Home Photo Framing Basics, Part 1: The Importance of Breathing Space

 

We begin a four-part series on the fundamentals of home photo framing with this article on allowing the image a little room to breathe.  Because most people do not make their own frames or cut their own mats, we will not go into those subjects, but rather will focus on things to consider when using store-bought frames, mats and glazing materials.

 

A common mistake among do-it-yourself framers -- and a surprising number of “professional” framing shops -- is to put the photo in direct contact with the frame’s glass.  Many frames, in fact, especially the smaller-sized frames, are designed such that the photo is supposed to touch the glass.  The backing board that comes with these frames serves to sandwich the image between itself and the glass, keeping the image flat.  For photos that have no significant monetary or sentimental value, that can be easily replaced, or that are not expected to have a long life span, this is a fine arrangement.  (Let’s be honest -- not all photos need the special care that we will be discussing in this series.)  For photos that do not fall into one of the above categories, however, the first cardinal rule of framing should always be: Do not allow the photo to touch the glass.

 

Over time, photos that are in direct contact with glass run the risk of sticking to the glass.  Condensation inside the frame will cause the emulsion of the photograph’s paper to glue itself to the glazing material.  Often this will begin around the edges or corners of a photo, but if left for long periods of time, the adhesion can become extensive.  It is very difficult, if not impossible, to “unstick” the photo from the glass; attempting to do so usually only results in separating the emulsion from the paper itself.  This means that the white, underlying paper may come off, but the image will remain stuck to the glass.  Even if the photo is left undisturbed and no attempts are made to remove it from the glass, the presentation of the photo is flawed by the adhesion.  Furthermore, the glass can never be replaced without significantly damaging the image, or even destroying it completely.  Any collector’s value the photo may have had is lost.

 

The solution to this annoying problem is quite simple: the photograph should never touch the glazing material.  The most common method of achieving this goal is cleverly disguised as a decorative technique: including a mat in the framing package.  In addition to adding depth, color, and endless decorative possibilities, mats ensure that there is air space between the photograph and the glass.  They are readily available in a wide variety of colors and sizes, and if you don’t find one that suits your tastes for a particular photograph, any framing shop should be able to custom cut a mat for you.  Custom mats can be personalized in an infinite number of ways, and have many more color and material options than off-the-shelf mats.  They are also, however, much more expensive.

 

Mats are not the only method of achieving this all-important air space.  If no mat is desired, a narrow strip of acrylic called a spacer can be used.  Spacers are usually about 1/8” square by several feet long and have a strip of adhesive on one side.  They are easily cut to desired lengths and come in white, black, and clear.  They should be cut to the length of each side of the glass, then stuck to the outer edges of the glass using the adhesive side of the spacer.  (Note: not the sides of the glass; the outer edges of the flat part.)  Then simply frame the photograph as usual, ensuring that the spacer is in-between the glass and the photo.  I have never found spacers on any store shelves, but again, any framing shop should have them.  You just have to ask.  Spacers are also inexpensive, usually costing around one dollar each. 

 

A word of caution: if you decide to have a photograph or any other work of art framed professionally, and you choose not to use a mat, do not assume that the frame shop will use a spacer.  Often they will not unless the customer specifically requests one.  A woman I know, who did not know about spacers and therefore did not know to ask for them, spent several hundred dollars at a popular, national-chain framing shop to get a photograph of significant sentimental value framed without a mat.  She trusted the framers to do what was necessary to properly frame her cherished photograph.  I was with her when she picked up the finished package, and was astonished to see that the photograph was simply pressed against the glass.  Especially given how much she paid for a professional framer, this was simply unacceptable.  I refused to allow her to accept the package as it was, and insisted that a spacer be added.  It took the frame shop no more than ten minutes to make the correction, and added five dollars in parts and labor to the price tag – well worth the many extra years of enjoyment that the woman could now expect to get out of her photograph.  Bottom line: if someone else is framing your art behind glass for you, it is essential that you specifically request spacers if no mats will be used. 

 

 

 

Grouping Multiple Pieces of Art on a Wall

Whether you are grouping photographs or paintings, creating an array of art on a single wall can have a big visual impact. Wall groupings can be used to create an atmosphere, to accent a particular feature of a room, or to simply keep a room from looking empty. Whatever your goal for a particular space, keeping a few guidelines in mind will help you achieve your goal with minimal frustration.

