Today we are talking about the different presentation of photographs. How we show off our work can make a huge difference to the piece of art. We will start with a basics question do you want that photograph matted or not? That means it has mat board around the photo, which is inside the frame.
Now about mats, mats can be all different sizes and colors. There is almost an endless list of possibilities to chose from so this can be a very difficult important decision to make when it comes to which mat, if you choose one.

Lets next talk about some of the thought process and methods used to picking out the right mat for your picture. Lets first think about the emotion the photograph evokes and what you can do with that in a room. Color is a great way to use grab the eye of your audience and bring them into your photograph. However whatever mat color you chose make sure it doesn’t draw the viewers away from your photo and that it make sense. Some methods to chose a color include the classic black and white. Remember you can never go wrong with this and there are many shades and tones of white and black for example eggshell white, not a pure ivory white. There is also picking a dominant color from your photo and using that to draw the viewers eye through the piece. Another method is picking a contrasting color to you photo. If you photo is predominantly light in color then you would go with a dark mat color light navy blue or something like that. However if your photo is darker in color then you would pick lighter color like maybe in the yellow family. Now if these methods are not what you are looking for. You could use the neutral colors palette, museums use this matting method more often. It has some color and class, a great in between classic and bold color.

Now something else you have to be thinking about is, what frame you will be putting your photograph in?
Frames are a whole different area of with there own esthetics and choices to be made.
As for frames they come in an even longer array of possibilities. To start with the simple question where will the photo be displayed? On the wall, tabletop or maybe the floor like a totem or easel. The next box that you would need to check off is, the material in which you want the frame to be. Frame are made from many materials like wood, metal, plastic, glass, and even other found objects. Found object frames can be like a DIY (do it yourself) frame and have more sentimental value just because you took more time and thought to make the frame itself as a work of are. An example of this could be you are looking for a antique frame but all you have is old distressed wood. You can turn that old wood into a frame. The photograph that you took on you last road trip of that barn would look great in that frame. Another example being, you have photos of the kids and every frame you put them in just look to serious for the play room, where you want to display the photos. You can glue crayons on a cheap plastic frame making it like a craft project. Or you can set out paint and let the kids paint their own frames. Let it be a bonding experience because in the end photographs wherever displayed will be a conversation starter and a token to jump start your memories of that day the photograph was taken.