I have a photo show coming up: My City Hall has an art gallery within the walls of the office building. They agreed to give me a show of about 10 -20 framed photos. Now I need to pick...

Ellen101 Loc: Manhattan NY ..now Spring Hill, Fl

My City Hall has an art gallery within the walls of the office building. They agreed to give me a show of about 10 -20 framed photos. Now I need to pick up black frames and matts. I am low on funds so I need to know where to get these.
I am very excited about this. The photos will be portraits of local merchants in black and white.
If anyone has any suggestions please fell free to post.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Try Redimat for the mats:
https://www.redimat.com/products/matboards/economy-precut-matboard.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwK_W0qjc4AIVAkGGCh0x0waTEAMYASAAEgK8ofD_BwE

Maybe Michael's for the frames?

CliffMcKenzie Loc: Lake Athens Texas

Hobby Lobby

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

If the photos are all in standard sizes, forget the mattes. Hobby Lobby sells thin plastic frames with glass that you can insert your images into. They provide a thin, neat, black line frame around the picture. The also have centered holes on the back for portrait or landscape orientation hanging, simplifying the hanging process.

I use that type of frame for my entries in our photography club’s annual photography exhibition. Getting mattes cut for non-standard size images can get costly and time consuming.

Stan

Ellen101 Loc: Manhattan NY ..now Spring Hill, Fl

Thank you for teh encouragement to go Mat Less ....I always thought matb make the photos look more "professional"

rcarol

Longshadow wrote:

Try Redimat for the mats:
https://www.redimat.com/products/matboards/economy-precut-matboard.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwK_W0qjc4AIVAkGGCh0x0waTEAMYASAAEgK8ofD_BwE

Maybe Michael's for the frames?

Take a look at Hobby Lobby.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

rcarol wrote:

Take a look at Hobby Lobby.

I did, before, as well as Michael's.
I buy in bulk from Redimat, and they also sell clear display sleeves (protection envelopes) for the mats.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

Ellen101 wrote:

Thank you for teh encouragement to go Mat Less ....I always thought matb make the photos look more "professional"

My suggestions were in response to your “low on funds” situation. Mattes do ”dress up” any image. But they require the use of a larger more costly frame and are an additional cost to consider when getting images ready for a show. One point, I didn’t mention is that if you are going to display very large images, the frames I mentioned may not be available.

Stan

Ellen101 Loc: Manhattan NY ..now Spring Hill, Fl

Not sure yet of the sizes... I will be going around our town and taking shots of local merchants etc ( with permission from them in writing ). I was thinking since there is not that much display wall space I will go for rectagles
perhaps 11" x 13" or what is standard in frames. the walls are painted an ordinary beige...
Do you suggest large prints? I am not going to be hanging them. The curator will do that but I will be there when he does.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Ellen101 wrote:

Not sure yet of the sizes... I will be going around our town and taking shots of local merchants etc ( with permission from them in writing ). I was thinking since there is not that much display wall space I will go for rectagles
perhaps 11" x 13" or what is standard in frames. the walls are painted an ordinary beige...
Do you suggest large prints? I am not going to be hanging them. The curator will do that but I will be there when he does.

Maybe ask the curator if there is a size they prefer?

MJPerini

I would suggest Nielsen metal frames for several reasons, they are gallery & museum standards, but also relatively economical AND they are re-configurable. I would also suggest that your pictures be the same size and a 'standard size' if possible, you might get lucky and find pre-cut mats that work.
You can then go to home depot and have acrylic cut to order. It is not the UV acrylic that galleries & museums use but it is very clear and 1/3 the price. These shows typically have a duration of perhaps a month or two so 'archival standards are not necessary. If you anticipate selling prints then archival standards are the norm so glazing and mat costs double or triple , the frames because they are metal are already archival standards
Good Luck

scsdesphotography Loc: Southeastern Michigan

Frame manufactures are still stuck in the film era. None of the standard frames match the 2:3 ratio of our digital sensors, which means cropping is required. Look for frames that match that ratio (4x6,10x15,12x18, or 20x30). Occasionally I find 12x18 frames at JoAnn's.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

scsdesphotography wrote:

Frame manufactures are still stuck in the film era. None of the standard frames match the 2:3 ratio of our digital sensors, which means cropping is required. Look for frames that match that ratio (4x6,10x15,12x18, or 20x30). Occasionally I find 12x18 frames at JoAnn's.

That's why I'll print 8x12s and mat them in an 11x14 frame.

PhotoMono123 Loc: Houston, Texas

Someone already mentioned Hobby Lobby. I'll second that, but I will add a caveat. Just about every other week HL's frames are on sale for half price. Do NOT buy a frame at full price unless you absolutely must. Just wait until the following week and buy it at half the price.

I hang my photos in an art gallery and several other display areas. Plain black frames with mats work best for most photos. Buy frames large enough to be used for larger prints in the future. More mat does not detract. And sometimes a large frame with lots of mat will really draw attention to a small print.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

scsdesphotography wrote:

Frame manufactures are still stuck in the film era. None of the standard frames match the 2:3 ratio of our digital sensors, which means cropping is required. Look for frames that match that ratio (4x6,10x15,12x18, or 20x30). Occasionally I find 12x18 frames at JoAnn's.

I thought digital sensors were 24x36 which is film size as well and has been for several decades.
Yes that is not 8X10 but it is not something unique to digital.