A Tale of Two Mat Colors
May 20, 2013 22:08:56 #
Earlier this year I entered a large photo competition with the first image below. It's a 12" tall by 48" wide panorama of Cades Cove and not meant to be realistic, just to show the "feeling" of the day I saw. It got a second place out of about 100 images in it's category. The judge told me later it was because I had it matted in white (a traditional color for gallery work) and would have won if the mat been grey.
Tonight I found out the second image, taken in the Hocking Hills area of Ohio came in second in an even larger and more prestigious competition (about 150 photos). Different judge this time said my grey mat this time should have been white.
How's that for listening to a judge? Different opinions, different days. I sure can't complain about a couple of seconds, but go figure!
by-the-way...the first one just got accepted into an even bigger, all media competition where about 800 entries were taken down to about 150 accepted pieces. This judge must have liked my white mat.
Tonight I found out the second image, taken in the Hocking Hills area of Ohio came in second in an even larger and more prestigious competition (about 150 photos). Different judge this time said my grey mat this time should have been white.
How's that for listening to a judge? Different opinions, different days. I sure can't complain about a couple of seconds, but go figure!
by-the-way...the first one just got accepted into an even bigger, all media competition where about 800 entries were taken down to about 150 accepted pieces. This judge must have liked my white mat.
Foggy Morning in Cades Cove
Hiding in the Fog, Hocking Hills
May 20, 2013 22:21:32 #
May 20, 2013 23:05:59 #
May 21, 2013 01:04:39 #
I like your pictures, I really do and they deserve all the accolades bestowed, however, I used to judge juried shows and if I ever heard that a photograph was given points or lost points, due to the color of matting, all hell would have broken loose.
May 21, 2013 01:07:48 #
Great pics BM...yes, if it's framed they usually take the matt into consideration as being part of the whole "thing"
May 21, 2013 02:35:12 #
We're told to matt coloured photos in black and B&W in white. Absolutely love these two.
May 21, 2013 03:16:05 #
magicunicorn
Loc: Melbourne Australia
Magnificent photos well done and congratulations on your achievement
May 21, 2013 08:27:23 #
SX2002 wrote:
Great pics BM...yes, if it's framed they usually take the matt into consideration as being part of the whole "thing"
Not so. The reason they are matted is for handling purposes. Juries can't deal with frames and photographs, on their own would get damaged. It's often suggested that the matting be of a certain colour to maintain uniformity but never in my years were the mattings included in the judging.
May 21, 2013 09:10:07 #
Joe F.N. wrote:
Not so. The reason they are matted is for handling purposes. Juries can't deal with frames and photographs, on their own would get damaged. It's often suggested that the matting be of a certain colour to maintain uniformity but never in my years were the mattings included in the judging.
Thanks for everyone's thoughts on this. I just found it interesting the way different judges view things.
It goes to show that the "package" is what's often judged, not just the image. Both of these have the same frame, a small traditional black wood one, and were submitted to the judges knowing they would be in a gallery setting, not a living room one.
It's a fun world us artists live in.
May 21, 2013 09:16:25 #
May 21, 2013 14:57:42 #
Joe F.N. wrote:
Not so. The reason they are matted is for handling purposes. Juries can't deal with frames and photographs, on their own would get damaged. It's often suggested that the matting be of a certain colour to maintain uniformity but never in my years were the mattings included in the judging.
Not sure about your juries Joe, but a "judge" (pro photographer) at a comp I won last year told me that a framed photo's components should match and be a complete package...as apposed to an unframed one...
May 21, 2013 15:07:46 #
May 21, 2013 15:57:50 #
SX2002 wrote:
Not sure about your juries Joe, but a "judge" (pro photographer) at a comp I won last year told me that a framed photo's components should match and be a complete package...as apposed to an unframed one...
I hope that BullMoose is still looking in since he brought up a valid point. "Different judge folks, different judge strokes." Before a judge is registered he/she goes to school. In our neck of the woods, the judge must have a attained a certain level of competency (though that's very subjective) and are invited to sit. Some head judges even ask that no 'titles' be added to the matting as this may also have an influence on a decision. "Aha! So that's what he/she is trying to convey. I get it."
I believe the attempt is to try and keep it as pure as possible, based on the creation of the image. And then there is the inevitable politics..... The Russian judge gave it a 9.7 and the American judge gave it 5.4
:thumbdown:
May 21, 2013 16:05:24 #
I guess it's a matter of reading the regs for a particular comp Joe...most of the comps I've won have been through national magazines so a matt or frame was never an issue except for the one I mentioned...I agree, the pic on a board should be the only requirement so that is the only component judged...
Cheers,
Ron
Cheers,
Ron
May 23, 2013 14:02:33 #
OK, here's the secret, whichever way you decide to matte the photo, do the opposite.
You'll get a winner every time.
You'll get a winner every time.
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