What is the Big Picture?

It’s a project to create the biggest photo album in the West Midlands. Between January and June 2008 people from all over the West Midlands picked up their cameras and mobile phones to take and submit an incredible 112,896 photos.

Every single one of these funny, touching, bold and beautiful photographs have been used to create the worlds largest photo mosaic – making everyone who submitted a photo a joint world-record holder.

Thank you to everyone who has participated in The Big Picture over the last 8 months, we couldn’t have done it without you!

By sharing your treasured photos, stories and memories you have helped to build a wonderful visual snapshot of the West Midlands; clearly showing that  this is a region to be proud of. We feel privileged to have been part of such a  special and exciting arts project and hope that you continue to be inspired to  pick up your cameras, take and share photographs.

What’s in it for me?

You can get tips on taking better photos in the Photo Pro section, be inspired, even learn something you didn’t know about your local area. We’ve collections for Birmingham, The Black Country, Coventry and Warwickshire, Hereford and Worcester, Shropshire, and Stoke and Staffordshire, so you can take the Big Picture or zoom into your local area.

Who’s running The Big Picture?

The Big Picture is an exciting new project from Arts Council England West Midlands supported by the BBC, developed and delivered by Audiences Central. The Big Picture is kindly sponsored by Jessops and Linford.

Frequently asked questions


What is Flickr?
www.flickr.com is a reputable photo sharing website and online community, The Big Picture used Flickr to help collect all of the images for the project.

To find out more about Flickr you can Take The Tour or watch this video.

I’ve added my photos, where are they?
With thousands of photos on The Big Picture site it can sometimes be difficult to find your own – but don’t worry we can do it!

It may take a few minutes from adding or uploading for the photos to appear in our galleries, if you’ve just done that, go and have a cup of tea and check back in a little while. If you’ve emailed them to us we may take 24 hours to add the, by post a while longer – but they’ll get there eventually.

When you’re ready to look for your photos there are two main ways:

  • One is to browse the albums. Start at the Photos page and choose the album you put your photo in when you added it. That may be a regional one, or you may have added a tag for a “themed” album - like ‘love’ or ‘mum’. Use the Previous Page link to go back though the pages of photos.
  • The other is to search. The search box at the top right of every page allows you to search all the content on the site – photos and articles – type in a word or words and off you go. The words that are searched through for photos are the title, the description (the story you added when you uploaded), and any tags you added. If you used the Add One Photo option on our site, they your name will be in the description.

Why do you keep asking me to complete a survey?
We want to find out about the people contributing to The Big Picture and would therefore really appreciate it if you could complete our survey. The information you give us is completely confidential and will not be passed onto third parties for marketing purposes. If we like your photo we may contact you by email to ask your permission to feature it in publicity for The Big Picture or to feature the photograph and/or your story on the BBC Local website. The Big Picture will not use anybody’s photographs without prior consent from the owner.

What should I do if I see something unsuitable or offensive on The Big Picture website?
If you spot anything unsuitable or offensive we ask that you contact us straight away at [email protected]. We will always endeavour to remove any reported images as quickly as possible. We rely on our users to act responsibly when selecting photos to be uploaded. The Big Picture is a website for everybody so please only upload images which you would deem suitable for family viewing.


If I want to use a photo from The Big Picture website, how do I get permission?
Photos on The Big Picture website and on Flickr.com are the property of the photographer. We would suggest contacting the photographer directly via their Flickr account. The Big Picture team strongly advises against copying and using any photo that appears on this website without the prior consent of the photographer.

Why do you ask for the story behind the photograph?
The Big Picture is an online community and we feel that there is a story behind every image posted on the website. If we like your story then we may want to feature it in the press or on BBC Where I Live websites. Don’t worry, we will always ask for your permission if we want to do this.

Who will be able to view my photograph once I have uploaded it to The Big Picture website?
A photograph that has been uploaded to The Big Picture website is available for all our website visitors to see. The most recent photographs are displayed on the home page and are then placed in our photo galleries.


How do I remove a photo I have uploaded from The Big Picture website?
If you have a Flickr account then all you have to do is remove the “bigpicture2008” tag. If you have submitted your photo by other means then please email [email protected] and we will remove the photograph for you.

How do I add a comment to a photograph?
To comment, leave your message, your name (you can use a nickname if you like!), and an email address in the boxes below a photo. You may also leave a website address, maybe of your photos, if you like.

Comments are moderated, meaning the Big Picture team read them first, so they can sometimes be a short delay between posting and your comment appearing on site.


I’ve never been to an art gallery before, what is it like?
Following your visit to the Big Picture website you may wish to visit one of our participating art galleries running Big Picture events. If you’ve never been to a gallery before this may be daunting experience but we would highly recommend giving it a go. The galleries we work with are not the stuffy places you may expect, all the galleries welcome small children and families, don’t mind a bit of noise and have fantastic facilities. Additionally, all the Big Picture galleries have disability access.

What is Audiences Central?
Audiences Central have developed and created The Big Picture. Audiences Central is the audience development agency for the West Midlands region. To find out more visit www.audiencescentral.co.uk

Help! I’m really stuck – can you help me?
If you are really stuck then we will be happy to help. Just drop us an email at [email protected] and we will get back to you within 24 hours.