Framing Guidlines

Hi everybody!
(hi, doctor Nick )

I can not believe that i didn't think of asking you this question so far. I need some help with the basic guidelines of framing pictures. I mean physical framing them. Like wood or aluminum frames and what goes where, and how to choose the colors and any detail you could give me. So references would be great(books, sites, blogs, whatever)!

Thanks in advance

nobody knows the secret of a successful picture frame?:p

You could do a couple of things which is what I did when I wanted to frame my own prints.
1) Google "picture framing" or "picture framing techniques" - there's lots of good info on the web.
2) Visit a custom framing shop and pretend you're looking to frame some prints. Pick their brains on frames, mat colours, glass etc. This will get you familiar with the options. Then go to some more frame shops and tell them you're a photographer and would like to offer framing to the clients who buy your prints. On the premise that you bring your prints to them for framing and then resell to your clients, they should be quite open to providing you suggestions, answer your questions and likely offer up a decent discount allowing you to mark up the framing when you sell it.

Whether you decide to get into framing for yourself or use a frame shop, you will have gained some useful information.

There's an art to matting and framing a picture, just as there is to taking a picture. (Speaking mostly to color pictures here) To really enhance a picture, you need to find complementary mats and frames. Some people will mat a picture to match a room, and kill the picture in the process. And not all framing stores here have skilled employees at selecting mats to match the picture, so your eye will need to come into play.

Take your picture down to a shop which has mat samples (usually 6 x 6 corners with the bevel pre-cut), and just lay them down until you find something that works. Many color pictures can use 2 different color mats without a problem. I have a friend who's really good at this, and recommends looking at the colors out of focus. He does this by circling his fingers to about a pencil sized hole, and squinting through it. Blurs the image and lets you concentrate on the colors.

When I matted pix in the past, I usually took 11 x 14 pictures up to a 16 x 20 frame, so I had generous mat showing. I usually put and extra amount "under" the picture (1/2" or so) so it didn't look like it was sliding down out of the frame.

I prefer simple metal frames to ornate ones for my outdoor pictures. For portrait work a wooden frame was often used.

I buy my frame stuff from pictureframes.com, not sure if that's an option price wise to ship to you. I cut my own mats using a Logan Compact mat cutter, which saves $$ compared to doing it with a frame shop.

I am not selling my pics professionally, so doing it yourself may not be the best option for your cost structure.

Aaron Brothers is having a buy one get one for a penny sale for the rest of the month.

Thats all I know about framing. And it's all in your preferences.

If you're interested in building your own frames from scratch, check out the book "How to Make Your Own Picture Frames" By Ed Reinhardt. Other books seem to want you to buy frame stock from their preferred companies. The Ed Reinhardt book goes into combining home improvement store stock to make nice frames and I believe there is also a few chapters on routing your own stock as well.

For making frames from ready made stock, invest in a nice mitre box, framing clamp (it has a fabric band that you slip over your frame pieces and tighten up), some nice glue and a framing nailer.

For buying frames, preference only.

Mats, I hate cutting my own mats but it can be much cheaper. I'd try to find some on sale online or check at your local craft store. If you have an AC Moore or Michaels in your town they have a nice stock of mats to choose from and frequently have discount coupons in your paper.

Aaron Brothers has up to 16x20 with 11x14 precut mats from $5 to $15 each. To me that is easier than cutting my own mats unless you want something bigger.

That's not bad. I just went to their website and found that I have one right around the corner from work. Never heard of them, might have to be taking a trip to see what they've got.

Thanks for the info Ryan.

ryant35 wrote in post #3561654
Aaron Brothers has up to 16x20 with 11x14 precut mats from $5 to $15 each. To me that is easier than cutting my own mats unless you want something bigger.

Thank you all for taking the time. Really appreciate it

There are a few websites that sell mats and frames who also allow you to upload your image to see how various combinations work. Here is one of many http://www.arttoframes​.com/