Black mat or white (including off-white)?

Black mat

0 (0%)

White mat

12 (80%)

Neither - I prefer a colour

2 (13.3%)

Neither - I prefer grey/gray

1 (6.7%)

Total Members Voted: 15

Voting closed: August 14, 2014, 01:35:38 pm

[luxborealis]

I've started this thread in response to a discussion Lonnie Utah and I are having over on another thread.

Please respond, not just with your vote, but why you prefer one over the other. Of course, there is no definitive correct answer as it comes down to personal preference or what works with a particular photograph.

Here is the lead up to this poll...

In a photograph, your eyes are naturally attracted to the lightest part of the image. If this happens to be a white mat or border, then that's what your eyes are attracted to (and not the image itself). That's why I say ALWAYS black for mats (and borders if you choose). It's not just aesthetics, it's psychology.

True, the image certainly "pops" more, but, psychology has many twists... as soon as you put glass over a black mat, guess what it becomes? – a mirror. Guess what people will then be more interested in? – your right, themselves. Not everyone, but a surprising number.

I never realized this until a gallery owner pointed it out to me by suggesting I just sit and watch for bit to see what happens in front of the black matted photographs. Funny, eh?!

There is also a difference in the feeling of space between white mats and black. Black gives the feeling of looking in through a window or door or viewfinder (or peepshow) causing the viewer to feel enclosed, a feeling you don't tend to get with white.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Black background works wonderfully on monitors. Not so much for prints on walls. Most walls are light colored or even white (in most galleries), in which case a black matte is rather "heavy" visually, attracting more attention to itself than the image.

Terry, never thought about reflections, but it makes perfect sense.

[Chairman Bill]

I frame my prints with a simple black frame & a slightly off-white mount/mat. It gives a uniform look, fits in OK with most decor, and gives the effect of bringing the image forward, whereas a black mount/mat would cause it to recede.

[PeterAit]

I frame my prints with a simple black frame & a slightly off-white mount/mat. It gives a uniform look, fits in OK with most decor, and gives the effect of bringing the image forward, whereas a black mount/mat would cause it to recede.

I agree with Bill., although I will sometimes use a graphite/dark gray frame as well as black. It's too bad that off white/ivory was not a survey choice. I would no sooner mat a photo with black than I would create a web page with a black background - it just screams "bad taste" (no offense to anyone, but that's what I see).

As for eyes being led to this or that part of the photo or other artwork, it's depressing how many artists are not aware of the research that has been done in this area. Scientists can actually determine, with great accuracy, where exactly a person is looking, and it turns out that all the theories about leading lines and focal points and light areas the like is just a bunch of hooey. That's not how people work. Maybe these elements are still valuable in a photo - but not because they "draw" peoples' eyes.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... Scientists can actually determine, with great accuracy, where exactly a person is looking, and it turns out that all the theories about leading lines and focal points and light areas the like is just a bunch of hooey...

Any links to support that?

[PeterAit]

Any links to support that?

No, sheesh, do your own research! But, it may be buried in the academic psychology literature that I spent so much time perusing as a student.

[Ed B]

I would no sooner mat a photo with black than I would create a web page with a black background - it just screams "bad taste" (no offense to anyone, but that's what I see).

Why do you think black backgrounds on web pages are bad taste? Anyone who ever shot chrome film knows masking the backlight from a light table makes a chrome look better by bringing out the shadows. A backlit web page is no different.

[Schewe]

Please respond, not just with your vote, but why you prefer one over the other. Of course, there is no definitive correct answer as it comes down to personal preference or what works with a particular photograph.

Are you asking for a majority of the time (>50%) or more of an absolute? To be honest, I think it depends on the image, the frame and the location in which it will be hung. The only matte color I've never used for prints is black (although I used to matte 8x10 chromes in black for obvious reasons). Also, I shy way away from a color for a matte (but would let a buyer do so if they really wanted to).

truth be told, a lot of my prints are framed without a matte showing the photo paper to the edges in the frame...I like the simplicity eliminating that extra inner rectangle.

Just my opinion.

[Alan Klein]

I like black borders on on-line photos.  It brings out the picture.  Interestingly, I did a whole lot of color prints with mats that would pick up one of the main colors in the photo.

[PeterAit]

Why do you think black backgrounds on web pages are bad taste? Anyone who ever shot chrome film knows masking the backlight from a light table makes a chrome look better by bringing out the shadows. A backlit web page is no different.

As I tried to make clear, it's just my taste - there's no "why" to it. I agree about the backlighting and that's why I use a medium-to-dark gray background. I guess with black there would be too much contrast between image and background. Same reason I don't like to watch TV or work on a computer in a room that's completely dark.

[ErikKaffehr]

Pretty much my point…

I would prefer black, if walls were dark. Fortunately, they are normally bright.

Best regards
Erik

Black background works wonderfully on monitors. Not so much for prints on walls. Most walls are light colored or even white (in most galleries), in which case a black matte is rather "heavy" visually, attracting more attention to itself than the image.

Terry, never thought about reflections, but it makes perfect sense.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I always use white museum board mats and black metal frames (fairly thin) on prints. Partly because, as Erik said, walls are generally bright, but also because I'm somewhat of a traditionalist. What was good enough for Ansel, Edward and Minor is good enough for me.

On monitors I usually prefer a dark gray background, but the choice there sometimes depends on the tones in the image.

[brianrybolt]

W. Eugene Smith mounted his photos using black matts.

Brian

[melchiorpavone]

Black. Always. The pupil of the eye tends to "close down" when viewing white, making the shadow areas less visible. This is a no-brainer.

[PeterAit]

Black. Always. The pupil of the eye tends to "close down" when viewing white, making the shadow areas less visible. This is a no-brainer.

No brainer? Perhaps accurate for the poster. Eyes don't work that way.

[luxborealis]

truth be told, a lot of my prints are framed without a matte showing the photo paper to the edges in the frame...I like the simplicity eliminating that extra inner rectangle.

Just my opinion.

Jeff – Any problems with the ink contacting the inside of the glass?

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... Any problems with the ink contacting the inside of the glass?

There are little thingies, plastic clamps called, I think,  "spacers" that, when attached to the glass, act as a space between the glass and the print.

[Schewe]

Jeff – Any problems with the ink contacting the inside of the glass?

Nope because I use a spacer to have the paper away from the glass :~)

[One Frame at a Time]

I've been using both black and white lately.  Single mats, but thick 8 ply.  Some photos look better against one or the other. I like night shots and predominantly dark images against black better.  That said, I think too many dark mats on one section of wall looks too heavy.  I don't like to mix black and white mats on a section either.  So the black mats work when only one or 2 images are displayed on a wall.  My 2 cents fwiw.