The board
The memory board.
A single portrait carries the service. A board carries the life around it — the holidays, the bad haircuts, the dog, the kitchen.
The short answer
Use 16 × 20 or 20 × 30 inches of foam board and nine to thirteen photographs, printed as copies rather than mounted as originals. At 150 ppi, a 20 × 30 board needs 3000 × 4500 pixels, so the photographs on it should be printed at their own sizes rather than blown up and cut down.
01 · The boardSize, material, and where it stands.
16 × 20 is the standard size and sits on the same easel as the portrait, which is usually available at the venue. 20 × 30 is the version that reads from across a room and is what most families mean when they picture a memory board.
Material. Foam board, 5 mm, which is rigid, light, and cheap. Not cardboard — it bows within a day in a warm room. Not a framed board — the glass reflects, and nobody wants to look at thirteen photographs through a window.
Where it goes. Ask the venue. A board wants a wall or a stand to itself, near the guest book or at the entrance, and it wants to be at eye level rather than on the floor. If the room is small, a 16 × 20 on a table easel is better than a 20 × 30 leaning against a chair.
02 · The photographsHow many, and which ones.
Nine to thirteen. Below nine it reads as a collection of loose prints; above thirteen nobody can see any of them properly, because each one gets smaller as you add more.
Choose for range rather than for quality. The board's job is to show a life, so it wants the wedding and the caravan, the school photograph and the retirement do, the baby and the last Christmas. The best photographs on a memory board are usually not the best photographs — they are the ones people point at and say "I'd forgotten that".
Include one or two of the person with other people. A board of thirteen solo portraits is a board of thirteen formal photographs, and it says less than six good ones with other people in them.
Print each photograph at its own size, not all the same size. A grid of identical 4 × 6 copies looks like a contact sheet. Varying the sizes by subject — a larger central image and smaller supporting ones — is what makes the board look composed rather than assembled.
03 · Never the originalsPrint copies. Keep the originals in the box.
This is the one rule on the page worth being firm about. Do not glue, tape or pin original photographs to a memory board.
Adhesives are permanent and often damaging: spray adhesive and double-sided tape both bond to the emulsion and take a layer of the image with them when they fail, which they do. Even removable tape leaves residue that stains over months. And a board is a thing that gets carried, leaned, and stacked in a car.
If a relative has already mounted originals, the least harmful approach is photograph corners rather than adhesive, and taking the board apart afterwards rather than storing it assembled. Photographing the finished board before anything is attached is also worth doing, so there is a record if the mounting goes wrong.
Printing copies costs a few pounds at any counter and takes an hour. It also lets you choose the sizes freely, which is the next section.
04 · The layoutThree arrangements that work.
One large, several small. A single portrait at 8 × 10 in the upper left, with six to nine smaller images around it in a loose grid. This is the most reliable arrangement and it always reads as deliberate.
Chronological. Left to right, earliest to latest, in date order — a timeline of a life. It invites people to walk along it and talk, which is exactly what a wake needs. Label nothing; people work it out.
The cluster. A tight central group of photographs with generous empty board around them. This looks the most designed and requires the most restraint, because the temptation is to fill the space.
Leave margins. A board where photographs run to the edge looks like a collage; a board with a clear margin all round looks like a print. If there is a title — a name, the dates — put it small, at the top or bottom, in the same type as the order of service.
05 · The mountingAttaching the prints without ruining anything.
- Photo corners — the least damaging and the most easily changed. Slightly old-fashioned, which for this purpose is not a criticism.
- Double-sided tape on the back of the print — fine for copies, and fast. Use a tape branded for photographs rather than a general-purpose one.
- Spray adhesive — permanent, unforgiving, and the source of most ruined boards. It also needs ventilation and a steady hand. Not recommended.
- Masking tape on the front — never, unless the board is going in a scrapbook rather than on a stand.
Lay everything out loose first, photograph it with your phone, and look at the photograph before committing. Composition problems are visible in a small image and invisible when you are standing over the board.
Questions people ask at this point.
How many photos should go on a funeral memory board?
Nine to thirteen. Fewer than nine reads as loose prints; more than thirteen and each photograph becomes too small to see. Vary the print sizes so the composition has a centre.
What size is a memorial photo board?
16 x 20 inches on foam board for a table or an easel, or 20 x 30 for a board that reads from across a room. At 150 ppi a 20 x 30 board needs 3000 x 4500 pixels, which is why the photographs on it should be printed at their own sizes rather than scaled up.
Can I use the original photographs on the board?
No. Print copies. Adhesives bond to photo emulsion and take a layer of the image with them when they fail, and a board gets carried and stacked. If originals have already been mounted, use photograph corners rather than tape.
Should the memory board be framed?
No. Glass reflects the lighting in the room and makes the photographs difficult to see. Foam board, unframed, on an easel or a stand, is what works.
Older photographs are usually the ones worth repairing
The photographs that make a board are often the oldest and most damaged. Fading, creases and colour casts are repairable in seconds, and the first one on Pinin is free.
Repair the older photographs