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Scrapbooking

Support the Main Event: Supporting Photos to Enhance Your Scrapbook Page While the main focus of a scrapbooking page is the highlight of a memorable event, don't overlook the surroundings and details that complement your subject. Article rating: 9.18

Let’s face it. When looking at a scrapbook page the photos are usually what we look at first. They draw the viewer in and let them immediately glimpse a moment in your life. Photos play a very important part of a scrapbook page and what you choose to photograph will ultimately affect the success of your page. 

As the family photographer you will probably photograph the exact moment Grandpa Joe blows out his birthday candles and you will probably snap a photo of Jimmy riding his bicycle down the street for the first time. But, as a scrapbooker, you must remember to photograph the details that surround these moments. The details that make the moment its own. Remember, the viewer of your page will want to see what you saw. You will be their only visual link and you must try to show them the complete picture through your photographs.

So how do you do this? You must become an observer of your life and notice the details of an event or moment that makes it special. Whenever you are taking a picture for a scrapbook page you will need to think about taking some supporting photographs that will act as the base for your page.  Think of a supporting actor.  Always there as part of the story, they act as the underpinning for the main character.  A successful supporting actor will help round out the main character and never upstage the lead. This is the same with your supporting photos.  They round out your story but they should take a backseat to the main event and are not meant to take away from the photos you really want to shine.

These supporting photos can be vital to a successful page. When put together on a scrapbook page the supporting photos will complete your story visually. This will mean remembering to take photos of what Jimmy’s bike and helmet looked like as well as the party favors or decorations as Grandpa Joe opens his birthday presents.  Of course you will want to remember to snap the traditional photos of the main event but in a quiet moment take a minute to look around and photograph what you are seeing around you.

For example, if you are on the beach, a photo of the shovels and pails discarded for the waves might help tell your story visually in a way that kids splashing in the waves might not do alone.  By combining these two photos together you allow the viewer of your page to being to see the whole picture.  Later, when you sit to scrapbook your story, it will be much easier when you have these types of supporting photos to work with.

Tips:

1. Get in close.  When taking supporting photos of the day getting in close, either physically or with a zoom lens, will help you capture the details.  Think of Grandpa Joe’s wrinkled hands opening up gifts at his 80th birthday party or Jimmy’s feet, ready in the start position, before that first ride.

2. Be observant.  Look around for visual cues that make the moment its own.  At a birthday party think of photographing the gifts stacked and ready to be opened or the streamers hung in the trees that proclaim party to the neighbors.  Both of these things will make a viewer think “party” immediately upon seeing the photos.

3. Before and after.  Look for moments before and after an event to photograph. This could mean photographing a child anxiously waiting to receive their merit award, the fancy clothes laid out ready to be worn, the wet footprints left behind after a day of swimming or the chaos left behind after Christmas morning. Both of these moments will help reveal the lead up or the closure to your story.

4. Do not dominate.  When using supporting photos on your scrapbook page make sure that they do not dominate your page. They are meant to be the foundation of the page, not the stars. This may mean printing them in a different color (color prints vs. black and white prints) from the focal photos or enlarging the main photos so they stay as the focus.

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