Minneapolis + St Paul Pet Photography Blog

Decorating Your Home With Custom Artwork of Your Pets

Capturing the special relationship between you and your pet is one of my favorite parts of the job, and going home with beautiful, high quality artwork is one of my clients’ favorite parts of their photo session! Having your photographs on display throughout your home lets you relive those moments – to feel the sunshine, or smell their fur, or recall their goofy antics. I love it when you get to smile every time you flip through your album, or walk past your wall art.

However, many of my clients have a hard time envisioning where they should place their printed photos in their homes, and the best way to arrange them. 

Which room(s) do you want to hang them in? 

What’s the right size for those walls? 

Do you have a specific style or color scheme you’d like to try to coordinate with? 

How do you want to feel (or how do you want your guests to feel) when they see the work? 

By thinking about some of these elements before your session, it can help guide the entire process of creating gorgeous images, at the right sizes, on the perfect products for your home.. Follow these tips below for styling your home with your favorite pet photos.

Incorporating Pet Photos into Your Home Decor

The first step is to decide where to display your new artwork in your home. Will they be placed in specific rooms with large walls, over a fireplace, or maybe up a stairwell or a narrow hallway? Take a look around your house; there’s likely a huge variety of options to choose from in terms of placement and style. Determine what will best fit into the overall feel of the room. For example, some people choose to have a symmetrical and carefully measured arrangement of pictures, while others choose a more eclectic feel. If you’re not one for preciseness, choosing to mix a variety of elements between your photos, different sized frames and artwork can work well for your home.

Whether you’re selecting wall prints or standing frames on side tables, deciding on decor can be tricky. Try to think outside the box. Mix in pet photos with the family pictures going up a staircase, or make a showcased feature in your master bedroom. If you need help in choosing the right decor, Havenly offers a free service that allows you to chat with an interior designer online.

Sizing the Artwork to Look Great in Your Home

The next thing you’ll want to decide is how big each picture should be. If you’re doing one large statement piece, it needs to be big enough to stand out among your furniture and architectural elements, but not so large that it overpowers the room. If you opt for an arrangement of smaller prints, remember to consider spacing between them and any matting or framing, to determine the overall footprint of the collection.

Mixing sizes of photos together can often have a great result, or identical sizes can work well too. For example, placing three photos of the same size and theme on a picture shelf, or hanging one large print with a smaller print on either side, makes for great looking arrangements that takes very minimal effort. 

By having a vision for your arrangement in mind, it’s really helpful at your photo session, so I can be sure to capture specific shots either vertically or horizontally, or have your pet facing a certain direction, etc. Or, if you don’t have a vision yet, that’s ok too! 

Color or Black and White Photographs?

Are you someone who loves the classic look of black and white photos? While I take all my pictures in color, we can certainly turn any of them black and white as well. This is a super easy way to match any color scheme of a room, or seamlessly coordinate with existing black and white photographs, no matter which image(s) you choose.

Are bright, fun colors more your style? Let’s discuss a color scheme ahead of time that will work with the decor and style of your home. This will help me avoid backgrounds that will clash with the other colors in the room. We can also discuss adding in elements of your favorite colors via your clothing choices, toys, textured blankets, or other pieces.

Emotion in Your Display

Think about the emotional response you want to evoke when the images are viewed. Do you want a fun, energetic print to greet guests when they enter your home? Or do you want a quiet, more subdued arrangement above your bed? Do you even want prints in a “public” area of your house, or are these images just for you? 

Another thing to consider, is what type of personality your pet has. Are they bouncy and boisterous, or quiet and chill? You’ll want to remember them as you’ve always known them, so if your dog lives for catching a frisbee, or your cat smiles when you scratch her chin, let’s capture those unique moments and put them on your walls.

Let’s Do This Together!

Whether you know what you want ahead of time, or have zero idea of what you’re looking for, I’ll make it as easy, fun and comfortable as possible. The first step is capturing great photos of your pet (and you with your pet!), then let’s see what those images look like, and take it from there. Seeing certain compositions or expressions might spark a great idea you never knew you had.

To take the overwhelm out of all these choices, and guide you in choosing the best options for your home, this is exactly what we’ll go over in your in-studio ordering session. If you know the dimensions of your walls, or can bring along photos of the room, I can show you – to scale – how different images and sizes will look in your unique space.

If you’re interested in storyboards, we’ll design those together; we can crop images in different ways, and figure out the absolute best ways for you to display your images. With a range of beautiful products like matted and framed fine art prints, wood mounts, or canvases, it’s easy to find something you love that will look great in your home.

Let’s work together to create beautiful artwork that you can display and enjoy every day! 

About

Hi! I'm Sarah, but feel free to call me Sarah Beth. I've been a professional photographer for over 17 years, and I've been an animal lover and an artist my entire life. Read More . . .

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Sarah Ernhart
Sarah Beth Photography

2205 California St. NE, Suite 101
Minneapolis, MN 55418
612-804-2518
info@sarahbethphotography.com