How Many Is Too Many?

Many scrappers tend to use one or two photos on a layout. Although there are sketches with more than five photos, most sketches use a relatively small number of photos. So, what do you do when you have a huge number of photos that you want to include on a layout? How many photos can you use in a layout and still have it look good?

I challenged four designers to create layouts with a lot of photos. Each designer managed to fit significantly more than five photos on a single page with great results. Here are their creations.

16 Photos

The first designer, Nancyroo, used 16 equal-sized photos around the border of the layout. By keeping all the photos the same size, she was able to give the viewer an overview of the event. This design is a great one to use when you have many photos of an event without a standout. If there is a special photo that needs highlighting, it could be placed on a facing page.

18 Photos

Our next designer, Noelfab, took a different approach. She used 17 small photos and one large one. Notice that she did not mat the photos, and that the small photos provide a frame for [K1] the larger one. The simple flourish in the lower left and flower in the upper right help to frame all the photos and tie the layout together.

21 Photos

Our next designer, Mjbee, also used one larger photo and multiple small ones, but she took a more structured approach. The smaller photos are all the same size and arranged in a grid. By using a single mat for all the photos, including the large one, she saved space and created a unified look for the entire page.

24 Photos

Like Nancyroo, GH26 chose to use only small photos, but she arranged them in columns. By not matting the photos, she was able to fit eight photos in each column. Using this approach, she managed to include a lot of photos without overwhelming the viewer.

As you can see from the examples here, it is possible to use 16 or more photos on a single layout and still have it look nice. Next time you find yourself with an overwhelming number of photos, try using the one of the approaches shown here.

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