Ellen first of all, congratulations on the photo show. That sounds very exciting for you and is a testament to your excellent photo skill. But since you are posing the questions of frames and mats, I have to ask, why are you having the show to begin with. Are you simply displaying your work, then you will take the photos home and hang them back in your own house OR are you planning to hopefully find buyers for your prints? Now if you are just showing your photos and taking them home then it doesn't make a lot of difference. But if you are hoping/planning to actually SELL your lovely photo prints then doesn't it make sense to show them to the very best advantage possible.

Just yesterday I went my local Michaels and had the woman behind the framing and matting counter come up with a solution to make one of my prints really stand out. I had my own frame that I had previously purchased at the same Michaels but this woman, with design skill I do not have, put together a package of two mats in my frame. It was absolutely spectacular and really set off my photo to its best advantage. But here's the negative kicker. Had I gone that route it would have cost me $324.00. OUCH!!! That hurt a lot. I told her that was just unacceptable because of the price. So rather than a custom frame she had wanted to use and completely custom matting I chose the frame I had taken in and she had some mats, still two separate mats she used. I walked out having paid $23.00 plus the cost of my own frame which may have been $25.00 on sale at the same Michaels.

I have no idea of your budget constraints. Maybe you would be OK having all of your prints mounted for the $324.00 each price. That would be out of the question for me. But my point is if you want someone to buy your prints then you want to show them off looking their best. Just putting them into a cheap frame is not going to work well for you in my opinion.

Congratulations again and I wish you the very best of luck,

Dennis

Like many words “take” can have several meanings. Adams was an ‘artist’ so he used “make” meaning it was his end, just as an Elephant or Moses was the end that Michelangelo aimed for.

As a ‘Recorder’, my end is different. I use the phrase “take picture” as short for “capture the situation in a photo”, or “record the view in a photo”.

I’m sure you have seen a sign “Leave nothing but footprints; take nothing but pictures” - that doesn’t mean the park has hidden some pictures you should be looking for.