Vintage Photography As Wall Art

by humagaia

Minimalist décor in the contemporary home is complemented by striking images. Scan your old photos, create fabulous posters, decals and canvases or purchase those already created.

Your walls are crying out for that conversation piece that eludes you. Your contemporary, minimalist home lacks that one centrepiece that would bring the whole design concept together. You don't want what everyone else has, you want that unique picture that will inspire you, bring back memories, cause conversation and transform your living environment into a canvas for wall art. But how can you achieve this? Perhaps you already have that one photograph already available to you: in that dusty old photograph album. Blow the cobwebs away and choose an inspiring, memory-jerking image that you want to live with. If none inspire you enough, then purchase an image already created.

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Choose Your Photo Wisely

Choosing an image from your photograph album should not be undertaken lightly. If you want a unique image that you can live with, then it must inspire you on a daily basis; integrate with your décor; and give you the pleasure of knowing that you chose perfectly.

Vintage photographs are excellent for evoking memories that you would like to keep present. Those of family, holidays, locations, special events and inspiring moments are all excellent choices to be transformed into smaller posters, canvases, stickers or wall decals. But for maximum impact a larger image is best.

An image that becomes the centrepiece.

And that image should inspire awe within you. It should own the wall upon which it hangs. It should push all other images away from it, shouting 'look at me!'.

It should also complement everything within its purview. And the best to achieve this are vintage black and white photographs, as they blend well into most color schemes.

You've Chosen Well - Now What?

Once you have chosen your image it is time to transform it into wall art. You could, of course, take it to your local photographic shop and get them to do all the work to transform it into something that you want, but how much fun is that?

Why not use your own skill-set to produce exactly what you have in your mind's-eye.

Bring your visualization to life with a little help from web resources that are freely available to you. 

All you need is:

  • Access to a computer
  • Scanner

A photo scanner is best for photographs and should be linked to the computer. An ordinary scanner (which could be incorporated within your printer) is suitable for scanning paper products. A specialist scanner would be required for negatives and/or slides, which may have a memory stick that can be used to transfer images to the computer.

  • Zazzle account (see set-up below)
  • Optional: paint.net software (see download instructions below)

Scanners

Epson Perfection V330 Photo Scanner (B11B200211)

Epson Perfection V330 Photo Scanner

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Canon CanoScan 9000F Color Image Scanner

The Canon CanoScan 9000F Color Image Scanner features Fare Level 3 delivers automatic dust and scratch removal as well as fading, grain and backlight correction, Zero warm-up ti...

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DB-Tech 35mm Film Slide and Negative Scanner - Film to Digital Image Converter - with 2.4-Inch LC...

Rediscover your long-lost slides and film negatives with DB-Tech's digital image converter. The DB-FS150 Transforms your images from outdated to updated without the need of a co...

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NEW! PS9700(with 4GB) 3-in-1 Digital Photo/Negative Films/Slides Scanner with built-in 2.4 LCD Sc...

SVP 3-in-1 PhotoScanner PS-9700 is a innovative standalone film scanner that instantly converts 35mm film negatives, slides and photo prints into digital images without the need...

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Zazzle Account

Creating a Zazzle account could not be much easier. Just type in zazzle.com in your browser URL entry box and hit return. Click on "sign in" and then click "Register" on the next page. Follow the instructions presented on the following pages and, as long as you are 13 or over, your Zazzle account will be created.

Once you have your Zazzle account a whole new world of artistic product opportunities opens up to you.

Paint.net Software

If you require to enhance, manipulate or clean up your image then a simple paint program will suffice. Microsoft Paint, probably already available on the computer you are using, is not sufficient for your needs. Photoshop (very expensive), Gimpshop (free) and other comprehensive image manipulation software are probably far too complex for your needs.

I suggest a middle of the road free software utility called Paint.net. It took me around an hour to get to grips with all the facilities it offers, and these facilities, in most cases, will be sufficient for your needs.

