Hello everyone! I am back today for part two of my single photo series. In part 1, I discussed different ways to convert a multi-photo template into a single photo template. (If you missed it, you can find that post HERE.) Today, I have been asked to talk about my artistic philosophy behind creating single photo layouts.
If you see my gallery you will notice three things: First, I love single photo layouts (about 95% of my digital pages have one or less photos) and second, I love creating on white backgrounds and third, I love dimensional and cluster-heavy designs. I am often asked why I gravitate toward single photo layouts and my first response is always that it is just a personal preference. I tend to focus more on the creative design of my digital pages than on the number of photos I can include and I love the technique of using one photo supported by elements, word art and journaling to tell my stories. My preference toward clustery pages with lots of dimension and elements also makes it more difficult to include multiple photos on the page without creating too many distractions for the viewer.
For those of you who tend to scrap events, vacations or other everyday moments using lots of photos to fill your pages there is a place for single photo layouts in that mix. I still have not scrapped a dedicated album for our trip to Paris (three years ago) during which I took over 1,000 photos. I am fairly certain that I will be using lots of multi-photo pages for that one because I don’t intend to spend the next 10 years scrapping one photo pages for it. However, I will reserve some single photo pages for special moments and my absolute favorite photos (such as the one below).
A question was recently asked about when it is most appropriate to create single photo pages. Here are my reasons:
One: It is my personal design preference. There is absolutely nothing wrong with multi-photo pages, it is just not my personal preference. As I mentioned earlier, this probably has a lot to do with my habit of includes lots of luscious clusters and elements on my pages. This is my most recent page (with goodies from today’s SOSN sale). The expression in the photo tells a story that I think would only be diluted if I added more photos to the page:
Two: Using a single photo on a page can tell a very compelling story because it permits the viewer to focus more directly on that photo. Adding additional photos can draw attention away from the desired focal point (especially if there are also lots of elements on the page that compete for the viewer’s attention). As I mentioned earlier, single photo layouts are a great way to complement your multi-photo albums by giving the viewer a chance to rest their eyes and focus on just one compelling focal point. The photo on this page is spread out over three frames, but I still consider it to be a one photo page:
Three: When you only have one really good photo of an event or a moment, it might be better to scrap it on its own, instead of including it with other less compelling photos that will detract from its impact.
Four: When you have other ephemera or digital elements that you want to include on the page, crowding too many photos in will detract from their impact as well.
Five: It is just a personal preference. I know I already said this, but really I think it is the most important point. If you love scrapping multi-photo pages and that is what you prefer to look at in your printed photo books, then you should definitely keep doing that. The purpose of this article is not to convince people to scrap single photo pages or that single photo pages are better than multi-photo pages. I am just explaining why it is my personal preference and when they might be a good alternative for multi-photo scrappers.
If you have other reasons why you gravitate toward single photo layouts, I would love it if you would share them in the comments!
Until next time ~
Judie (HeyJude)
Donita says
Great article – I enjoyed reading it. I like single photo layouts also, but find myself gravitating more towards two photo layouts. Like you, when I scrap vacation photos, I like some single photo pages to spotlight particularly favorite photos or stories and then multi-photo pages just so I can get them in without huge books or spending too much time. Thanks for your examples and story.
Claire Grantham says
Great article. I only started scrapping in March. I think then I was so nervous about how it all worked, I had a tendency to stick with one or two photo layouts, as I thought it looked less cluttered. As I have got more skills now, I can make a multiple photo layout look good. But I still love single photo layouts. It is much more focused and the story you are telling with that Photo could be a great one.