Portraits from Honey Bee Photography are more than just a photo, or a documentation of your child growing up; your portraits are art, and ought to be displayed as such.  Below are tips on choosing the best mats and frames for your portraits.

Choosing the Frame

What kind of style is your portrait?  Is it casual, or formal?  Contemporary or classic?

A casual portrait calls out for a great casual, light wood frame.  A formal portrait deserves a more ornate frame, perhaps thick and gold or dark wood.  A contemporary portrait would like great in a modern frame, like a thin black one.  And a classic portrait would impress in a large darker wooden frame.

Next, consider the room you are putting your framed portrait in, especially the wall.  A portrait can be framed 100 different ways and look great, but you do need to consider where it’s going.  After you’ve found the right frame style, focus on finish and proportion.  The frame’s color should complement your portrait and also your wall color.  Getting the right size is where more mistakes are made.  Some folks lose courage and under-frame their beautiful family portrait with a skimpy frame.

Less common, but equally offensive is the frame that is too much for the picture.  To quote Baby Bear, it needs to be “just right”.

Matters of Matting

If your family portrait dictates the frame, then the portrait and frame dictate the mat.  Though most portraits need mats, some may only need a handsome gold or wood frame.  But any portraits that are going under glass will look their absolute best set off with a mat.

Mats give your portraits air and importance:  They put space between the art and glass, which helps preserve your portraits, and they separate your portrait from the frame, so your portrait doesn’t look choked.

When selecting a mat, consider these factors:

Quality:  If your portrait is something you want to preserve, choose matting materials that are archival quality.  These are acid-free/neutral pH.  Cheaper products may have acid in the paper that over time can burn art and ruin the emulsion of your portraits.

Material:  Most mats are made of cotton (also called rag) or linen.  Rag mats go very well with most portraits, but if you are looking for something with a great texture, linen is the way to go.

Color and proportion:  Think of mats as the “stage” on which your portraits are presented.  Depending on your portraits, the stage could be neutral or colorful, large and dramatic, or small and intimate.  Color mats can add zip to your portraits, if it works with the clothing and background, and your frame as well.

If going with color, pull one from your portrait that ties into your room.  But, in general, the neutrals- white, off-white, beige and eggshell- reign.

Again, don’t be timid about size.  The most common mistake folks make is putting too small a mat on portraits.  A couple of inches all around can make a dramatic difference and it doesn’t make that much difference in price.

Experts recommend a wider mat if you have a narrow frame and smaller mat if you have a wide frame.  Never make the mat the same width as the frame.

Layering:  If you’re unsure about color, layering mats offers a chance to show just a sliver of color beneath a neutral top mat.

Glass

All portraits should be covered in glass or acrylic to protect it from bugs and dirt.  All portraits from Honey Bee are sealed with a luster spray, and do fine on their own, but they do look best with glass in front of them.  Portraits that are printed on actual canvas and covered with acrylic should never be covered because they need to breathe.

Frugal Framing Tips

If you choose to take your portrait to a framer, tell him what you would like to spend and ask if that is realistic.  In other words, make cost a part of the dialogue from the beginning.

Ask which frames or moldings the frame store stocks a lot of.  Often if a framer buys bigger quantities of a particular frame, he gets a volume discount that he can sometimes pass on to you.

If you have two or three pictures that need to be framed, do them together and ask for a volume discount.  Using the same frame on several pieces not only saves money, but also can give a look of unity to the art in a particular room.

Keep the mat simple.  Better to skimp on material than size.  A larger rag archival mat usually will cost less than a smaller mat in linen or silk.

Keep your eyes open for great frames at swap meets and thrift stores.  You can throw the art away and reuse the frame and glass, all you’ll need is a new mat.  Make sure it’s the right size and motif.

Opt for regular glass.  Most of the time it’s just fine, and much cheaper.

Places like Joann’s Fabrics and Michael’s have great ready-to-hang frames in their frame department, and most of the time they are on sale, too.  Then you can use those savings to purchase a great mat from the custom framing department, and have the best of both worlds.  Take your portrait with you so that you can pick the best frame and mat to complement your portrait.

Source:  “The Right Frame of Mind” by Marnell Jameson of the LA Times, Sat April 15, 2000