What Color Frame Looks Best With Black and White Photos

Framing and mat advice for black and white photos

Mar 23, 2008

Hello,

I've now acquired quite a stack of photos of mine, and I would like to display some of them in my home as I am currently redecorating my living room with a more contemporary/modern look. My photos for the most part are printed in 8x10 size, and are black and white.

My issue is that to bring my living room together, I really need some shades of blue on the wall, which if done correctly, could really bring out my black and white photos. I can't paint my walls. So I had come up with a few ideas for how to display my black and white shots while incorporating blue:

I had thought about using solid blue foamboards (say in sky blue, teal, and navy blue) to add blue to the walls, and somehow displaying my photos on it. Since the black and white photos probably wouldn't look great right up against a darker blue, I had considered gluing an 8x10 photo (perhaps with a mat) to 8x10 foamcore to add depth, and then gluing this to a larger blue foamboard. However, I am afraid the edges of the blue foam board would look too casual and unfinished.

Are colored mats, and in particular blue mats, a possibility with black and white shots? Another option I had considered is using a double mat. Perhaps the inner mat would be black and the top mat would be either a sky blue or a medium blue, perhaps in a silver frame. I had thought about blue frames as well but I've never really seen such a thing so I'm somewhat uncomfortable with it.

Please let me know if you have suggestions for how to incorporate blue into my photo display in a way that would accent my photos, instead of detract from them.

Thank you!!

14nLover • Contributing Member • Posts: 643

Re: Framing and mat advice for black and white photos

Traditionally black and white photos are matted with white or cream museum board only. Museum board is mat board made of cotton, which is better for long term display than regular wood-pulp mat board. Foam core is ok for backing but shouldnt be used as a mat. The mat is the board with a window cut in it that goes over the photo, the backing is the board that goes behind the photo..to which the photo is usually taped, or glued. Plastic corners or linen tape are archival, glue is not.

Having said that, if you are hanging the photos purely for decor, I guess you could buy blue mat board (regular mat board is made in lots of colors, but museum board is usually only available in white or cream though some companies make grey and black too). Personally I prefer plain white mat board and black metal frames or dark stained wood. Silver metal frames look good on bright colored walls, black looks best on white or light colored walls.
--
Chris Crawford
Santa Fe, NM
Fine Art Photography of Indiana

http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com/fine_art/index.htm

Check out my new project:
http://www.plumpatrin.com

Re: Framing and mat advice for black and white photos in blue room

In reply to 14nLover • Mar 23, 2008

Thanks for the advice. I may have been a bit unclear - one way I was considering hanging the photos was to take the 8x10 b&w photo, tape it to 8x10 foamcore, and then tape this to a 12x16 piece of blue foamboard which I'd then hang on the wall. So it would display like varying colors of blue squares with my photos in them. Or perhaps using 2 blue foam boards of 30"x40", one in a lighter blue and one in a darker blue, and displaying 4 photos on each in this manner. The idea of using foamcore was so that the b&w photo didn't sit directly on the blue. What I didn't like about this is that the blue foamboard idea seemed a bit too casual for the room I was trying to create, as the edges would be a bit unfinished.

I'm a little hesitant about my idea for blue mats as well. I have many b&w photos hung in my bedroom, and those are all using white mats with black frames. I thought maybe using the double mat with the inner mat being black would help the blue not detract from the picture as much, and using a sky blue outer mat might not be as distracting as a darker blue. Or perhaps using a triple mat to break the picture from the outer blue mat a bit.

Since both of these ideas do have their problems, are there other ways of displaying the photos so that I could incorporate blue somewhere in the display?

Thanks!

14nLover wrote:

Traditionally black and white photos are matted with white or cream
museum board only. Museum board is mat board made of cotton, which is
better for long term display than regular wood-pulp mat board. Foam
core is ok for backing but shouldnt be used as a mat. The mat is the
board with a window cut in it that goes over the photo, the backing
is the board that goes behind the photo..to which the photo is
usually taped, or glued. Plastic corners or linen tape are archival,
glue is not.