Download Paint.net at http://www.getpaint.net/download.html but scroll down the page to the section that says:

"Download
If you would like to install Paint.NET, please use one of the download now buttons below."

as the first "download" button shown on screen is NOT for Paint.Net.

Creating Your Artwork

There are a few simple steps to go through before your artwork is ready for you to take possession thereof. You have chosen your image, now:

  1. Scan it at 1200 pixels per inch. This is sufficient for most needs, produces a good image scan and can be uploaded to the image manipulation software Paint.net (if required) or direct to a Zazzle product without any hassles.
  2. Optional: Open Paint.net and upload your image to the software. Manipulate the image as you require. The great thing with this software is you can play around to your hearts content but return to a former position using the history tab. Keep playing until you are satisfied with the results. Save the new image as a new file - so you can return to the original at a later date, if you so wish.
  3. Go to your account on Zazzle. Sign in. Click on 'Create A Product'. Scroll down to "Art & Posters" and choose the product you wish to create: Poster, Wall Decal, Framed Prints or Photos-On-Canvas.
  4. Click on the appropriate "Create...." or "Get started now" button.
  5. On the "Get Started" pop-up panel choose "Select Image". On the next page choose "My Computer" and on the next page click on "Select Images To Upload" (you only want to choose one image). Browse to the location on your computer where the image is located, select and open it. Click "OK". The image will upload to Zazzle (for large files this may take a little time).
  6. Once the image has uploaded, click on "Make It Now".
  7. Now you can customize it to your requirement. You can change the size (different sizes are available for different products); add images and / or text; rotate the image; and resize the image to fit or fill the available space.
  8. At this point I suggest you save the Zazzle image (although Zazzle will save it for you).
  9. Once you have created your masterpiece and it is at a price you can afford, choose "Add to cart".
  10. Now all you have to do is pay for it, wait for it to be printed / created and delivered (usually within 1 to 3 days). On arrival check all is to your liking.

You are now the owner of a unique piece of artwork that will enhance your living space and bring pleasure to you for years to come, and at an affordable price.

Alternative: Other Artwork

If you do not have photo's that inspire you, then maybe it is time to look at photo images created by others and posted for sale on Zazzle. There are numerous excellent opportunities to purchase posters on different quality paper, framed photo images of various sizes, and canvas wall art, each giving you the opportunity to personalize them.

Here are some I created earlier:

You can find these, and many more, at my Zazzle store.

Updated: 02/05/2021, humagaia
 
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Comments

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kimbesa on 08/29/2017

Seems to me in recent times that black & white is coming back "in" as a style in home decor. Those pictures remind me of the days when Sunday newspapers printed big photo sections, in the early 20th Century.

blackspanielgallery on 08/24/2015

Black and white images can be powerful.

TonfaGuy on 01/24/2013

Nice article..
Don't think you can beat black and white photography.

humagaia on 09/22/2012

That is appreciated Mira - let me know your Zazzle store name(s) and it will be reciprocated.

Mira on 09/22/2012

Wow, you have some really nice photos there. I'll do an article with Zazzle products from people on Wizzley and will include some of them and a link to your store.

humagaia on 09/22/2012

Mira - I don't mind at all - glad to have inspired you to do the same. Perhaps we could cross-reference our B&W Zazzle offerings when we promote them. I have uploaded another 300 b&w photo's to zazzle - just gotta get them onto products - art products will be the main emphasis.

Mira on 09/22/2012

Nice idea to do B&W on Zazzle. Mind if I borrow it? :-)

humagaia on 09/20/2012

Inspiration is the perception of the viewer - bring that space to life with your own personality, or your own relative personalities.

katiem2 on 09/20/2012

Sweet vintage photography, I like it a lot, especially the black and white feel. Great deco idea, thanks for the inspiration. :K

humagaia on 09/14/2012

Only just started using Zazzle. I have been looking for an outlet for my photography for some time. Zazzle is a great site/


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