Photoless pages

[Cherylndesigns]

I know we talk about this from time to time, but do any of you struggle with this? I make quite a few photoless pages, but they're mostly Art Journal pages. How do you all feel about not using photos on a page? I have some other alternatives, but I'd like to hear yours.

 

[veer]

No I don't struggle with it, I like it very much and it's easy for me

 

[Cherylndesigns]

No I don't struggle with it, I like it very much and it's easy for me

Awesome - I know a lot of people do, though.

 

[Jam-on-toast]

Up until a few months back I had never done a photoless page - I was a scrapper on a mission to scrap memories. The first photoless page I created was for a challenge - and I HAD to do it because I needed a certain number of challenges completed... and I hated it.. the idea, the actual process of doing it, even the person who hosted the challenge. I didn't even know where to start so I spent quite some time browing the gallery looking at photoless pages thinking I'd just scraplift someone else's page... the struggle was real, I tell yah... but to my surprise, once that first page was done, the monster was gone... I discovered that my hobby can be fun and I can scrap just for fun and not everything needs to be done with an album in mind...

to my even further surprise, I realized that when scrapping memories from 15 years ago, I actually don't have photos to go with the story... or not enough photos for a two-page spread, so.... photoless pages are there for a reason, I guess...

but if I need to create a photoless page and my mind is blank - I'll just scrap today - something along the lines of 'today was just one of those days when absolutely nothing happened and it's not a bad thing. The usual cup of coffee, the usual walk with the dog... ' I find that ANY kit will go with this theme. A piece of paper or a journal card, a cluster and a few elements scrattered around. This is what I start with. It always ends up being something different. lol...

 

[Madi]

No!
That is how i start all my pages and if you just look at my gallery you'll see most of them end that way too.
I just love the freedom of playing around in photoshop.

 

[Cherylndesigns]

Up until a few months back I had never done a photoless page - I was a scrapper on a mission to scrap memories. The first photoless page I created was for a challenge - and I HAD to do it because I needed a certain number of challenges completed... and I hated it.. the idea, the actual process of doing it, even the person who hosted the challenge. I didn't even know where to start so I spent quite some time browing the gallery looking at photoless pages thinking I'd just scraplift someone else's page... the struggle was real, I tell yah... but to my surprise, once that first page was done, the monster was gone... I discovered that my hobby can be fun and I can scrap just for fun and not everything needs to be done with an album in mind...

to my even further surprise, I realized that when scrapping memories from 15 years ago, I actually don't have photos to go with the story... or not enough photos for a two-page spread, so.... photoless pages are there for a reason, I guess...

but if I need to create a photoless page and my mind is blank - I'll just scrap today - something along the lines of 'today was just one of those days when absolutely nothing happened and it's not a bad thing. The usual cup of coffee, the usual walk with the dog... ' I find that ANY kit will go with this theme. A piece of paper or a journal card, a cluster and a few elements scrattered around. This is what I start with. It always ends up being something different. lol...

Looking back, I guess I never scrapped photoless pages until I got so into Art Journaling. I just don't need pictures to get my feelings down on paper, but sometimes, a picture is called for. I love the freedom of not always using pictures, too. I'm glad that you're that you're feeling more comfortable with it.

 

[Cherylndesigns]

No!
That is how i start all my pages and if you just look at my gallery you'll see most of them end that way too.
I just love the freedom of playing around in photoshop.

I agree, Madi! I just love moving paints and elements around in PS and seeing the different effects that can be achieved with blending and other techniques.

 

[bcgal00]

I don't do many photo-less but have done a few. It is definitely out of my comfort zone but I like pushing myself sometimes. But generally, I may do a bit more photo-less AJ type pages this year, wanting to scrap about emotion.

 

[mom2triplets04]

I enjoy journaling so a photoless page doesn't bother me at all. I also like art journaling. I would like to start doing it digital because creating with a puppy is hard. It's like I have a toddler all over again so thats why I started to digital scrapbook again. For years when the triplets were small that's all I could do to keep little grubby hands away from my stuff.

 

[tjscraps]

I don't do many of them, I like using my scrapping to tell my family's stories, so unless I just don't have a photo to go with a story there's usually a photo involved. I love looking at them though!

 

[Cherylndesigns]

I don't do many photo-less but have done a few. It is definitely out of my comfort zone but I like pushing myself sometimes. But generally, I may do a bit more photo-less AJ type pages this year, wanting to scrap about emotion.

