A baby shower photo mosaic from everyone waiting to meet them
A keepsake for the new family: one picture made of the faces of everyone who is looking forward to the arrival, each with a short wish attached.
What to use as the picture
A scan image looks like the natural choice and makes a poor mosaic. It is grey, grainy and low in contrast, and the result is hard to read. A clear photo of the parents-to-be works much better, as does the illustration from the invitation or the baby's initial in a large, thick letter.
Whatever you choose, keep it simple and upright. The picture is cropped to a tall 4 by 5 shape.
Guests, and the relatives who cannot travel
Send the link with the shower invitation, and separately to the grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends who live too far away to come. For them this is the way to be in the room.
Give people a prompt, because "a photo" is too open. Two that work: a picture of yourself as a baby, which makes a good guessing game on the day, or a picture of yourself now with a wish for the little one typed in the message box.
Wording: "We are making a picture for the baby out of everyone's photos. Add one of yourself and a wish. One minute, no account. Please do not tell the parents yet."
Two weeks is enough
Open the page about two weeks before the shower. A free page takes photos for 30 days and can be viewed for 30 days after that, so a page made a fortnight ahead is still open on the day and for a while afterwards.
At the shower
Prop a tablet on the gift table with the page open. If you asked for baby photos, tap a tile, let the room guess, then show the name.
With an unlocked page you can download the picture and print it for the nursery wall. Because the page is deleted on its end date, the print or the saved file is the part that lasts.
The usual mistake
Planning it as a complete surprise without checking how the parents feel about photos online. Some families share nothing before or after a birth. Ask one of the parents quietly, or their closest relative, and keep any picture of the baby off the page unless the parents add it themselves.
Questions
Can we use the ultrasound picture as the mosaic?
You can upload it, but we would not. Scan images are grey and low in contrast, and the mosaic comes out hard to read. A photo of the parents-to-be or a bold illustration gives a far clearer picture.
Can we change the picture to a photo of the baby after the birth?
The owner can change the picture at any time while the page exists, and the tiles rearrange to match. That choice belongs to the parents, so give them the owner link and let them decide.
Can relatives abroad add a photo?
Yes. The link opens in any phone or computer browser, in any country, with no account and no app.
How long do we have to save or print it?
Until the page's end date, which is 30 days after uploads close and is shown on the owner page from the first day. After that the page and its photos are deleted, so download the picture before then.
Free to make and share. No account for you or for the people who add photos.