Photo tip: hang a sheet on the wall

Saturday 25 December 2021, 15:45 by Elvira Smit | 5,155 views | 15 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

The best way to improve your photography is to see your own photos very often. Not on your computer, but in real life. That is why I have a magnetic sheet hanging on the wall. I can display photos on it endlessly. Below, I explain how I use the sheet, and what A and B selections are.

Surround yourself with your images

Ideally, I would like my own studio, a workspace or an artist residency. The reason is simple: I want to be surrounded by the images I make. It helps me stay focused on the subject, and you can see much more quickly where your project needs to go.

But that workspace is not there. Instead of grumbling about it, I can also think about what is possible. This, for example:

A sheet on the wall, then. The sheet you can see in the photo above cost me 70 euros at the local hardware shop. Unfortunately, I don't know the exact specifications. I simply asked for a magnetic sheet .

Working with an A and B selection

A sheet on the wall is useful, but of course the point is to use it. What do I do with it?

My current project is always hanging on the board. Sometimes there are several. Immediately after taking photos, I import them into Lightroom. Over the following days, I make an A and B selection. The A selection contains the images that are immediate favourites, while the B selection contains the doubtful ones.

I print the A images at A5 size, using my own printer. I print the B images slightly smaller, then hang everything on the board.

Moving things around

When you work in series, it is important to print your doubtful images too. A series never consists entirely of good images from my A selection. With a series, you tell a story or want to convey a certain atmosphere. And for that, I often draw from the B selection.

When everything is hanging together, it is easy to move things around and try out a particular selection for a few days. It often happens that photos which are immediate favourites start to bore me after just a few days. You only find that out by seeing the images often.

So print and hang up those photos! You can of course also use a ready-made magnetic board, or simply an old-fashioned noticeboard. As long as you make sure that you see your images often.

Share: WhatsApp Facebook

About the author

Ik heb een eigen fotografieblog, Kronkeling. Daar schrijf ik om de week twee artikelen. Over hoe je je blik kunt scherpen, je creativiteit kunt aanwakkeren, en over fotografen die mij inspireren. Geen technische zaken, wél over hoe je leert kijken. En dat blijkt nog een hele klus. Een mooi startpunt zijn de Kronkeltips, die vind je hier.

Do you print photos for the wall, or have them printed?
by Nando Harmsen
Where do you find your inspiration?
by Nando Harmsen
Who inspires you, and why?
by Elvira Smit
Review: Inspiration by Ap Dijksterhuis
by Erik van Rosmalen
Inspiration, essential for your photography!
by Laura van der Burgt
If you can't think of anything to photograph, try these ideas
by Nando Harmsen

Show every article in Tips and tricks

home

15 comments

Luc wrote on Tuesday 28 December 2021 at 10:26 | reply
Nice system but how do you attach the photos to the magnetic board?
Translated from Dutch.

Evert wrote on Tuesday 28 December 2021 at 11:13 | reply
I was wondering that too, how do I attach my non-magnetic photos to a magnetic board?
Translated from Dutch.

Elvira Smit wrote on Tuesday 28 December 2021 at 11:41 | reply
@ Luc and Evert: simply with small magnets
You can also see them in the photo in this article.
Translated from Dutch.

Ton Brosse wrote on Tuesday 28 December 2021 at 12:33 | reply
Dear Elvira, In the photo of the board I can see a protrusion at the bottom left. I suspect that it is a little stack of small rings. They could also be small magnets, which are also available at the hardware store. If they are magnets, you actually don't need a magnetic board. Then it can simply be a metal (not aluminium!) plate. I would like to see your answer to the questions from the previous readers. Kind regards, Ton.
Translated from Dutch.

G.P. de Vos wrote on Tuesday 28 December 2021 at 12:34 | reply
The answer to the previous questions seems visible to me in the photo of the metal plate-with-photos itself: with magnets.
Translated from Dutch.

ria wrote on Tuesday 28 December 2021 at 12:37 | reply
take a look
Translated from Dutch.

Elvira Smit wrote on Tuesday 28 December 2021 at 12:56 | reply
@Ton: You're absolutely right, in the bottom left you can see stacked magnets. And indeed, it can simply be a metal board, as long as it isn't aluminium. To avoid that confusion, I refer to it as a magnetic board, then the ironmonger's shop knows what I mean.
Translated from Dutch.

erik wrote on Tuesday 28 December 2021 at 14:50 | reply
I have something similar, but simpler and much cheaper, namely a large cork board, and I pin my photos on it
Translated from Dutch.

Marij wrote on Tuesday 28 December 2021 at 17:24 | reply
I let my photos pass by me on my computer screen while I’m on the exercise bike. Nice and big and I look at the photo for 1 minute. How did I do that? I made a folder with a selection of my best photos, I can choose that folder as the background screen.
Translated from Dutch.

Henk verboon wrote on Tuesday 28 December 2021 at 18:51 | reply
Just a tip, we have had 3 iron plates stuck to the wall in the hall for years, plastered over at the edges and wallpapered with fence wallpaper, bought magnets at supermagnete and by now hundreds of photos hang there, challenges but also childhood memories and grandchildren, fun to see every day
Translated from Dutch.

Matt wrote on Tuesday 28 December 2021 at 23:00 | reply
The magnets cost next to nothing at Action or something. They are also suitable for most whiteboards. Via the link below you can get a 75 by 100 cm whiteboard for 35€.

https://whiteboard-flipover.nl/whiteboard-magnetisch-75x100?utm_campaign=whiteboardflipover&utm_content=simple&utm_source=beslist&utm_medium=feed&utm_term=BESLI46b69b2f-479f-4c3e-b014-04aab50abeae~75100WM&bl3nlclid=46b69b2f-479f-4c3e-b014-04aab50abeae
Translated from Dutch.

Dick Heuff wrote on Wednesday 29 December 2021 at 01:45 | reply
That is indeed what we call magnetic materials, Ton, there's nothing wrong with that. Since you're talking about non-magnetic metals such as aluminum anyway, you can't use copper sheet either, those are non-ferrous metals and therefore not magnetic. Stainless steel is nice and nicely magnetic, though a bit more expensive.
Translated from Dutch.

Elvira Smit wrote on Wednesday 29 December 2021 at 09:56 | reply
@Erik, Marij and Henk: Good ideas! The goal is to look at your own photos often, and there are plenty of ways to do that.
@Dick: ha, thanks for the addition, learned something again At the time I chose stainless steel, nice material.
Translated from Dutch.

henriette wrote on Wednesday 29 December 2021 at 17:39 | reply
..suddenly I'm back with Elvira again
Translated from Dutch.

Ton Brosse wrote on Wednesday 29 December 2021 at 23:18 | reply
To Dick Heuff, Of course I also know that you can't use a copper plate or another non-ferrous metal plate for this purpose either. But I think, no, I know for sure, that no one would dream of wanting to use a very expensive copper plate for this purpose. Costs way too much money.

Translated from Dutch.

Have your say

Please note: Articles older than a week can only be commented on by signed-in visitors.
Would you still like to comment? sign in or create a free account.

Become a better photographer every week

A practical photography tip in your inbox every week.
39,078 photography enthusiasts already receive the tips! More about the weekly mail. Or keep up to date via Facebook. Sign-up secured with Google reCaptcha.

Elja Trum

Photofacts; everything to do with photography!

Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about Photofacts

Photofacts is made possible in part by