Picture Framing: thoughts from a Maidenhead framer

Need some inspiration framing old photos?

Have you inherited some old family pictures? Some small snaps that are a little faded and curled at the edges? You’d like to display them. the subject matter is important to you, but how to make them interesting?

Here is an original way of introducing a character into the picture framing process by making a virtue of their old and ragged state. And it will cost you nothing! All you need is some old brown paper, clear tape or photo corners and a pencil.  Select your pictures and lay them out on the brown paper. You might want to select one per frame or a composite of pictures within one frame. Put four together and make a great set.  Make sure they are roughly of the same quality, brightness and sharpness, to ensure no one picture dominates the others.

Space them out. Remember, you need space for both the fixing tape and any caption between the pictures. These are all part of the design and you do not want the end result to look cramped. and if you have in mind a location where you will eventually display the framed work, think about the layout – for example, four set out two and two, will result in a square frame; but four in a row can make a distinctive long and thin frame (and if vertical, great for hanging on a column).

Fix the pictures in place quite roughly with the tape and corners. Let the tape and photo corners be part of the design. And don’t worry if not quite square on! Put minimal tape over the picture, so that only the very edge could be damaged by it, and be very happy to mix photo corners with tape to add to the overall effect.

Where you have captions – even if just names, locations and dates, I’d suggest writing them in a clear hand to again add to the overall look.  The more informal and hand written they are the more personality they take on. Pencil would be the perfect medium for the captions of old pictures. Not too heavy, not too dominating – and nice tone for the job. (If writing the captions requires your hand to rest on the old photos, before you start cover the photos with a piece of paper to protect them from your hand).

And to set off the presentation, a wide mount and a simple thin box frame, as shown here, will hold the glass well away from the little artistic gem that has been created behind.

I have helped clients decide on what will work with what, and put the design together, but it is certainly something you might find very rewarding to do yourself, before taking to a picture framer.

Mark, Framing by Design, Maidenhead.