Trends in Framing

[Mike Guilbault]

This may be a little off topic here - but since most of you guys print and frame your own work, I thought this was the most logical place to ask.

I realize that Gallery Wraps are extremely popular right now, but are there other trends in framing your prints? 

For example, for B&W photography, is the white mat and thin black frame still the most widely used/accepted method of framing?  Are other mat colours being used?  And what about colour?

[Alan Goldhammer]

This may be a little off topic here - but since most of you guys print and frame your own work, I thought this was the most logical place to ask.

I realize that Gallery Wraps are extremely popular right now, but are there other trends in framing your prints? 

For example, for B&W photography, is the white mat and thin black frame still the most widely used/accepted method of framing?  Are other mat colours being used?  And what about colour?

I use the same black Nielsen frames (Profile 11) and white rag matboard for color and B&W.  Mount images on archival foam board.

[Ken]

I have no idea what the current trends are, but at our gallery (known in the area for high-end paintings), "traditional" 8-ply white mat and black wood frame is what sells. 

[dgberg]

Maybe not the trend,just what we are selling.
Top 10 in order of popularity.
1 Canvas gallery wraps
2 Canvas on Dibond with standout mounting frame.
3 Canvas on gatorboard
4 Metalic print unframed
5 Fine art paper prints with no matte or frame
6 Metal prints with standout mounting frame
7 Fine art prints mounted to gatorboard with Clearjet finish
8 Canvas roll print
9 Canvas print on gatorboard in metal frame
10 Fine art print matted with foamcore backer ready to frame
Did not make the top 10, face mounted photos to plexi.
Anything that does not have a frame of some sort is mounted and framed by the customer.

[Mike Guilbault]

When selling framed prints, are you using UV glass/reflection control/clear, etc? 
Do you generally leave a border around the print within the mat or mat the print right up to the image?

[dgberg]

Believe it or not we do not sell any framed prints with glass.
Mainly because I push canvas and alternative medias.
I do sell the occasional matted print with a foamcore back ready for framing.
I am probably the wrong guy to ask if you are looking for standard mounting and framing.
I wanted a business model that offered alternative media printing and mounting.
We leave the local framers do the framing,matting and mounting with glass. We offer everything else.

[neile]

When selling framed prints, are you using UV glass/reflection control/clear, etc? 
Do you generally leave a border around the print within the mat or mat the print right up to the image?

I always use TruVue Acrylite Conservation ReflectionControl as the glazing and mat right up to the print.

Neil

[GEOFFREYJAMES]

Nothing dates more quickly than a frame.  I used to like the all-acrylic boxes made by Kulicke in NY,  but they disappeared years ago. The nice thing is that they were invisible.  I also have a couple of wonderful hand-made frames by Cole or Neil Weston in Carmel -- a delicate, brushed, stainless steel frame,  with,  unfortunately, a clip=in, non-archival backing.  The simpler the better is my philosophy.  Mike -- the Gilder on Morrow ave in Toronto is a really good framer,  but you will pay for it.  I  get his 16-20 painted wood frames (off white)-- again delicate,  and the paint is from Amsterdam from the same store Rembrandt used.  Or something like that.  

[Rusty]

I will put a half point line around the print edge, just to contain it and mat to 1/8" from the print edge 3 sides, 1/4" on bottom where I will sign and date in the white. I also sign on the reverse with year image made, year image printed. Print using LR.

[Luca Ragogna]

I don't like the frame to distract from the photography so I always go for the thin black frame/white mat combo. Plus I find that the simpler frames are classic and don't get dated. It's like a white t-shirt and jeans, never really out of fashion.

[bill t.]

I don't worry about looking dated.  I recognize that most of my potential clients are very decor-oriented, even though many of them won't admit it if directly challenged.  I am puzzled by the notion that my photography is so good that no frame is worthy of it.  I personally can't recall ever seeing a photograph that was diminished by appropriate framing.

So I do this kind of treatment.  Canvas, liner, veneer.  No glazing.  Signature on the print.  Not counting photographers, that look is attractive to a lot of people who are out to buy a piece of art.  Sometimes I drop the linen liner for hardcore contemporarians or as a price concession.

Think sofa sized, right around 3x6 feet.  Don't bother with anything much smaller if you want to make a living.  Every week gallery owners see 10 photographers walk in the door with 16x20 frames painted Boring Black Matte, but they only get about 2 decent sofa-sized photographers per year.

This look has gotten me into some very nice venues some of which don't normally take photography, and it sells well to the folks with money in their pockets.

[dgberg]

Bill,
Very nice job!

[davidh202]

I realize that Gallery Wraps are extremely popular right now, but are there other trends in framing your prints?  

For example, for B&W photography, is the white mat and thin black frame still the most widely used/accepted method of framing?  Are other mat colours being used?  And what about colour?

    Since photographs in essence tend to be a contemporary art form, the gallery wrap is indeed popular since it is a neat clean contemporary look which lends itself to that decor, and many photographers don't have to worry about framing choices.  
    I have been a custom picture framer for over 20 years and have always used narrow metal or wood frames on most photography except portraits (even casual portraits), to which I  usually suggest  a more substantial and formal framing treatment either with or without matting, dependant on media used, the intended placement, and clients likes or dislikes .
   There are many ways to enhance  portraits which include liners, and mats, and fillets combined with mats and liners,and even going so far as to use double or triple frames for a very unique look dependant on the clients budget.
I always give the clients a few choices and leave the decision to them.

