To Frame or Not To Frame? - that is the question!

I note that more and more picture posts are now framed. Is this pure coincidence or a canny trick to catch the judges eye in the competitions?
I've even joined the fray, for when all is said and done, if you can't beat them, join them, but don't like the result.
Opinions?

I think it depends on the photo. Some look better framed and some look better with a plain border or none at atll. Also I like the frames that some have developed as part of their signature.

My opinion is that if it enhances the shot or if you want one put a frame or border on it. I would do the same thing if I was putting it on my wall at home, so why not here. I don't see how it is different from any other PP efffects that are over and above the required RAW processing

Wendy

Wendy

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My opinion is that if it enhances the shot or if you want one put a frame or border on it. I would do the same thing if I was putting it on my wall at home, so why not here. I don't see how it is different from any other PP efffects that are over and above the required RAW processing

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Exactly what the good lady said

I find it another PP thing to learn, and give it a go after studying how others use it and to me it enhances their shots.
It's interesting playing with different effects, sometimes what I think will suit the image, has me turning away from the screen, screwing up my eyes and saying 'ouch'

I used frames as a self-learning tool to get some Actions going on in PS. Just for my own sake, as it were.

I don't think they have any value other than a web/email/digital display tool. Certainly I would never use one on a photo going to print.

But I think they have some aesthetic value for the purpose.

As far as the "Judges Eye" is concerned? I enter my shots in competitions (at least here) so that everyone else can feel better about their photos!

Anyone can win a competition! There has to be a last place in order to have a first place so I'm fulfilling a balancing niche! And I have used frames! So I doubt educated eyes are caught by a digital framing as opposed to content.

Mike? Your stuff stands on its own regardless.

Dear Roger Rabbit,

You've been framed!

Jeremy Beadle.

For my two cents worth, I think the frames really distract from the image. I like the simple background of the gray on the web page. Also, on the page with the photos displayed, the frame makes the image harder to read - it shrinks it - and all of the different frames make the row of photos too busy. It's hard to see the images for the frames. It's nice to say it but I'm not stuck on my opinion. :)

I'll be serious now. Really. I think frames on a picture at a gallery, or on your wall serve a definite purpose. They isolate the image from the surroundings helping you to concentrate upon the image. They contain it. On a forum, there already is a frame, of sorts - the edges of the web page, and perhaps even the monitor itself. So, does a forum image need a frame?

The size of an image is really interesting Katy. What we see here does little justice to many of the images and others that are well received here at this size would not print well much larger. When I started printing I quickly found that you have to consider the best print size to maximise the presentation value of the image. What we see here is not much more than a thumbnail really.

I put a border simply to add some form of copyright limitiation than anything else.

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Originally Posted by carregwen

I'll be serious now. Really. I think frames on a picture at a gallery, or on your wall serve a definite purpose. They isolate the image from the surroundings helping you to concentrate upon the image. They contain it. On a forum, there already is a frame, of sorts - the edges of the web page, and perhaps even the monitor itself. So, does a forum image need a frame?

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Yes.

As a frame on a flat wall isolates, so does a digital frame, if not too overdone. I think they serve the same purpose as the physical frame on a wall of a gallery, your home, or wherever. And let’s not forget the matting.

Ideally, a matting/framing combination will serve to not only isolate, but draw the eye. And as it does both of these, it may add depth as well (its “off the wall”) which enhances all of the above. Even a canvas framer is off the wall an inch or more?

Would this give the web viewer the unconscious advantage of being able to isolate and concentrate on the image? Especially if they have all of the "favorites/toolbars/Window/trays/etc. displayed on their screen?

Would you just attach a naked print to your wall and call it good?