From Photograph to Collage: How I Create One-of-a-Kind Pieces for Interior Spaces

Shooting 35mm Film for My Collages

I received my BFA in Fine Arts in 2002, majoring in photography, so film is deeply rooted in my creative practice, and analog photography remains a magical process for me. Although it’s a bit more expensive—to buy film, process it, and produce high-resolution scans—the results are worth it.

I begin with a general idea of the subject matter I want to shoot and typically expose three rolls of 35mm color negative film. My approach to shooting is very particular; I often aim to abstract the recognizable while still capturing elements of the everyday. I prefer the analog photographic process because the visual texture of film grain looks more beautiful to me than digital pixels, and I love the uncertainty of not knowing exactly how my images will turn out. The anticipation of waiting for the film to develop is part of the thrill, and the excitement of reviewing the final images never fades. Once I pore over all the photographs—exhaling a sigh of relief that they were exposed properly, and the film wasn't damaged in processing, yes that happens—I give myself a few days to reflect before heading to the studio to create.

Selecting and Preparing Images

Once my film is developed, I go through the images and select the ones with the strongest compositions—the frames that capture something I want to linger on. I tend to gravitate toward images with saturated colors and high contrast, and I particularly love photographs that juxtapose negative space with sharp, micro details. After choosing the photographs I want to work with, I print them at my local copy store—the same way I’ve been doing since college in the early 2000s. I love the added layer of visual texture that laser printers bring to the existing film grain. An image printed on paper always looks different than it does on a screen, and I lean into these differences when I'm assembling my collages. At this stage, I don’t worry about how they’ll interact with each other, but instead focus on what each image brings to me individually.

Piecing the Images Together

This final part of the process is definitely the most challenging, but also the most rewarding. Every time I start a new collage, a little fear joins me in the studio: the worry that the last good piece I made might have been the last I’ll ever make. Will I ever create a compelling collage again? What if I can’t figure out how to make these pieces fit? What if I’ve lost my touch?

Inevitably, I find my bearings and return to what works for me as a collage artist. My collages are constructed by discovering connections between images and building bridges to unite them. When the perfect connection doesn’t exist naturally, I use paint, graphite, or colored pencil to help the images fit together. Often, the collages where I add these finishing touches end up the most richly textured and layered. At the same time, I love the minimal collages that come together effortlessly, as if the images belonged together in another life.

Either way, I continue building collages in a series format—one after another, using images from the same film shoot. Working this way creates a natural cohesion across the group, since all the imagery often shares similar light, color, and vibe. But each collage also teaches me something: I discover a new approach, lean into a format that’s working, or find a thread worth following through the rest of the series. By the time I’ve worked through all my selected imagery, the series has its own shape and style. Then it’s time to step away, let new ideas settle, and shoot again.

Finishing the Cycle

Once the collage series feels complete, I step back and let it rest for a while. Sometimes it’s just a few days; other times, I wait weeks or months before deciding which pieces to add to my shop. During that time, I often notice which collages have the most compelling colors, textures, or compositions and would work well in interior spaces. Each finished piece carries a little of the process with it—the intuitive choices, the craftsmanship, and the surprises—and leaves me eager to pick up the camera again and start the next series.

I'm Libby Saylor, a Philadelphia-based collage artist. All finished works are available as prints and originals in the shop.