ve even worked with them before to create a piece for a photography show that was a total of 120”, broken down over two huge canvases. So, even if you think your project may be too large for them to handle, give their incredible customer service a call. I promise it’s about as easy a process as you will find.
Plus, the high-quality prints that CanvasHQ creates will add a touch of sophistication to your space. And if you’re ordering on behalf of a client, you can drop-ship the print without any worries of how the print will look.
CanvasHQ has perfected the printing process and you can trust that the print that arrives at your door will be something that blows you away. After all, that’s why we name CanvasHQ our 2020 Best Canvas Print Company. Check them out today to see what kind of gorgeous canvas prints you can get.