1) Small images can be given more visual impact by grouping them together. This gives the images more of a visual presence, drawing the eye to them more than a single small image alone generally does. Especially if the images are of the same shape and size, they can be hung in a tight group (2” or less apart), creating the visual sensation that each is a portion of a whole.

2) When mixing large and small pictures, use the larger pieces as your anchors; put them in the middle and/or bottom to prevent your arrangement from seeming top-heavy and unstable. A common exception to this rule is when you are including a panoramic. These are often put at the top of an arrangement, acting as a visual “lid.”

3) Combine vertical and horizontal images together in one grouping. This adds visual punch, and helps to keep the arrangement from looking stale.

4) Pictures do not have to line up neatly! They should be evenly spaced, but play with varying their heights and horizontal alignments. Arcing pieces, starting with the largest at the bottom (imagine the stereotypical depiction of a shooting star, including its tail), can do a magnificent job of leading the eye and creating a sensation of movement in a room. The overall symmetry should be balanced, but that does not mean that the two sides of an arrangement need to be mirror images. Multiple small pictures can provide the same visual weight as a single large picture.

5) Images in a group should have one or more unifying elements. This can be things such as subject matter (family, African wildlife, French bistros, etc), all color or all black and white, matching frames or frame colors, or even just matching mats. There should be at least one common thread running through all of the finished pieces to create a sense of cohesion. Note that images do not need to be framed identically in order to create a successful grouping. My first rule of thumb in framing any image is to ensure that the frame and mats complement the image. If any particular framing job looks great in the room but does not suit the image, either the frame should be changed, or a new image should be found that works well with the frame. Remember, the image is the art; the frame, though very important, is secondary (unless the object being framed is a mirror; in this case, the frame can, but does not have to, serve as the main portion of art.). That having been said, if the images are similar, framing them identically can accentuate the unifying elements of them. For example, a series of three shots of your child diving off of a diving board tell a story, and framing them identically can accentuate that narration while complementing each picture in its own right.

6) Tell stories with your groupings. Creating visual narrations draws the viewer in and keeps them interested.

7) If you are aiming to create an intimate, welcoming atmosphere, you should consider placing furniture -- especially chairs, sofas, and other items that invite spending time in the direct vicinity of the artwork -- either directly under or near the art. This invites the viewer to come in close and allows the art to become a part of their surroundings, even if only as a background piece. If, however, you aim to have the art be the uncontested focal point of the room, ensure that no furniture is near it, and that the view of the piece is not obstructed. This draws the eye and holds it, but also creates a little distance between the viewer and the art. The piece will command the viewers’ attention, but will not necessarily allow them to get cozy enough with it to allow it to fade into the background.

8) Be cautious about mixing photographs and other artwork, such as paintings or charcoals. Though it is possible for them to coincide peacefully, most of the time they will compete with each other for the viewer’s attention.

9) Lastly, remember that like all decorating guidelines, these are simply guidelines. Play. Experiment. You may find that breaking one or all of these “rules” will give you exactly the look you desire. Just remember to use paper templates taped to your walls first, as discussed last month, so you don’t end up with dozens of unnecessary holes in your walls.

Jodi

City Escapes Nature Photography

http://www.cityescapesphotography.com

Choosing the Proper-Sized Photograph for a Given Wall

 

You have found THE photograph that you want, and you know just where you want to hang it.  The only decision left to make is how large to print it.  This can be a surprisingly frustrating question to answer.  So, as you are pondering it, here are a few things to consider.

 

First of all, note how much space you have overall in the area where you want to hang the print.  While it is obvious that a larger picture will take up more wall space, it also requires a greater viewing distance.  For example, hanging a large picture in a hallway may not give the viewer adequate room to step back and take in the entire image, though it may be fine for examining the details of the work.  However, hanging the image at the end of a long hallway just might provide enough space. 

 

Also, larger prints tend to be focal points, drawing the viewer’s attention to themselves and things around them.  Is where you want to hang the image the focal point of that space, or will the print be competing with something else?  This is one of the reasons you will often see larger prints hung over mantels; the print and the fireplace work together to provide a distinctive focal point to the room.  Remember also that smaller pictures grouped together perform the same function, and should be considered a single unit for decorating purposes.  (More on multiple smaller prints grouped together will be in next month’s design blog.)

 

Large prints can crowd small spaces, while conversely, a too small print can be lost in a large space.  Also consider the orientation of the photograph to understand how it will affect the look of the wall.  Vertical images emphasize height in a room, while horizontal images emphasize width.  This may seem an obvious concept, but the actual visualization of the effect can sometimes be a bit more challenging. 

