Shaking Up the Family Portrait Art Gallery

The classics always get repeated; that’s why family portraits are such popular subjects for canvas prints and wall art. Your family is beautiful to you, and with just a little effort can be beautiful to anyone simply as objects of art – and even more powerfully if they actually know your family. So it’s little wonder that one of the first ideas anyone has when they learn about cheap canvas prints is the family portrait.

Nor is it any wonder that so often the family portraits that get turned into canvas prints by well-meaning folks look suspiciously alike: Similar outfits, arranged tallest-to-shortest, or in a faux-casual jumble, everyone laughing. But why would you want your family portrait to look like everyone else’s? Shake things up and try some of these creative ways to make your family portraits stand out.

Family Portrait Wall Art Tip #1: Details

Instead of having your family portrait be a long-shot of everyone in a pose, why not split each member into their own canvas print? And beyond that – why not get super creative and focus in on the one feature you think of when you think of that member of your family. Maybe it’s a pair of bushy eyebrows, or a smile marked by missing baby teeth, or a pair of dirty hands, calloused from working or simply dirty from playing.

These sorts of images are personal and evocative at the same time. On the one hand you and your inner circle will recognise the shots immediately. On the other hand, people unfamiliar with your family will be able to bring their own artistic interpretation to the display. There’s a power in captured details, and it can be used to make your family portraits more powerful than the average.

Family Portrait Wall Art Tip #2: Many People, One Face

A riff on the previous idea is to create a spectacular piece of wall art by making the details you choose for each family member very specifically chosen. One person’s eyes, another’s mouth – zoom in and get super-detailed high-quality shots and create a whole face from the different parts of each member of the family. Create a series of them, in fact, so that everyone’s eyes gets used, everyone’s smile, and so on.

The end result is pretty amazing, as the canvas prints are very abstract and modern looking, but bring through all the warmth and emotion that your treasured love ones invoke when you see their smile, their eyes – even their ears!

Family Portrait Wall Art Tip #3: Don’t Skimp on the Filters

Family Portraits have a tendency to be stuck in a very literal vein: Happy people, loving pose, normal lighting. Why not shake it up with some dramatic effects? Add some filters. Make it into a Warhol-inspired piece of Pop Art. Go abstract – have fun! Why not? You love your family and love means having a little fun and seeing the joy in everyday things. So why not have some fun with your family portrait and layer on the creative ideas – you can always back out and start over again if your loved ones begin to resemble aliens!

In the end, you know your family best and can best decide what approach your family portraits should take. When you’ve figured that out, click here and let us turn your family into gorgeous canvas prints the way you intended.