Picture, picture on the wall

I have just finished rearranging the photos on the wall, plus putting up a few that had been sitting on the sideboard for a long time. As a photographer, I do not hang any of my pictures that I sent for competitions. I only hang pictures of my family which I like but which are not necessarily good. They are pictures taken in a restaurant or on an outing, including one or two that were shot in my studio.

I have been asked many times why as a photographer, wouldn't I be able to find some pictures to frame up and  hang? The reason is, I do not think a good photograph is necessarily a suitable photograph to decorate the house with. I think a picture, or a painting for that matter, has to go with the decor and the ambiance. For example, it is nice to decorate a home on the seaside with seascape, boats, or anything nautical. A landscape of a farmland may be good for a home in the country. A landscape of exotic places may suit an office well, while an architectural shot or an abstract image will fit well in a modern living room. This is just my personal opinion.

Still life images are generally easier candidates for most homes. Again, the subject has to suit the decor. Images of fruits and vegetables will go well in the kitchen. Images of a statue or a vase may lighten up a living room which may have difficulty accommodating a real life statue or a vase. Images related to one's hobby will easily find a place in the study; and they don't have to be just still life images.

So there you go; I am probably not the only photographer who has nothing to hang up on his walls.