Framing and Matting Odd-Size Photos

[William Baroo]

Photo software programs contain a little joke. When you crop, they default to whatever standard proportions your camera puts out. To fix photos properly, you have to switch over to "unconstrained" to get a proper crop, unless your shots just happen to match common sizes perfectly.

A new printer is arriving today, and my wife and I plan to frame a lot of shots for our walls. Some will be in standard proportions, but some won't. I don't want to pay to have custom mats made for dozens of photos unless I have to, so what do most people here do in this situation? Are any of the DIY mat tools worth having?

For very large shots that were printed somewhere else, I have used custom-sized frames from Amazon, but I don't see myself doing that for a large number of smaller photos.

 

[Ysarex96 90]

Photo software programs contain a little joke. When you crop, they default to whatever standard proportions your camera puts out. To fix photos properly, you have to switch over to "unconstrained" to get a proper crop, unless your shots just happen to match common sizes perfectly.

A new printer is arriving today, and my wife and I plan to frame a lot of shots for our walls. Some will be in standard proportions, but some won't. I don't want to pay to have custom mats made for dozens of photos unless I have to, so what do most people here do in this situation? Are any of the DIY mat tools worth having?

For very large shots that were printed somewhere else, I have used custom-sized frames from Amazon, but I don't see myself doing that for a large number of smaller photos.

I cut all my own mats.

Logan 4000 Deluxe Pull Style

www.logangraphic.com

 

[William Baroo]

Thanks. You're happy with the result?

I received another suggestion: printing photos with large white borders around them and putting them in standard frames.

 

[webestang6419 1]

printing photos with large white borders around them and putting them in standard frames.

Customers at the lab I work at do that. Just make sure the glass does not touch the photo which means you will have to mount them
and use these...... Frame Destination

 

[William Baroo]

What do people do about photos that are cut to fit cropped proportions and then matted in standard frames? The proportions of the frames will not match the photos and mats.

 

[Ysarex96 90]

Thanks. You're happy with the result?

Yes. I do a much better job than the framing shops.

I received another suggestion: printing photos with large white borders around them and putting them in standard frames.

 

[snowbear125 56]

I use standard size frames and make the mat to fit the frame as well as the photo. I don't always go with a white mat; it depends on the photo.

 

[William Baroo]

I bought an old print of a painting, and my baby son turned on a bidet attachment and sprayed it with water. Getting that piece of junk redone cost me $88, so I am glad to hear that DIY jobs can be done well.

 

[Ozzie_Traveller6 4]

G'day mate

I have used this unit for 20+/- yrs ... using replacement blades every so often as needed ... and it does a beaut job. Cardboard from a local Office Supplies store and external dimensions to suit whatever frame is suitable for the image, and obtained from one of many local stores
Hope this helps
Phil

 

[TJMcG122 6]

What do people do about photos that are cut to fit cropped proportions and then matted in standard frames? The proportions of the frames will not match the photos and mats.

You cut the mat to fit the frame, and the window to fit the print. I have used the Logan Team System for decades and I also make some of own frames. They have bigger, better, and more expensive options also.

 

[TJMcG122 6]

Here is another Logan option: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...MIqYC854mKkgMVqiZECB3QSCGaEAQYASABEgLsLPD_BwE

 

[TJMcG122 6]

I am glad to hear that DIY jobs can be done well.

It takes some practice. Matboard can get pricey.

 

[William Baroo]

Thanks for all the help. I'm not afraid of the price of the board, given what I paid to have a shop do it for me. Can't be anything like that bad.

 

[snowbear125 56]

And you are better off with good acid-free materials. I've seen the lower quality stuff turn brown in just a couple years.

 

[SunriseAvenue]

How about adding color-matched borders around the photo so that the printed piece would be bigger and would fit the frame better? I did this a couple of times and it worked just fine. However, if the picture is too small, you might want to consider making a collage out of some of them and print them as a collage, not as separate ones.