Scrapbooking with Panoramic Photos

Everyone loves a photo enlargement. However, not everyone likes the price of photo enlargements. While all stores have differing price schedules, my favorite photo developer charges $2.99 for a 5” x 7” and $5.99 for an 8” x 10”. However, the panoramic photos I take on my SLR camera are processed at the same price as regular 4” x 6” pictures, and their reprints are only 75 cents. Instead of your run-of-the-mill 5” x 7”s or 8” x 10”s, take a look at some of these ideas for scrapbooking panoramic photos, and see if you can stretch your imagination while you stretch your dollar.

Panoramic photos are typically 4” x 10” and can be in either landscape (horizontal) or portrait (vertical) orientation. My developer actually prints the panoramic photos at 4” x 12” which for a 12” x 12” scrapbooker like me is just ideal. With a photo equal to the whole length of my paper, my first inclination is to put the photo along the edge of my page to form some sort of border. This is a quick and easy way to scrapbook any panoramic but don’t stop there. Here are more ideas to get you thinking out of the box…or long rectangle in this case.

Titles
Try using your panoramic picture as the title for your page. Take a picture of a sign like in this layout of my children at the zoo. Though it’s still in the position of a border photo, it’s also an instant title for my page.

Another idea is to use the panoramic photo as a background for your title like in this layout by Andrea Steed. When you have extra sky or “dead space” in your photo, this is a great way to cover it up so it’s not taking the attention away from the best part of your picture.

You can also die cut your title from one of your panoramic photos as in the layout “Corn Maze” by Glenna Yarnot, and use the cut-out letters to achieve a splendid title at a fraction of the cost of store-bought titles.

Pockets
Take advantage of the large size of your panoramic photo and use it to hide other photos. You can create a pocket behind it like I did in this Easter layout or you can even create a flip book using metal hinges at the top of your photo. You can fit other panoramic pictures underneath, or an assortment of smaller pictures.

Expand-a-Panoramic
When you want to break away from the normal border-type panoramic photo, consider chopping up your picture as in this snow photograph. This technique also would be useful for those of you who have the standard 4” x 10” panoramic photos. This way, with the spaces in between, even your photos can span the length of your page.

Mosaic Tiles
For this technique, you cut the panoramic photo into small squares and cover them with diamond glaze. When they dry they will have the look of little ceramic tiles and you can piece them back together to use as photographic embellishments.

Photographic Embellishment
Panoramic photos of nature and the surroundings of an event can make a great embellishment on a page. The expanse of the images shows the viewer a more complete look at the environment where the other photos were taken. Panoramic photos used in this method can even be used as a substitute for patterned paper on a page. Close-up photographs showing the textures and colors of an event such as a pile of toys, the lace tablecloth at a shower, or the window of a church building are all great environment accent photos that can be used to embellish a layout.

Silhouette Border
If you have scenic panoramic pictures with mountains or trees in the distance, get out your handy scissors and silhouette those shapes across the length of your photo. This can become an interesting border for your page.

Mini-album Cover
You can use your panoramic photo as a cover for a mini-album. Fold it in half and staple in some cardstock pages. Add some more photos and embellishments to the inside and your album will be complete.

Suspended
If all you have is one panoramic picture for a layout, instead of shoving it to the side, top or bottom of your layout, let it take center stage right in the middle. Andrea used eyelets and string to “hang” her photo across this page.

Hopefully your mind is flowing with these and even more ideas of how to scrapbook your panoramic pictures. Don’t let their odd size intimidate you; I think you’ll find that working with panoramic photos is a fun yet economical way to s-t-r-e-t-c-h your imagination!