How to Print & frame your photography
Print your photography and make it into beautiful hanging art
If you want simple and inexpensive ways to print and frame your photos, this is the tutorial for you!
Thomas Heaton, a UK landscape photographer, shows his tips for different photo mounting so you can enjoy your art, sell the prints, or give them as gifts!
Tips to print and frame your photos and display your art!
The camera gear that Thomas mentions in the video which is what he uses are:
24-70 f2.8 Lens, no brand mentioned but here are a few:
Thomas is making mini-prints in this video, but the concepts can be applied to all sizes.
Easy ways to print and frame your photography – Tools & supplies:
- The supplies and tools you need to follow this tutorial are:
- A cutting mat for the table you’re working at
- A sharp blade
- A mat cutter tool, pretty much a blade on a flat handle (if you have one)
- Ruler or straight edge
- Desktop cutter for straight edge cutting of prints, picture on the right below
- Mats or mounts (foam board or poster board offcuts from your local framer or craft store!)
- A cheap frame, any size (Thomas uses A4)
- Self adhesive foam board
- Semi gloss photo paper if printing the photos yourself
How To Frame with a Mat/Mount:
Your photo will look beautiful framed by the crisp white border of a mount or mat.
First you want to mark out the frame dimensions on the mount.
Then use the ruler and sharp edge to cut out the inside of the mat frame, creating a box for your photo to fit into.
Next, size and print out the image, making sure to size it accordingly on the computer first for the dimensions you cut from the board.
Attach the photo to the back of the mat in the frame area using tape or glue. Then you’re done!
You can put a little stand or easel on the back, or mount it to a wall if it’s larger.
How to Make a cheap frame look nice:
You can buy a cheap plastic frame from any craft store.
One tip for more professional looking framed photo is to give your image a lot of negative space with the mat dimensions you choose.
Measure out a small window in your mat/mount material.
Be mindful of what image you choose to print; Thomas chose a high contrast black and white image which really pops in the frame!
Print the photo for the space you’ve cut out and attach it from the back with tape or adhesive.
Sign the mat area for that professional look!
Create a Frameless print
All you need for this one is some self adhesive foam board!
You need to pre-score the board before cutting to get a cleaner edge, and use the sharp blade or mat cutter if you have one. Most of these boards come within a grid on the back to help with cutting straight lines and getting the right size.
Print out the image you have chosen after you have sized it on the computer on the semi gloss paper.
Ensure no dirt or dust particles are on the photo or the mat! You can use handy air-sprayer to remove any stray dust from the surfaces before you stick the photo to the board.
Use gloves or a lens cleaner cloth to smooth the image over the board, removing small sections of the paper over the sticky surface at a time until the whole photo is down.
This works well with large images too!
Extra step: make the frameless print ‘float’ inside a box frame!
Using a small canvas or item with double sided tape on either side, you can place the frameless print in the box frame and then hang that! It will appear as if it’s floating inside the frame. Cool!
Creative ways to print and frame your photography as artwork!
Such cool ideas and easy crafting to make your photography prints look incredible. Get professional looking photography prints without spending very much money!
These beautiful frames make great gifts and will also look great to sell, display in your local coffee shop and hang around your house.
Want to improve your photography so you can take amazing photos to frame? Check out this guide to improving your photography!
Which of the photo framing tips above will you use to display your work?
Comment below!
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