Framing square format photos?

D

david.elliott

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Hello all,

New printer is on the way along with a bunch of 8.5x11 and 13x19 epson ultra premium matte and luster paper.

Many of my photos are taken with my rolleiflex and, for digital, I often crop to square format. How do you recommend framing square format photos? Do you just have a square frame? Or do you use a frame that is longer in one direction than the other?

Any help with frame dimensions would be great.

I've never done any framing before so please kindly note my ignorance and take it into account in your replies. :) General framing advice for other aspect ratios would also be welcome.

Thanks!
 
Well, you can go square of course. That's always nice. And Ikea makes some great square frames.

Otherwise, I think you need to go portrait. I really like smaller square prints in oversized portrait frames with the print north of centre. Affected, perhaps, but I think it looks great.
 
Paddy C said:
Well, you can go square of course. That's always nice. And Ikea makes some great square frames.

Otherwise, I think you need to go portrait. I really like smaller square prints in oversized portrait frames with the print north of centre. Affected, perhaps, but I think it looks great.
Click to expand...

You mean just offset slightly north of center or quite far north?
 
I think it depends on the scene. I agree that, usually, offset and not centered can have better effect. I use rectangular frames.
 
I hate framing, matting, all that. It's worth it to enlarger print on fiber paper so you can dry mount the photos on foam board and hang it simply just like that. The reflections from the glass are not fun either when you frame stuff.
 
Its normal practice to make the bottom border bigger than the top border due to an optical illusion that can make the image look bottom heavy in the frame if you don't.
However, my personal opinion is that for smallish prints its not that critical but as your prints get bigger you do need to do it. So square or rectangular is optional. You only need to make the bottom border slightly bigger but some people like to really over do it. I think that is just being pretentious cos it really doesn't add anything to the image. What you are looking for is well balanced framing which sets the image off nicely without drawing attention away from the image.

Suggest you draw some mockups with frames in PS and then you'll get it right.
 
Is competition an issue for you

Is competition an issue for you

If so, finding out judging guidelines for any jurors/judges both in terms of framing rules, and judging emphasis will be important.

I have a friend (retired art history professor) who belongs to an association and judges many shows.

I have heard him say for square... white only in competition, and weighted toward the bottom, meaning image slightly above center as a couple of standards for photos being judged. The emphasis is that framing and mounting should be consistent with judging the image, and not the entire presentation. Colored mats not allowed in many professionally judged competions.

For this type of information you may want to contact regional competitions, as in photo clubs, fairs and similar events, and see if you can contact a couple of judges who participate in competitions in your area. Art galleries in your area dealing in fine art photography may be helpful.

We have a local high end art framing company owner in our town who has made presentations at our camera club. She is quite a good speaker and very creative. She deals with framing relative to decor and placement, as well as both simple and intricate framing. Just walking through her establishment in very educational.

Her take on color mats is that a color mat should always pick up one of the less dominant colors from the image. B&W should never be framed in color, but shades of BW may be involved, again depending on shade or hues of BW in the image.
 
matt border widths are dependant on frame moulding width. Again its really dependant on what looks balanced. Generally between 2 and 4 inches matt border on sides and top with a little more at the bottom.

For an 8x12 print I like to use a 12x16 frame which gives a 2 inch matt border all borders being equal. But it really depends on your actual image size. sometimes a 1 inch matt is plenty with a wide frame moulding. Other times it isn't. Can depend on the image and its colouring which is why taking to a professional framer who has a range of matt colours and frames to try is often the best thing to do.
 
david.elliott said:
You mean just offset slightly north of center or quite far north?
Click to expand...

I don't frame myself so I'm going on memory here, but I'm thinking the bottom edge of the print is actually above the centre of the horizontal centre of the frame. You see LOTS of mat board.
 
Steve M. said:
I hate framing, matting, all that. It's worth it to enlarger print on fiber paper so you can dry mount the photos on foam board and hang it simply just like that. The reflections from the glass are not fun either when you frame stuff.
Click to expand...

I'm going to use anti-glare acrylic. :)
 
135format said:
Its normal practice to make the bottom border bigger than the top border due to an optical illusion that can make the image look bottom heavy in the frame if you don't.
However, my personal opinion is that for smallish prints its not that critical but as your prints get bigger you do need to do it. So square or rectangular is optional. You only need to make the bottom border slightly bigger but some people like to really over do it. I think that is just being pretentious cos it really doesn't add anything to the image. What you are looking for is well balanced framing which sets the image off nicely without drawing attention away from the image.

Suggest you draw some mockups with frames in PS and then you'll get it right.
Click to expand...

If only I had photoshop!

It looks like, for an 8x8 print, that if I put about 3/4" - 1" extra at the bottom, it looks pretty good. But that is just me trying to mess about with legal size paper. :|
 
kuzano said:
If so, finding out judging guidelines for any jurors/judges both in terms of framing rules, and judging emphasis will be important.

I have a friend (retired art history professor) who belongs to an association and judges many shows.

I have heard him say for square... white only in competition, and weighted toward the bottom, meaning image slightly above center as a couple of standards for photos being judged. The emphasis is that framing and mounting should be consistent with judging the image, and not the entire presentation. Colored mats not allowed in many professionally judged competions.

For this type of information you may want to contact regional competitions, as in photo clubs, fairs and similar events, and see if you can contact a couple of judges who participate in competitions in your area. Art galleries in your area dealing in fine art photography may be helpful.

We have a local high end art framing company owner in our town who has made presentations at our camera club. She is quite a good speaker and very creative. She deals with framing relative to decor and placement, as well as both simple and intricate framing. Just walking through her establishment in very educational.

Her take on color mats is that a color mat should always pick up one of the less dominant colors from the image. B&W should never be framed in color, but shades of BW may be involved, again depending on shade or hues of BW in the image.
Click to expand...

No competitions in my future, but thank you for the info. Good stuff.

I'm just going to put some prints in my office and hang up a few here at home too.

Guess I may need to look up some galleries in the area and give one or two a call.
 
frame square photos in a rectangular frame, hanging vertically. Use a bigger border on the bottom of the mat.
 
I have always preferred a matted square frame, borders are even (the weighted bottom does not do justice to square images).
 
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