Studies in black and white

[Steve Foss]

I was out shooting an abandoned rock quarry near Ely this morning for a client and decided to experiment a bit with mat presentations. A black mat makes for striking presentation and seems to pull my eye into the image much more than a white mat does.

I'd like to hear your opinions on that. I'm including a white mat/black frame first, then simply black mats (with white inner mat core) and a silver signature for all the rest.

[fishinchicks]

I like the black mat best with black and white photos. You are right in that it draws your eye into the picture.

I like when you put out examples to help us learn the most effective way of showing off our photos. Thanks!

[finnbay]

I'm going to assume we're discussing B/W imaging only. There is a crispness to that black border, but it seems to me to be most effective in directing your attentions with the lighter subject. For me, it loses some of that effect as the subject material gets darker.

[Steve Foss]

Ken, I am discussing purely B&W. And I think you are right. The heavier the blacks in the image the less effective the black mat is and the more likely a white mat is better.

[finnbay]

That 4th image is spectacular - almost 3 dimensional.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, Ken. Because the tones slant toward mid-range and whites in that image, I think it's the one most flattered by the black mat.

[Blaze]

#4 is spectacular, Steve. Beautiful.

[mcary]

Steve,

For me, the dark mats actually work better with the darker subjects. I find it most appealling in images #1,2&4. Just personal preference I'm sure, but in the third image I found it hard to focus on the lighter subject with the stark black mat surrounding it.

[MN Shutterbug]

Quote:

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I'm going to assume we're discussing B/W imaging only. There is a crispness to that black border, but it seems to me to be most effective in directing your attentions with the lighter subject. For me, it loses some of that effect as the subject material gets darker.

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I have to agree. When the subject is too dark, it blends in too much to the black mat. A white mat separates the image more from the frame, thereby not letting the frame interfere.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, guys. I was sure there'd be some division of opinion on this one, matting tastes varying so widely.

Whichever way a person comes down, I think the white reveal (black mat with a white core) arond the inside of the mat makes a big difference. Just that slight degree of separation from the mat and image.

[Dbl]

I generally prefer the white or lighter color mats on BW. For me #1 is perfect. IMHO the black matte just detracts or draws focus from the main subject..the photo. No doubt you will get a number of opinions and mine is one very small one.

[buzzsaw]

For what it's worth, go to any number of art shows and 90% of what you see for mattes are white or light colored... I did some research this year and was told that people preder the white or light colored mattes. I am also in that camp.

[Steve Foss]

Yeah, all the mats for all my shows, including the permanent one at Grand Superior Lodge, are white or a slightly warm off-white.

I think I'll probably offer a couple B&W prints matted and mounted in the gift store with the black mats/white core to give people a couple other options. I've only got one B&W print in the bin now, and a black mat won't work for that one. But on the occasions a black mat works, it REALLY works.

[The_Duckslayer]

WOW! I like #2 the best. You are one of the few that could go into a rock quarry, take pictures of rocks, and make them look that good! Thanks for sharing././Jimbo

[muc33]

My vote is #4, and I would love to see that with the White just for kicks!

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, you guys.

muc, here you go.

[Water Hazard]

stcatfish-

First off, thank you for all the great images you post. You are an inspiration! I enjoy looking through your and other's images.

I really like B&W as a medium. I think because it is less common, it is often more striking.

The black/white mat question is interesting. As I scrolled through the images, my eyes literally focused more on the images with the black mat.

That being said, it is worth thinking about where someone would hang this picture after purchasing it. I think some of the value in a white/off white mat like you mentioned you use is the flexibility it provides when hanging it on a wall. A black mat almost requires a white/off white wall where a white/off white mat goes with most wall colorings.

Just my opinion. Keep up the great work!!

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, WH. Giving people more options on where in their home/business they can hang a print is important. No doubt about it. With the B&W images and black mat/frames, for example, I could see some going nicely in a retro bathroom with white subjway wall tile and a black/white hex tile floor, with pink or seafoam green towels as accents.

I've had clients who e-mailed to say they liked this or that image on the Web site but asked if I had something similar in a different color scheme because that would go better with their redecorating plan.

Case in point is a client who wanted to order four images of flowers or plants reflecting: Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall. Took a lot of e-mailing low-res images back and forth before they settled on the four. And they were not four I'd have chosen at all, but they sure liked them.

My nature photography in particular almost always depends heavily on color. That's just the way my mind and art works most often. But the longer I do this, the more interested I am in black and white, so I suspect I'll be composing that way in my mind's eye more often. Composing in color or in black and white are very different processes for me.

I'm always happy to oblige with more options.

[Moose]

Steve, How do you and Fin frame and mat the pictures you post on this site? Is it a software program you use or is it the image hosting site that offers it? email me [email protected]

[Steve Foss]

It's an automated process within Photoshop that I downloaded from another photographer's Web site. His name is Ryan DesJardins. You can download it for free, and there are instructions for its use. Just plug in the photog's name between the usual stuff and that'll get you there. Make sure you spell his name right or you'll go to the wrong site.

[carlcmc]

excellent stuff as usual!