mark_rogers

<p>Hi Vani,</p>

<p>Your question hit a chord with me since I too was an electrical engineer and I had the desire to have more independence with my life. I started taking my photography hobby professional. I did some work for hire but ultimately decided to open a <a href="http://www.framedestination.com/">picture frame company</a> helping photographers with framing.</p>

<p>Photography is like music. It is fun, and everyone likes to be paid to have fun. That drives the cost down. For instance, a commercial photographer I know lost a bid to shoot a hotel in Mexico . His competitor was a part time photographer and said he would do it free as long as they paid his expenses to travel to the hotel. For him it was a free fun vacation.</p>

<p>When I looked at replacing my engineering salary, it appeared my quickest route would be via weddings but I don't like shooting weddings. If you shoot an average of 1 a week and charge a couple thousand then you can gross $100,000. I was looking at Dallas , TX . That would not be possible in a small rural town. There is a lot of competition but I found most people shooting weddings should not have been. They were not as skilled as many amateur photographers, and they did not have the back up gear. You will need to give yourself a few years to build up your skill level and get your reputation built up. If you have the evidence that proves your better than the average wedding photographer and you have a market that will pay for quality you can raise your prices.</p>

<p>I took a bridal portrait class from one of the best in Dallas . One of the shots was a location shot by a small pond. The pond was commonly used and other bridal portraits were being shot at the same time. Most of the other shots were done with just using a camera with a stoboframe-mounted flash. One of the shots our teacher did was of the bide in the gazebo. The light was harsh so we draped a 12 x 20 foot sheet over one side of the gazebo to diffuse the light. We setup a strobe behind the bride to back light her hair, another strobe was up high and fired into the ceiling of the gazebo, a third was used as primary light, and then sunlight through the sheet was fill light. The camera was set on a tripod and since he was shooting with a very long lens, he had to place it 20 feet from the gazebo. Since the gazebo was pretty high he had to stand on a small ladder to see through the view finder. When he shot the bride near the pond with handheld camera he still used off camera flash and light reflectors. None of the other photographers shooting at the time even used a reflector let alone off camera flash. I suspect most of the other photographers were charging around $125-$250 for the bridal shot. Our teacher I am sure was charging well over $1000. I am sure he makes more than most wedding photographers in town but he doesn't do weddings, only bridal portraits.</p>

<p>In short, if you want to make serious money, you need to be a serious photographer. Acquire the skills and or the resources (equipment/studio) that the less serious pro's or part time pro's don't have and then find a market that can appreciate and is willing to PAY for the difference. Some people are perfectly happy paying $25 for a Wal-Mart portrait. You can't make a living off of those people.</p>

<p>I would also point out that it is also hard to make money at web design. There are lots of kids in college that will stay up all night doing websites for hardly any money. Coding the website is not the hard part. It is coding the website appropriately for a target industry or market that few can do. Finding a niche is important with any business. Your goal is to be known in town as the person you go to if you need ?X?. My frame business niche is photography. 98% of my customers are photographers and digital artists. You can also combine different skill sets to help set yourself apart. For example, if you focus on doing children's portraits you could combine that with a website that displays the children's portraits for all the remote family to see. Now that might not be a good idea I am just throwing it out as an example.</p>

<p>Since you are in a position to not worry about money, then I would suggest you explore your passions and deepen your skills while opening your heart and let your path of opportunity unfold before you. Few people on the planet get to do this. Make the most of that gift and use it to help your customers so that the gift will grow.</p>

 

<p>Hi Chris,</p>

 

<p>I have not done research on this myself but I hear that a paper mat can start causing damage in about 5 years. If you are printing your own work and hanging in your house it is not an issue. Sun light will probably hurt the image more than the paper mat. If you are selling the image then I would go acid free. If you are selling them for a high cost then I would add UV-filter protection glazing (glass or acrylic). My company is adding some paper mat to the website in a day or two. We have many customers that bottom weight. Although a lot of people like it, many of our pro?s that are selling images in artshows and stuff avoid it because of the extra stocking hassle (portrait and landscape orientation). We will be adding direct support to our website in a couple of days that will allow specifying custom openings and borders.</p>

