Portraits are special because we get to capture a moment in time of a person and put it in a visual time capsule. That visual time capsule can be a giant traditional framed print on the wall, a folio box on the coffee table, or it can be in a phone’s photo gallery. One particular product I love designing for my clients, especially my family clients, is the Framed 9-Up. The 9-Up is one wall art piece that consists of a collage of nine cohesive 5×7 images with a total size coming out to be around 20×28 framed. Like with any collages, the 9-Up relies its beauty on the design choice of the images and it’s definitely something I keep in mind when photographing a client who is interested in having a 9-Up for their homes.

Who is the Framed 9-Up for?

• families that want to design a single wall art that shows not just one family photo but the whole family as unique individuals as well
• clients that have similar photos of the same set with a cohesive design that tells a beautiful story. This can be great for little kids that love to create a wide range of expressions in between each photo or a client that loves that one dress that she so effortlessly posed in and create multiple beautiful expressions and dynamic poses.

As I mentioned earlier, the 9-Up is a wall art adored by families. The 9-Up is great for those that do want to decorate their home walls with the beautiful portraits they just took, but either they want to show more great options than one or they don’t want one large photo. If families are looking to invest in just one framed wall art, this means they don’t have to default to the one family photo anymore – they can include different images that show off the individuality of the family members, the different relationships between the individuals, and of course, the signature family photo.

The latest 9-Up I designed of the Maeda family is a great example of being able to showcase not just the family photo but the entire family dynamic.

On the first row, I designed it to have the patriarch and matriarch along with an image of them together beautifully showing their relationship. 

In the center row, I like to focus on the family as a whole and have the most important images.

For this design, I have the center sides showing the loving relationships between the parents and the son and daughter and, of course, the family photo in the center of it all.

In the last row, I reserved for the family’s gorgeous daughter and handsome son along with their playful relationship.

All my wall arts for my clients now, whether it’s the 9-Up or a traditional fine art print, come framed so that it’s ready to be hung in the house and enjoyed for decades. 

The most beautiful aspect of viewing portraits as wall arts versus a digital screen is that they become a piece of art. A portrait hanging on the wall is to be seen and cherished every day for families, friends, and guests. It’s a piece that brings up conversations and stories as any other art piece would. And I especially love the 9-Up because it truly becomes art and the way you see the art piece changes once you start getting closer to the art piece and looking at the images individually.

Here are some more examples of 9-Ups:

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Would the framed 9-Up be something you would cherish in your home?