What Is Matting In Photography

This high contrast photo from permanent press editions is matted with a reveal in our gallery frame in dark walnut and we love to how the illusion of multiple layers mirrors the photograph itself.

What is matting in photography.

White mats work well for black and white photography because they amplify the monochromatic effect of the print. The window can open onto only part of the photo thus cropping the image while leaving the photograph whole. In the picture framing industry a mat or matte or mount in british english is a thin flat piece of paper based material included within a picture frame which serves as additional decoration and to perform several other more practical functions such as separating the art from the glass putting mats in a frame is called matting a term which can also usually be used interchangeably with mat. Mattes are used in photography and special effects filmmaking to combine two or more image elements into a single final image.

If you are cutting multiple mats add a title to identify the artwork and print off. A window mat can selectively display the photograph. Cream colored mats are popular because this color is versatile enough to complement almost any image. Actors on a set or a spaceship with a background image e g.

A scenic vista or a starfield with planets. Visit our framing advice section to learn more about matted presentations. Measure your art enter the measurement of your art and the border size and our custom mat calculator will do the math. Well for large custom framed concert posters or movie posters we usually recommend the straightforward look of a full bleed custom.

Usually mattes are used to combine a foreground image e g. The majority of matboard and more s customers are artists whether it be photography painting drawings or other forms of art. Gently wiping with a micro fibre cloth. The first step is to make absolutely sure the glass is spotless with zero smudges marks dust etc.

The mat s border around the image often white separates the image from its surrounding environment providing a clean viewing field free from distraction. You now have a cutting list for each mat you need. I use a glass cleaner mixture i make myself of 50 50 isopropyl alcohol distilled water and lightly mist it on to one glass surface at a time. So now that the matting is finished we move on to framing.

What other mediums might determine your mat and framing style. We love to support artists and since we get so many questions about what kind of matting to use in shows we thought it would be good to create a tutorial on exactly that. Matting definition a coarse fabric of rushes grass straw hemp or the like used for floor covering wrapping material etc. Guide to matting for art shows.