Scrapropos

How do you create? Does color play a big part in your creation process? It does mine.

The first thing I do when looking at a stack of photos is determine the color I want to bring out in the photos. I usually try to highlight the subjects in the photos by using background or accent papers that match or coordinate with the subject. Recently, I wanted to bring out the flush in a little girl’s cheeks, so i used paper that matched that color.

Sometimes, though, the best way to draw your eye toward the photo is to use a contrasting color for the background paper. Pumpkin patch photos, for instance, really pop on a royal blue background.

When in doubt, or if your photos are already very busy with color, you can never go wrong by matting the photos with black or white. I use black a LOT. It unifies the photos on the layout, especially if you’re doing a page with lots of different subjects and themes.

Yesterday, a client asked me if I prefer to work on black, white, or natural-colored pages. I didn’t hesitate to say, “It doesn’t matter.” Not long ago, I preferred to work on black. But these days, I’m finding that I wallpaper just about every page anyway. I don’t do as much single-photo matting as I once did, but I use a lot of color and pattern in my background papers. I love how my style evolves and changes and come full circle sometimes.

I recently scrapped photos of a little girl at a piano recital. The lighting was very soft - coming from candles and from a stained glass window. The overall mood of the photos was very serene and sweet. The little girl’s dress was made of white satin and black velvet, with a big red sash. There were poinsettias around and on the piano. I could have done a bold page with reds and blacks and greens, and it probably would’ve looked okay. But I wanted my colors to help tell the story, which was one of calm and peace. (I had the recital program - the music played wasn’t festive and seasonal, but rather worshipful, solemn, and sincere.) With that in mind, I used colors that evoked that feeling on the page - a light golden color that matched the glow of the candlelight (CM’s chamois) and a poppy-red color that blended the sash and the reds in the stained glass. It was my client’s favorite layout. I wish could share a photo of it, but ALAS! I was too eager to deliver the job yesterday and neglected to take one.

You can go very wrong with color. But if you focus on the photos and the story they tell, you’ll get it right. Every time.