<p>My company specializes in gallery style picture frames for photography. Even though I own a frame company, I have never hand cut a mat and never will. I have better things to do with my time like taking pictures. My company uses computerized mat cutters that provide near perfect corners every time, even on wonderfully thick 8-ply mats. We carry Nielsen metal picture frames as well as various wood picture frames. I agree on the recommendations for glass. TruVue glass will also have less green tint then non framing grade glass will. Acrylic, assuming it is framing grade acrylic like Cyro Acrylite is also more optically pure than glass. Glass of course breaks easy so most museums and some galleries will not accept glass for liability reasons. The dust attraction is an issue. I found Brillianize to be a wonderful cure for that. It is a safe cleaner polish that helps reduce the dust attraction. Unless you buy a more expensive abrasion resistant acrylic, it will be susceptible to scratching a problem glass does not have. </p>

<p>Tru-View use to have product called Water-white but they have changed all of their glass to reduced iron clear glass. Their museum glass however is still not quite as optically pure as standard FF acrylic from Cryo. Denglass makes a product called ?water white anti-reflective? but I am not sure if it is more ?white? than Tru-Views glass. I have a sample on the way since I am considering reselling it. Pricing is similar to Tru-View?s Museum glass. The Tru-View Optium I think is Cyro OP3 with Tru-View?s anti-reflective coating similar to what they use on their Musuem glass. It is my guess because Tru-View happened to have started reselling Cyro products at about the same time they came out with Optium. Tru-View also says that Optium contains OP3 UV protection which is the Cyro?s part number for their UV acrylic. </p>

<p>Yes the drawback to the non-glare is lack of sharpness. The decrease in sharpness is mostly dependent on the distance between the photograph and the print inside the picture frame. In other words you can not use it for a shadowbox frame. It is also strongly dependent on the manufacturer. I have a sample of cheap acrylic that significantly reduces sharpness even if it is against the print (which as someone mentioned is harmful to the print). A high quality acrylic like Cyro is mostly undetectable with a single 4-ply mat and just barely noticeable in a side by side comparison with Bainbridge's really thick 8-ply mat.</p>

<p>In my opinion proper lighting with a high quality acrylic glazing is the best cost effective approach. The proper lighting gets rid of the reflections and acrylic does not have green tint and is a little brighter than glass. A high quality expensive approach is water white anti-reflective. Non-glare is achieved with an etched surface that reduces sharpness. Anti-reflective glass has a coating so it eliminates reflections without a reduction in sharpness. This also allows the image to be optically brighter. Museum glass has the anti-reflective coating but it also has the green tint. Water white glass does not have the green tint. </p>

<p>This is not just an issue with acrylic or inkjet prints. You get the same problem with glass or acrylic and traditional darkroom prints. It is one of the ways a good acid free mat helps protects the image. There is another problem with dye based inkjet prints and glass. Condensation can form on the glass and most dye based inkjet prints are very sensitive to water.</p>

<p>Although there are some older photo printing processes that are acidic such as Cyano, I have never heard of any inkjet or other digital printing processes being considered acidic. In fact I have heard that most Epson papers are buffered. If the paper itself is buffered then it is either perfectly safe to use a buffered mat, or it wont matter. 99% of all mat board produced is buffered and the majority of the prints being framed are various dye transfer methods so if there is a problem I would expect it to have surfaced by now. I own a frame company that caters to photographers and I dont stock any non-buffered mat paper or mounting board.</p>

 

<p>Cheers,</p>

 

<p></p>

<p><a href="http://framedestination.blogspot.com">--Mark Rogers</a><br>

<a href="http://www.framedestination.com">Frame Destination, Inc.</a></p>

<p>I would like to understand the problem with hinging that some of you have. I live in Dallas, TX but I sell frames nationally and like to be able to help my customers. All of the prints in my showroom are hinged and some are going on 5+ years. They all look great. I have seen dry mounted photo?s that have started to bubble and look terrible. Were they just mounted wrong or is the Dallas environment good for hinging and bad for dry mounting? The Dallas humidity normally runs between 60%-80%. Does it have to do with the paper type? Most of my prints are on Epson paper but I have many local customers that have hinged regular lab prints.</p>

