TP: Photography framing

It seems that there is not much information about "real life" framing of prints there, so please share your experience:

*how do you frame your prints?
*how many ones do you frame?
*which kind of frame? (metal, wood, acrylic,...)
*any specific glass/acrylic?
*do you use glue to avoid "weaving"?
*what about matting?
*do you only use cardboard but no frame?
*do you have some specific lighting setup for your frames?

...or anything else you might think about...

I usually frame up a couple a year.

I use Hobby Lobby to buy my frames. I stick to the "build your own" as the tend to be more stable once assembled. I also buy UV glass which is a bit matte so reflections don't show on the glass.

I print my images on matte/lustre, although if it's a night shot I've been using a metallic paper.

I digitally matte the images (simple frames) and have them mounted on gatorfoam...this prevents the warping or "weaving" in the frame.

I hit Target and Michaels regularly, checking out the large clearance frames. I stock up on just about all matted frame sizes that are larger then 8x10. At the moment I have 30-40 sitting in my spare room, waiting for pix. Those are mostly for gifts though. My walls are covered in frames, and I just refresh the prints with new pix as the mood strikes. For the most part my frames are black wood with wide white matting. On one wall is a conglomeration of every style frame, but all of those pix are 5x7 or 4x6. On a couple walls I have framed a series of pictures, either in a line of matching frames, or in a couple cases, a single 36 x 12 frame with 5 5x7s in a row, under a custom matte.

If I change a print in a frame, I tend to leave the first print behind the new print. It's fun to surprise myself when I go to change a print, and find 3-4 older prints hiding.

I print A4, handcut a white matte and stick the whole thing together with archival double sided tape to a foamcore back-board. Outside size is standard 30x40 cm.

I pack these in see through foil (the one also sometimes used to pack flowers) and change them out between a couple of 30x40 aluminium frames spread through the house. So I've got a large stack unframed ones that I can still show (off) packed in clear foil so they don't get dirty, while a few (~ 5, but on the increase as I bought some more frames) are on permanent display (changed out every couple of month).

I'm still thinking about an A3+ printer or have some larger ones printed in a lab or internet service but still undecided if/when to start with that.

Here in the US I like www.americanframe.com. I live near American Frame, so I like to buy from them because they are a local business, and I wish to support them. Working with them is very very easy, and their prices for frames are OK, so others who live in the US might want to try them out.



Their website is also very good at helping you set the measurements of the matting and frames.

Edited by rovhazman - 08 November 2013 at 21:17