Most families have thousands of photos and almost none of them on the wall. They sit in phones, old albums and shoeboxes, and the few that do get printed end up in a drawer. A family photo collage puts dozens of them in one place, where everyone actually sees them.
This guide covers the ideas that work best, how to choose the photos, the words that make it feel like your family, and where to hang the finished piece.
Family photo collage ideas
1. A family year
The best photos from one year: holidays, birthdays, first days at school, the new puppy. It makes a lovely tradition, with a new collage every year that lines up on the stairs.
2. Generations
Grandparents' wedding photos, parents as children, the grandchildren now. Seeing three or four generations side by side shows family resemblances nobody noticed before.
3. One holiday, or one place
The caravan site you went to every summer, the grandparents' house, a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Choosing one place gives the collage a strong, simple story.
4. The children growing up
A photo of each child from every year, or from each school year. Especially good in a hallway, where everyone passes it every day.
5. Photos with your family's words
Any of these ideas can be surrounded by the words that belong to your family: the nicknames, the sayings, the places, the running jokes. A word art collage puts the photos together in the middle and fills the space around them with those words.
6. Photos only
If you would rather let the pictures speak, a Standard Collage lays the photos out with no words at all, in neat rows or a looser arrangement.
How to choose the photos
Faces first
The photos people look at longest are the ones where they can see faces clearly. Choose photos where people are reasonably close to the camera over wide landscape shots.
Mix close-ups with a few bigger moments
A good collage has rhythm: lots of smaller, personal shots and a few stronger ones that anchor it, such as a group photo or a favourite holiday picture.
Leave out near-duplicates
Five photos of the same moment look like one in a collage. Choose the best and use the space for something different.
Do not worry about old prints
Photograph them flat in daylight with the flash off. Photos can be cropped in the designer, so borders and table edges are easy to trim away. If old black and white photos sit oddly next to new colour ones, the designer can also show the whole collage in black and white.
How many photos?
There is no minimum. With words around them, a dozen photos can look full. For photos only, twenty to forty is a good range for a medium-sized piece. An A2 print holds up to 35 photos on paper, an A1 up to 60, and an A0 up to 100.
Words that make it your family
- Names and nicknames, including the ones only the family uses.
- Sayings: the thing Dad always says in the car, Grandma's advice.
- Places: the street you grew up on, the holiday spot, the local pub.
- Dates: the year you met, the year you moved in, birthdays.
- Running jokes that need no explanation inside the family.
Ask everyone in the family for two or three. You will be surprised what people remember.
Where to hang a family photo collage
The hallway or stairs
Everyone walks past it every day, so it gets looked at more than anything else in the house. A portrait piece suits a narrow wall.
Above the sofa
The natural place for a large piece. A landscape A1 or A0 fills the space above most sofas well.
The kitchen or dining room
Where the family actually spends time together. A good spot for a family year collage that gets replaced each January.
It can be made as a framed print or a poster hanger, in portrait or landscape. Not every size is available in every country. Our guide to photo collage prints explains how the formats compare.
Making it a family tradition
Some families make a new collage every January from the year just gone. It takes an evening: everyone picks their three favourite photos of the year and one word that sums it up. Over the years the collages line the stairs like a timeline, and the children grow up in them.
Others make one for each grandparent at Christmas, using the same photos with different words for each household. Either way, the habit matters more than the size. A small piece made every year ends up meaning more than one big one made once.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a family photo collage?
Choose your photos, decide whether you want words around them or photos only, and arrange them in a designer that sizes everything for print. You can design one yourself on our site and see the finished piece before you order.
How many photos should a family collage have?
Anywhere from a dozen to a hundred, depending on the size and style. With words around them, fewer photos still look full.
Can I mix old and new photos?
Yes. Mixing generations is one of the best things about a family collage. Photograph old prints in good daylight for the best result.
Can I add names and dates?
Yes. You choose every word yourself, so names, dates, places and family sayings can all go around the photos.
Is a family photo collage a good gift?
It is one of the most personal gifts there is, especially for grandparents, a milestone birthday or an anniversary. Our gift guides have ideas for each occasion.
Where to start
Pick a theme, whether that is a year, a place or the whole family, and choose the thirty photos you love most. Then start creating your collage here. Designing is free and you only pay if you decide to print it.