<p>Before I give you my suggestions, let me give you my perspective. I own <a href="http://www.framedestination.com">Frame Destination, Inc.</a> which manufactures frames for fine art photography. 99% of our customers are photographers and the bulk of our sales are for galleries, artshows, and general retail of photo prints. For this reason we specialize in ?gallery style?. It is not for everyone and its choice depends on your house d飯r and personal tastes. I will tell you a little about it and contrast it with what a custom framer will do in an effort to help make you aware of your options. In ?gallery style? the goal is for the frame to set the artwork off from the wall and high light it without detracting from the image. In general it relies on a simple, fairly thin black frame with a fairly large white mat. When I say large mat, I mean about a 4 inch border all the way around the image. Use of a mat or spacer is critical for conservation since the image must be kept off the glass or acrylic. One of the advantages of this style is that it helps provide consistency for a gallery exhibit of photographers work. Assuming the photographer has a recognizable style, the consistency of the frames will help keep them from distracting that style or theme. You can also reuse the same frames for lots of different pictures. Gallery style can work very well with some contemporary home d飯r styles. It does not work with ?rural country? or ?rustic? home d飯r styles.</p>

 

<p>In the non-gallery style the goal is to create a frame package that is an extension of the artwork. Typically you would try to select one or two colors in the image and then select complimentary mat and frame colors to help cause them to pop or to emphasize those colors. You also select a shape for the frame that can help provide lines that are consistent with the flow of the image. This is what skilled customer framers are great at and it is one of the reasons custom frames are understandably more expensive. The non-gallery style may also include mat/frame selection related to the d飯r in your house. Of course this is not a concern when displaying work in galleries and more neutral style such as gallery style can be more beneficial in this case. </p>

 

<p>A few other comments. Avoid plastic frames. They are ok for posters but not for fine-art photography. Wood or metal is more personal choice. Classic gallery style is very small narrow frame that is usually provided with metal such as <a href="http://www.framedestination.com/infoPage19.html">Nielsen profile 12</a>

. Metal is a little more durable, less expensive and a little more contemporary in style. <a href="http://www.framedestination.com/infoPage19.html">Nielsen profile 117</a>

is sort of a combination profile because it is very difficult to tell if it is wood or metal. Wood frames that are 1 ? inches thick or larger are starting to get away from the gallery style. Since they are larger they can start to detract from the image, especially if the black in the frame is not complementary color in the image. You can see some pictures of the frame I am referring to here:</p>

 

<p>I guess I have rambled on enough. Feel free to contact me at my company if you have any other questions.</p>

 

<p><a href="http://www.framedestination.com">Frame Destination, Inc.</a>

<p><a href="http://www.framedestination.com/infoPage9.html">--Mark Rogers</a></p>

<p>Since I do a lot of work with acrylic frames I have been very

concerned about the issues of cleaning and removing static. I did a

significant amount of research and talked with people in the acrylic

industry and cleaning product manufacturers. Those of you framing with

acrylic might be interested in my findings.</p>

 

<p>After a lot of testing in my shop of acrylic with acrylic dust,

static charge, grease and dirt, I concluded Brillianize

(www.brillianize.com) was the best. The runner up product was Craftics

(www.craftics.com) 20/20 cleaner and 20/20 polish. The 20/20 cleaner

was a little quicker at removing basic smudges than Brillianize.