 

Prints should not crowd furniture.  As a general rule, they should be no more than 2/3 – 3/4 the width of the furniture below them, and the bottom edge of the frame should sit at least 6 – 8 inches above the furniture.  Prints should generally be hung at eye level for the average person.  However, larger prints on higher walls might need to be hung higher to maintain a sense of balance.  

 

Consider the lighting in the area you wish to hang the image.  Can you light the image properly at a given size?  If not, are you willing to add lighting?  This could be something as simple as a frame light or a free-standing lamp, or as elaborate as installing track lighting.  Just as lighting is critical in the proper creation of a stunning photograph, it is also essential in its proper display.

 

While many people will consider the ramifications upon art size of having small children in the home (Can they reach it?  Will you come home to find your beautiful wedding portrait covered in small chocolate hand prints, or worse, in pieces on the ground, with an injured child nearby?), an often overlooked consideration is whether or not you have pets, especially medium to large dogs with appropriately long tails.  Though most pet owners who fall into this category quickly become aware of the “clean-sweeping” potential of these tails, and modify the items stored on top of coffee and side tables accordingly, art hung on walls is sometimes overlooked as a potential victim of the excited swooshes of a wagging tail.  The larger the piece, the more wall it covers, and the lower the bottom of the frame will be to the floor, making it more susceptible to getting knocked off the wall or to getting pieces of fur caught in the frame. 

 

With all of these things in mind, perhaps the single best thing you can do to help decide how big to make your print is to cut out a paper template in your preferred size and actually attach it to your wall (painter’s tape works well because of its easy-release adhesive).  Be sure to include the dimensions of the entire package, including mats and frame, as these can substantially increase the overall dimensions of the piece.  Leave the template in place for a few days to get a feel for how the size works on a day-to-day basis.  Make adjustments as necessary.  And remember, when it comes to decorating, there are no hard and fast rules, only suggestions.  What matters most is what looks and feels right to you.

 

Happy decorating!

 

Jodi Gaylord

City Escapes Nature Photography

www.cityescapesphotography.com

 

Which is preferable, framed canvas prints or Gallery Wraps?

That is by and large a matter of personal preference. Frames do add a degree of structural support and protection for the canvas, especially on the larger sizes, but they certainly are not required for the successful display of your canvas. A framed canvas works well with many different decors, from rustic to homey to sophisticated, to everything in between. Frames highlight the art within, and when done properly, complement the image by defining and delineating its space, accenting its color scheme, and generally giving the image a “finished” feeling. Framed images also seem “normal” to our eyes – we are accustomed to seeing prints in frames.

Gallery wraps tend to work best in decors that lean toward the modern. They are clean and minimalist, having no defining border around the front of the image. Their simplicity is their genius; there is nothing but the image to draw the viewer’s eye. Of course, this lack of a defining border leaves the viewer open to distraction from whatever may be in close proximity to the gallery wrap. For this reason, gallery wraps are especially effective in areas where the wrap has a bit of empty space around it, allowing the wall itself to lend significance to the image.

When considering a gallery wrap, it should be remembered that they, like all of our canvas prints, have a bit of thickness to them, and are not flat like a paper print. Though the finished piece will not have the depth of a traditional photo frame, all of our canvas prints are stretched on wooden stretcher frames. Gallery wraps, therefore, are still about an inch thick. The sides of the wrap will be black, white, or a continuation of the image itself, as determined on a case-by-case basis by what works best with each individual image.

Why should I consider canvas prints?

We find that canvas adds a beautiful texture and a classic feel to our images. The very slight roughness of the canvas surface lends a certain three-dimensionality to the images, emphasizing textures and depth. Additionally, many clients and visitors to our shows tell us that canvas evokes the impression of a painting; indeed, several viewers have actually mistakenly confused some of our canvas-printed photographs for paintings.

Additionally, no glass is used to frame a canvas print. Being glass-free has several advantages:

• the necessity for glare control is eliminated.
  
• the piece is lighter in weight than an identically-sized, framed paper print, and is therefore able to be hung in places where a heavy frame might be too much for the supporting structures.
  
• no glass means no irritating streaks on glass that are difficult to remove.
  
• shipping is safer, as there is no glass to break if the box gets dropped or mishandled. While severe mishandling could still break the frame, broken glass creates the possibility of damaging the print underneath, or more importantly, the person opening the box. No glass means no glass shards.