Framing and matting tips

[toriaj]

I've printed a few of my photos large, for framing and matting. I want to do more of it, and I'm looking for guidelines and suggestions.

1. I seem to like wall prints at around 14x21. Is this what you like also?
2. Is a 2-inch mat standard?
3. Is it typical to have two mats in a "nice" framing setup?
4. Do you think that frame and mat should be minimal in size and color? Or more elaborate? For instance, should the mat be white/black only, or can colors be tasteful?
5. Is there a guideline on how wide the frame should be compared to the print? I used a 3 1/4" frame and two mats (top mat was 2", bottom mat 2 1/4") on a 14x21" print. It looked something like this: (except that the frame was darker than it looks here. The blacks pretty much matched. And the white beveled edge of the mat wasn't as obvious as it is here.)

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I liked it but now I wonder if the framing was too ostentatious. I'm considering doing a similar framing like this:

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Or should I use a smaller frame, like this:
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Or go for a more "modern" look, with greater focus on the photo:
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What do you think? Please give me all your comments, I'm very new at this.

[zmikers]

IMHO, out of the 3 mountainscapes, I like the middle one the best. White matting with a classic black frame. I know a lot of people who prefer the "modern" look with the simple black frame or even no frame at all, but a little bit of class always looks nice. Again, just my opinion. Also, I still go for the white matting as opposed to the colour matting.

Another look I like is a square B&W photo with a large white mat.....

[Margus]

I don't think that there are any right or wrong answers to the question "which one of the frames is the best". You should not look at the picture at all :) I'd suggest you to look at the room where you are going to hang the picture and choose a suitable frame based on the style of the room.

[Rhys]

I look to see how much the frames are. Then I see what mats will fit or whether I have to buy a mat. Then I find out what size I can print to.

Today I found I had an 8.5x11 frame in my closet. I looked for a mat to get down to 5x7 but there wasn't one so I got an 11x14 mat, matted to 5x7 and will simply trim the excess. Next I need to print to 5x7.

Actually, since our printers are messing about again, I'll probably get the print made in Walmart or someplace similar.

We find that once the printers have taken it upon themselves to mess about, they'll do it continually until you don't need to use them for high-quality work. Then they'll perform flawlessly. Call it sod's law, murphey's law or whatever. I gave up on wasting time and money printing photos at home. When I have time, I contract out to a company in California. When I don't have time, I use the local guys.

Walmart isn't perfect - my B/W print from yesterday was done in 30 minutes and had a slight green tint on the black but behind glass, it doesn't notice.

[AdamW]

I've printed a few of my photos large, for framing and matting. I want to do more of it, and I'm looking for guidelines and suggestions.

1. I seem to like wall prints at around 14x21. Is this what you like also?
2. Is a 2-inch mat standard?
3. Is it typical to have two mats in a "nice" framing setup?
4. Do you think that frame and mat should be minimal in size and color? Or more elaborate? For instance, should the mat be white/black only, or can colors be tasteful?
5. Is there a guideline on how wide the frame should be compared to the print? I used a 3 1/4" frame and two mats (top mat was 2", bottom mat 2 1/4") on a 14x21" print. It looked something like this: (except that the frame was darker than it looks here. The blacks pretty much matched. And the white beveled edge of the mat wasn't as obvious as it is here.)


1. I like the biggest print that will fit the wall space.

2. A bigger print usually calls for a larger mat. At any size, I think that 2 in is about the minimum. However, I'm not too keen on really large mats.
3, 4, 5. I'm of the minimalist school. I don't think the mat or frame should take attention away from the art. I really prefer plain white mats and simple wood frames. However, I've seen some very well done jobs with multiple mats and colored mats.

[Rooz]

1. I like the biggest print that will fit the wall space.

2. A bigger print usually calls for a larger mat. At any size, I think that 2 in is about the minimum. However, I'm not too keen on really large mats.
3, 4, 5. I'm of the minimalist school. I don't think the mat or frame should take attention away from the art. I really prefer plain white mats and simple wood frames. However, I've seen some very well done jobs with multiple mats and colored mats.

couldnt have said it better.

the only thing i would add is dont discount canvas. imo, a canvas printed photo mounted is very impressive. simple and clean.

[Rhys]

I just chatted to my mother - she cuts her own mats. Her equipment... an existing steel ruler and a razor blade. I like that - nice and cheap.

[Mark_48]

I just chatted to my mother - she cuts her own mats. Her equipment... an existing steel ruler and a razor blade. I like that - nice and cheap.

That will work, but it's very difficult to make an inside 45 deg bevel cut that is consistantly even throughout. The bevel cut does give it a more professional appearance.

A basic mat cutting kit isn't all that expensive and well worth the money you can save in mis-cutting a mat board trying to do it on the cheap. My wife has one made by Logan that we bought at a Michael's craft store. Here's a link to Amazon for a Logan kit for about $50..

http://www.amazon.com/Logan-Graphics-Craft-Straight-Cutter/dp/B0018DXHMQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1224544574&sr=1-3

[zmikers]

I guess I am fortunate living where I live now. Just down the street I can get an 8X12 print matted and framed for about $25 USD, and they do a fantastic job too. Nothing too fancy, pretty basic really but I'm happy with the job they do and the price. It's nice because I can take in any size print I want. Because all of the frames are hand made, nontraditional sizes are no problem.

[toriaj]

Thanks for all the comments, everyone. I went to a gallery of wildlife/landscape prints where the framing was just gorgeous, elaborate wood styles, colored mats, and fillets (I had to go to the framing store to even find out what those were.) It surprised me that even on large prints, he rarely had frames wider than 2 inches, but the mats were often wider than 2 inches. I think for online stuff though I'd better stick to something simple ... maybe when I have $400+ to spend on a framing job I'll take it to the local gallery and the the whole works :)

[talkingdog]

We have pictures with frames like your samples 1,2,4. We prefer the plain/flatter frames. We have 3 of the lcd picture frames now and like how the pictures change.

How about getting a plug in of frames so you can get an idea of how the frames might look on the real picture. It would only take a few seconds to change and you could look at different versions at the same time.