That's how I started doing photoless pages, too, Rae. Sometimes, I use Journal cards in place of photos, too.

 

[Susan - s3js]

I do a lot of heritage and genealogy scrapping, so I have lots of photoless pages. Anything before about 1850 and there ARE no photos. If you're lucky, your ancesotrs and extended families were well enough off to have portraits painted and photos of those available. If not, I use places and events to fill in, but sometimes just journal pages. Art Journaling has taken me in a whole new direction I never thought I'd go. So has Photoshop. I used to hate it, but now I LOVE it!

 

[Jam-on-toast]

Anything before about 1850 and there ARE no photos. If you're lucky, your ancesotrs and extended families were well enough off to have portraits painted and photos of those available.

Ok, this is just surreal... anything before about 1850... not something one hears often in the context of digital scrapbooking...

 

[scribler]

As my reason for scrapping changed, the more accepting of photoless pages I became. Although, if it’s not art journaling I almost always have a picture. Might have to try the journal card idea.

 

[faerywings]

If I had to rank my pages, most of them have personal photos. After that, I would say photoless/AJ pages. I would say I have some with stock photos and then very rarely, I will have a page with just journaling. I don't find scrapping photoless pages any more or less difficult than starting any other page.
I think that in a lot of my AJ pages, the word art takes the place of a photo as a focal point too.

 

[LSlycord]

What a great topic! I historically don't do pages without photos. And I can't imagine scrapping a page without the intent to document something. However, I did realize the other day that there are some memories that I want to document that don't have corresponding photos. And, if I want to get in to scrapping genealogy, I need to get comfortable telling stories without photos. So, another thing to add to my list of "must tries" in 2022.

 

[zanthia]

I am only okay with it if the kit includes illustrations/drawings of people or animals

 

[scrap-genie]

What a great topic! I historically don't do pages without photos. And I can't imagine scrapping a page without the intent to document something. However, I did realize the other day that there are some memories that I want to document that don't have corresponding photos. And, if I want to get in to scrapping genealogy, I need to get comfortable telling stories without photos. So, another thing to add to my list of "must tries" in 2022.

The majority of my LOs feature photos and those that don't usually focus on word art and/or elements. For family history I have ideas for working without photos. One is to use old pictures, like postcards, of places in the family. This is one example:

I also use documents for images, and this one with signatures was special to me:

I did a family newsletter piece on a wedding in 1795 in Zurich, Switzerland, with a fairly contemporary illustration I found on Wikimedia Commons. Maps, old or new, are also useful or current photos of places from the family's past. I've even used little charts to show a group in the family. Hope these seem like useful ideas.

 

[Cherylndesigns]

What interesting answers - I love them all! We all have our own reasons for scrapbooking. At one point and time, I wouldn't have imagined that I'd ever do a photoless page. Then, like some of you, my pages morphed into Art Journaling and voila! photoless pages emerged. They were hard to do at first, but now, it seems like I do more AJ pages than ever. They're a great way to get your feelings out, for those of you who've never tried them.

 

[Kythe]

I don't have difficulty creating such a page however, I don't really think my thoughts are particularly interesting enough for anyone to want to read it. If I do a page for a challenge, I usually ditch it from my computer, not because I don't like the end product, but because it really doesn't have a lot of meaning for me.

 

[taxed4ever]

I actually like doing photo less pages. I find that just doing some journaling and getting my feelings down on a page is very therapeutic and it lets the beauty of the designers products show case the journaling.

 

[Cherylndesigns]

I don't have difficulty creating such a page however, I don't really think my thoughts are particularly interesting enough for anyone to want to read it. If I do a page for a challenge, I usually ditch it from my computer, not because I don't like the end product, but because it really doesn't have a lot of meaning for me.

I get it, but sometimes, it just helps me to get my thoughts down. I've even completely covered a whole page of journaling. I took a class once, and that was one of the things we were encouraged to do. It was very cathartic.

 

[Cherylndesigns]

I actually like doing photo less pages. I find that just doing some journaling and getting my feelings down on a page is very therapeutic and it lets the beauty of the designers products show case the journaling.

Same with me, Trudy. Art Journaling (particularly digi) has become my favorite way of working through things. It IS therapeutic! People don't have to see what you've done, either. You're doing this type of thing for YOU. Some of my pages are never seen by anybody else. I've even deleted pages that were very personal. Like I just told Kythe, a great class I took - was where I found out about covering the journaling after you were done. I knew what was under there, nobody else did. A lot of people do "hidden journaling" too. It's so freeing.