     Most other large photos, especially B&W, get a conservative white, grey, or black matting treatment usually covering the white print borders (unless signed and numbered that the client wishes to show ).A double white mat with either a space between or a 1/4 to 1/2" reveal (or both), is very classy.
   For the past couple of years I have been using Nielsons #117 profile quite a lot as it is a very clean, contemporary, squared off profile which comes in many colors and finishes and is much nicer than the much older #5 or #15 rounded.I do tend to be conservative using mostly neutrals,unless the client wants bold colors dependant on the subject matter.

[Ernst Dinkla]

So I do this kind of treatment.  Canvas, liner, veneer.  No glazing.  Signature on the print.  Not counting photographers, that look is attractive to a lot of people who are out to buy a piece of art.  Sometimes I drop the linen liner for hardcore contemporarians or as a price concession.

The canvas a fine mesh to show more detail or an "artistic" burlap type ?   The canvas stretched on a thin board and mounted in front ? 
It is not my taste, well done though and I understand it fits a market, probably more US than Europe but I could be wrong on that.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst

Dinkla Gallery Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop

http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/index.html

[bill t.]

Fine textured, sharp-printing canvas mounted on Gatorfoam.  Very high resolution stitched images around 100+ megapixels, most with HDR and some with focus blending.  So the images can be viewed nose-distance even on the biggest prints.

I'm honestly not trying to mimic oil painting, although I must say the deep shadow penetration and bright area definition of naturalistic HDR does invite that comparison.  After all, that's how the brain interprets the world, with several more stops of dynamic range than a camera. Which is therefore how realistic painters construct their images.

Almost everybody who sees these pieces comments that they “look like oil paintings” to which I reply, “no, it's extended range photography.”  But as far as I'm really concerned...I'm in the image business, and photography is my brush of convenience.  I make images that appeal strongly to certain groups of people, and photography is a good way to do it.  My buyers spend their money for the image and the decor statement of its presentation, with very little thought to the medium.

I also do some gallery wraps, but for me rather plush framing sells a lot better.

To keep it short, the people who are buying art in these hard times are mostly wanting to decorate their houses, offices, reception areas and hotels.  Decor matters a lot to them.  Thin black frames do not look like decor to most of them, most especially in large sizes above about 20x24 inches.  At least in New Mexico.

I should mention that framers do sell a lot of thin black moulding with white mattes.  But in rather small sizes.  The choice is usually made by customers too timid and lacking in confidence to think very far outside the safest of paradigms.  Better to be safe than sorry.  But show them a better option fully realized and they will often choose it.  Feel free to disagree with this, but I think it's spot on.

I have never much liked the minimalist presentation that seems to go with photography.  I'm really not sure why minimalism should be the rule, except perhaps as the echo of some aesthetic manifesto from art wars early in the 20th century.  Anybody have thoughts on this?  Should photography snub or minimalize decor?  And why?

[Ernst Dinkla]

Fine textured, sharp-printing canvas mounted on Gatorfoam.  Very high resolution stitched images around 100+ megapixels, most with HDR and some with focus blending.  So the images can be viewed nose-distance even on the biggest prints.

Alright, I get the picture. It is something I have thought about, there is a size where a fine canvas will not reduce image quality compared to good papers and it allows other types of mounting that doesn't have  to look like a painting.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst

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http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm

[davidby]

Bill- thanks for the great info on where you've found success selling prints and the image of a beautifully crafted piece of art.

I'm pretty new to this, and have only been selling prints in any kind of numbers for the last two years. I'm also brand new to having a 44" printer (until last week limited was to 24"), and have primarily been selling canvas prints in 1" profile matte black aluminum frames (which I cut from stock myself- canvas is glued to MDF board)- a method that's very inexpensive, quick, and easy, but clearly not suitable for larger, more expensive prints.

With the bigger prints (which will be going into a local gallery immediately), I've been doing gallery wraps, but like Bill, I think a more elegant presentation will bring a better price, at least in up-market locations. My question is this- with most galleries getting 40+%, how can you afford to use such a nice frame- if it costs you $150 to frame, the first $300 of the sale is going to pay for the frame plus the gallery's cut. I'm not sure exactly what my pricing will be-I was thinking around $800 for a gallery wrap that's around 32" x 48". If I were to put a really nice mount and frame on this, the cost would be pretty significant, especially if I count my labor at a reasonable value (I also do carpentry and have an extensive shop)- I can't imagine what a good quality framer would charge? I used to make some beautiful custom cherry frames, and it's been my experience that people won't value such things enough that I can offset the cost after the mark-up.

I'd love to hear how others deal with this...

David

[Ken]

canvas is glued to MDF board

What kind of glue do you use and how do you apply it?'

Does the glue affect the canvas and image in any way (including longevity)?

[davidby]

I use white (not yellow) Elmer's Glue (which is polyvinyl acetate- supposedly non-reactive and often sold in much more expensive packaging for this purpose) which I thin about 15% with hot water and paint onto the MDF with a 3" paint brush. After laying the canvas on it I use a paper towel rubbed over the surface to squeeze out any air bubbles, then turn it over and trim to the edge of the board with a razor knife (with self repairing mat underneath). So far the MDF seems to be completely non-reactive but it certainly couldn't be considered 'archival'.

Hope that helps...

[Ken]

Thanks David. You certainly don't have to worry about canvas sagging with that method, and once you have the MDF cut to size, it seems to be as quick to do and less expensive than the gallery wrap products. There's a white glue that comes with gallery wrap products sold by a few vendors, and it's labeled "archival". Of course that could mean anything, but I wonder if it's the same white glue that you're using. I couldn't get an answer from Hahnemühle.