What is your view on adding borders to your photos?

[batmura]

I was wondering what everyone's views are on adding borders to photos. Do you add borders to your images? How do you decide what kind of border suits a certain type of photo? Or do you decide whether you will add any borders from image to image? What are your criteria? What is your opinion on thick white borders used by some people so that they can add their water mark on it? Do you feel borders can actually negatively affect or contribute to the mood intended to portray? Finally, a question to professional photographers who sell their work: is it you or the client that determines whether there should or shouldn't be borders on their images?

Thanks!

 

[Superfitz]

Ugh...borders...I despise borders. I only put them on if someone asks for them. Even then, i do so under protest.

 

[tirediron]

I don't add borders to images. Anything I print will normally be matted, so adding a border would be pointless, and for images viewed on-line, well, I'm just not fond of the look. If a client wanted borders added, I'd do it, but I wouldn't suggest it.

 

[Light Guru]

I was wondering what everyone's views are on adding borders to photos. Do you add borders to your images? How do you decide what kind of border suits a certain type of photo? Or do you decide whether you will add any borders from image to image? What are your criteria? What is your opinion on thick white borders used by some people so that they can add their water mark on it? Do you feel borders can actually negatively affect or contribute to the mood intended to portray? Finally, a question to professional photographers who sell their work: is it you or the client that determines whether there should or shouldn't be borders on their images?

Fake digital boarders look cheesy, the only borders that look good are when you have a print matted.

 

[snowbear]

I put them on silver (analog) prints, but not digital images.

 

[KmH]

Presentation is the final step in making visual images.

Yes, I sometimes add borders to my images, and to customer images.

The style of border added is largely determined by image content.

My criteria varies based on the final product.

I leave a white border on all my fine art prints so I can hand sign them in the border. For limited editions I also hand write the edition number, like 12 of 20.

Borders, or a mat, can be used to help separate a print from whatever background it is in front of. Most prints look better if they are surrounded by some blank space that has some bottom weight.

Part of the reason people had me make images for them was because I was able to show them in advance ways to display the images to maximum advantage.

I did an edit that has a bottom weighted single mat in this thread - http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/landscape-cityscape/331368-san-diego-c-c.html

This was done in Photoshop to simulate a framed print with a double mat: