Family History Book - Family Tree Poster

So now you've scanned a couple hundred photos and published your first book. After all that wouldn't it be nice if there was someway to piggyback on all that work and use those photos for something else? Well you can! How about using the photos to create a poster-sized family tree. This is exactly what I did with some of the photos that I used to create our family history book. In this chapter I will give you a few tips for creating your own family tree poster.

Once again, I used Photoshop to create my poster, but any image editing software will work. The following are some tips to prepare for creating your poster.

First of all, think of the overall design that you want to use. I chose a fairly standard vertical tree design for my poster, with the oldest generations at the top and the youngest at the bottom. You may want to use a horizontal orientation or simply a collage for yours.

In order to get a sufficient number of photos onto the poster it will need to be big. Mine was 20 in. x 30 in. The first step is to create a new, blank, document in Photoshop that is 20 in. x 30 in. Set the resolution to 300 ppi. (pixels per inch)

If you are using a vertical tree orientation it works best if you size all of the photos to be the same height. In my case I resized the photos in Photoshop to be 2 inches high. (Image -> Image Size -> Height = 2 inches) Don't forget to set the resolution of the photos to the same resolution of the poster. Then use the Move tool to drag each photo onto the poster and into position.

If you are using a horizontal tree, it will be easiest if you resize all the photos to be the same width.

My poster had 43 photos. Each photo was captioned with the persons name below the photo.
(Warning!!! If you are working in Photoshop each photo and caption will be a separate layer. As you add individual photos to the poster Photoshop will name each layer, by default, Layer 2, Layer 2, etc. Rename each photo layer immediately with the persons name. If you don't you will rapidly forget which layer corresponds to which picture which will make arranging the photos nearly impossible.)

Arrange the photos and captions on the poster by dragging the individual layers to the target positions. Add titles, lines and other graphic elements as desired.

Here is the finished result of my photo family tree poster. (Click on image to enlarge)



Of course, the are many different color schemes and variations that you can use. Here are two alternatives.


In this example I've used different background colors, fonts and added drop shadows to the photos...

and in this example I've converted the entire poster to a sepia toned black and white image to give it a more uniform appearance. The options are limitless and entirely up to your creative instincts.

Once you've finished your poster in Photoshop it will be a very large file. (Mine was 84 MB) In order to print your poster, save it as a JPEG. My final JPEG was 16 MB. Upload the JPEG file to your favorite print service and in a few days you will have your finished family tree poster. Order extras. They make great gifts for the family.

As described in the last chapter, I highly encourage you to check out Lynda.com if you need assistance in learning to use Photoshop to create your poster.

That wraps up the series on Family Photo Histories. I hope you've enjoyed it and that it has stimulated your your creative juices. I'd love to hear from you about your creative efforts.

Mark