Brillianze left the surface with more of a polish but more

importantly, objects behind the acrylic seem just a little sharper. If

you use 20/20 polish it will add the polish but this is a two-step

process and the Brillianize coated acrylic is still sharper. Of

course, the really nice thing in either case, is the lack of static

charge. After applying Brillianize I actually prefer final frame

assembly with acrylic over glass because it is lighter and safer to

work with. </p>

 

<p>I also tested cleaning cloths. Briallianze makes softkloth which

was included in the test along with some others. My testing concluded

that the Craftics Microfiber Smooth Towel was the best and the

Craftics Microfiber Terry Cloth was a close 2nd. The terry cloth was

similar to other more common microfiber cloths and it had a good

ability to pull dust. The smooth towel was more like a combination of

microfiber technology and chamois. Although the terry was a little

easier at just removing simple dust the smooth towel was best at

getting rid of that last streak and getting the most ultimate clean.</p>

 

<p>Mark</p>

Varying aspect ratios between the camera, photo lab, and frames use to be a major source of frustration for me. I would try to remember to pullback and leave room for cropping. Many times I would forget, usually on the shots that I would never be able to reproduce. The advent of digital printing solved the photo lab problem. That left the framing problem. I quickly realized I was far from alone on this and decided to do something about it. I formed <a href="http://www.framedestination.com">Frame Destination, Inc.</a> A frame company that caters to photographers. I offer frames for sizes such as 8x12, 11x17 and 13x19. I also cater to those with square formats and offer frames for 8x8 and 12x12. Many of my customers are selling matted prints and they can?t force their customers into custom framing so I started offering mats to allow images like 8x12 to be framed in 16x20, or 10x15 to be framed in 16x20.

 

<p><a href="http://www.framedestination.com/aboutus.html">--Mark Rogers</a></p>

<p>That is a very interesting question. If you want the printed frame to be visible, you might consider a float mount. You can drymount the image to the center of a mount board that is significantly larger than your print and leave a significant border around the print on the mount board before you reach the mat or frame. With the float mount style your print is more independent of the frame.</p>

 

<p>Another option is to leave it unframed. Just drymount the photo to a thick sturdy mounting board such as gator foam, spray a protective coating on it and then hang it.</p>

 

<p>Of course the classical style is to either hinge mount or drymount the photo and then single or double mat with an opening that masks off about 1/8 inch of the print on all sides. As someone else mentioned, a double mat can add depth and character even if both mats are the same color. Another option is a nice think 8-Ply mat, which will allow a deep bevel which also adds depth to the final package.</p>

 

<p>Mark Rogers<br>

<a href="http://www.framedestination.com" >Frame Destination, Inc.</a></p>

You might look at <a href="http://www.framedestination.com">http://www.framedestination.com</a> Our specialty is gallery style frames for photographers exhibiting and selling their work. We have a narrow selection so that we can offer high quality frames at low prices. Our wood frames are solid wood from Nurre Caxton and professionally assembled. We are one of the few places that offers Bainbridge 100% Cotton Rag 8-Ply mat at wholesale prices. Our metal moulding is from Nielsen. They are the leader and have the best quality. We also carry Cyro Acrylic, which does not have the green tint that glass does, is lighter weight, and wont break during shipping. For those who need the scratch resistance of glass you can buy our frames without glazing and buy glass locally so you do not need to ship it. We also have good prices on Cyro OP3, which is a conservation glazing with 98% UV filtering to prevent photographs from fading. We carry lots of special sizes such 13x19, 11x17, 10x15 and 16x24 (not on web yet). We can do custom mat openings for those who want to double mat or bottom weight. Lastly, we bend over backwards to help make our customers lives easier and to ensure they are satisfied.

<br>

<br>

Mark

The glass helps protect the print from pollutants in the air, and even standard glass will filter a little bit of harmful UV radiation. The mat in addition to its aesthetic value, keeps the print away from the glass (which will harm the print due to emulsion interaction and condensation), and will help keep the print flat allowing simple hinge mounting to be used. Conservation style hinge mounting makes it easy to replace prints in the frame, although its actual purpose is to allow the same print to be reframed with fresh components.

 

Artistically speaking, gallery style framing is very common for photo exhibitions. This style consists of a thin (1/2 inch or less) simple frame moulding (usually black), with a fairly thick (2 to 4 inches) mat (usually white, sometimes black). The idea being that the frame presents the print without distracting from it. The opposite end of the spectrum, often used for paintings, utilizes colored mats and elaborate ornate moulding. In this style, the color of the mat and the frame will have a custom relationship to the painting, and they will be considered an extension of the artwork.