Finish for night skyline shots framed

[jeff_l5]

<p>I have framed several night time skyline shots that were printed on Kodak lustre-finish paper, but the glare from the glass detracts significantly from the detail in the image because of the amount of black area in the print. The prints look great if unframed or mounted on foam board. Does anyone have any tips on how to avoid this? Should I look for frames that don't use glass? What type of mounting would be ideal in this case? I've been shooting for years but don't print a lot, usually to books or loose 4x5s if I do. But now I am looking to sell framed prints at craft fairs and would like to provide the best quality available when framing.<br>

Has anyone tried a matte finish behind glass? Would that be better for dark shots than lustre?<br>

Also, any recommendations for frame and mat suppliers? I'm looking for 8x10, 11x14, 16x20 and custom ratios for panoramas. The few photos I've framed have been matted, so there is space between the glass and photo, which seems to amplify the glare problem. Maybe I'll try putting the glass behind the print for now until I find a source of pro-quality frames. I am least knowledgeable of what's available out there off-the-shelf as far as accepting different thickness of print mounts, and what type of mounting is usually used when framing.<br>

Thanks</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Google "non-reflective glass"<br>

and you'll find things such as http://www.americanframe.com/products/un-non-glare-picture-framing-acrylic-aauvng.aspx </p>

<p>They are not perfect, but the stuff helps. Otherwise, frame with no glass.</p>

[eddy_d]

<p>Do not use plexiglass. It gets smudged easily and looks dull, plus it scratches easily</p>

[AJG]

<p>The expensive non-glare glass that JDM linked to works quite well--a frame shop that used to show my prints framed an example for me to see and it looked good, but at 4 or 5x the cost of regular window glass. Your other issue is lighting in your display area: the reason galleries and museums use track lighting at a fairly steep angle is so that the glare is aimed at the floor instead of the viewer. If you can fix your lighting you might not need the expensive glass. Since the glare is probably from the glass the print surface is a minor issue, and matte surface papers usually reduce the potential brightness range available from your images.</p>

[danielheller]

<p>Do not use any glass or plexiglass. At least at one photographer exhibit I recently visited in a gallery, the photographs were framed, but there was no glass and no plexiglass, the prints were exposed!</p>

[AJG]

<p>If you are showing in a museum or other supervised space, no glass is an option. One of my first shows was in a college gallery and I didn't frame the prints, I just had them dry mounted and held them up with push pins around the edges. Every single one had multiple fingerprints when I took them down in two weeks!</p>