Having said that, if you are hanging the photos purely for decor, I
guess you could buy blue mat board (regular mat board is made in lots
of colors, but museum board is usually only available in white or
cream though some companies make grey and black too). Personally I
prefer plain white mat board and black metal frames or dark stained
wood. Silver metal frames look good on bright colored walls, black
looks best on white or light colored walls.
--
Chris Crawford
Santa Fe, NM
Fine Art Photography of Indiana

http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com/fine_art/index.htm

Check out my new project:
http://www.plumpatrin.com

John Box • Regular Member • Posts: 263

Re: Framing and mat advice for black and white photos

-- hide signature --

As has been mentioned, a white or off-white mat in a black frame is the traditional choice. I work a bit in art, so I go outside tradition many times with good results. If you have a mat-cutter you could experiment with layering a slightly smaller white mat over a blue. You can also layer as many as you like (perhaps two shades of blue). A ¼" blue revel inside the white mat along with a blue frame might work for your black and white's print. Remember to use a bevel cut. Good luck…J
http://www.picturetrail.com/pa-paw

14nLover • Contributing Member • Posts: 643

Re: Framing and mat advice for black and white photos in blue room

newcollegegrad wrote:

Thanks for the advice. I may have been a bit unclear - one way I was
considering hanging the photos was to take the 8x10 b&w photo, tape
it to 8x10 foamcore, and then tape this to a 12x16 piece of blue
foamboard which I'd then hang on the wall. So it would display like
varying colors of blue squares with my photos in them. Or perhaps
using 2 blue foam boards of 30"x40", one in a lighter blue and one in
a darker blue, and displaying 4 photos on each in this manner. The
idea of using foamcore was so that the b&w photo didn't sit directly
on the blue. What I didn't like about this is that the blue foamboard
idea seemed a bit too casual for the room I was trying to create, as
the edges would be a bit unfinished.

I'm a little hesitant about my idea for blue mats as well. I have
many b&w photos hung in my bedroom, and those are all using white
mats with black frames. I thought maybe using the double mat with the
inner mat being black would help the blue not detract from the
picture as much, and using a sky blue outer mat might not be as
distracting as a darker blue. Or perhaps using a triple mat to break
the picture from the outer blue mat a bit.

Since both of these ideas do have their problems, are there other
ways of displaying the photos so that I could incorporate blue
somewhere in the display?

Thanks!

Maybe use a blue frame and white mat? The metal frames, such as Nielsen, are made in a lot of colors. Where I live, the stores only sell black, gold, and silver, but mail order places like American Frame sell them in all the colors available.

oldepro • Contributing Member • Posts: 642

many resources

I would visit some actual framing stores and talk to them to get ideas and prices.

Also visit several online frame/mat/conservation sites -- they have much information.

You dont want to mess up your photos using homemade methods. There are methods and materials to do what you want without damage.

lightimpressionsdirect.com ?
mattsnandmoore.com (or similar spelling ) ?
google for framing and mats etc.
also conservation and museum mounting

Re: Framing and mat advice for black and white photos

Hi,

I think it's a fab idea to decorate your living room with black and white pictures. It will give a traditional as well as a modern look to your room.

What I understood is that you want to add some colors on your wall, so instead of keeping the white or cream mat for your black and white pictures you want to add some blue color into it. Also you want to use a solid blue foamboard and paste your pictures on it.

To be very frank the idea of using a foamboard is not so good, as it will not give a clean finish to your wall and will look too casual. It will also destroy the grace of your black and white pictures. Instead you can use frames with colored mats , with a golden or silver color frame. It will give a classic look to your living room.

You can also use a red colored mat instead of blue, because I already have one in my living room .It looks perfect and blend with the atmosphere of the room. So I suggest you the same.

You can get more ideas from the following resources ,as they were very helpful for me !!:-)

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/picture-frame-with-mat

http://www.pictureframes.com/Picture-Mats-Liners

http://www.arttoframe.com/

https://www.frameshop.com.au/pack-of-6-matboards.html&f=6

What Color Frame Looks Best With Black and White Photos

Source: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/2274730

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