The Bigger Picture- Dividing Photos

Sometimes you just want a bigger final size for your project than what your printer can print. 

Divide and Conqueror!  

You can divide your photograph into sections, copy and paste into smaller files that can be printed. After printing they can be sewn, glued or collaged together to create a larger image.

Duplicate your photo and open in your desired photo editing program. Resize your image to match the size you want your final image to be. Make the window larger so image floats on a gray or neutral background. This aids when selecting the photo sections.

After deciding how many sections you need and how large each section would be to achieve your final project size. You will need to select each section, copy and paste into a new file. Label each new file to keep the printing and piecing order clear.  For instance, I label the top right of a 9 sectioned photo, TR1, the middle of the top, MT2 etc. Continue to copy and paste to new files, label, until you have each section in a new file.

section

another selection

Print each section or file onto the prepared substrate. As you print each section, label with the file name, making it easier to set up for assembling together when finished. Allow ink to dry, sometimes overnight, before proceeding with you project.

Tip- There is some websites that will tile a photo for you. An example is ww.blockposters.com. You would download one of your images. Choose your size and the number of prints you want for your finished photograph size and hit enter. The image is converted into PDF files, creating very large versions of your image!  You can print immediately or download the files onto your computer.

Tip- Change the color of each section and print.