Are framed pictures a thing of the past??

 

The other day, I went in search of a 16x20 frame for a picture I had printed and matted. It's a picture I took on vacation in Paris in January. I printed it on fine art paper and matted it with an
acid free pre-cut mat but I didn't want to pay for a custom frame job when it was a stock size. So I went to my local Hobby Lobby. To my shock and horror, their once well-stocked frame department has been reduced to a small section of wall and an aisle of shelves. The department manager told me that they are "getting out of frames". It seems that people are not framing pictures to put on their walls any more; they just put them on social media, so Hobby Lobby has decided to go with the trend. 

It makes me feel sick to think that people are not printing and framing pictures-or are they? Could it be that the lack of affordable stock frames is making budget strapped consumers feel it's not worth the effort? I think of my customers who want prints only, to save money. What will they do with them? Put them in a drawer? Someone must sell frames!  I went to that fount of all consumer goods: Amazon.  Sure, they have frames, but they are boring and flimsy, and mostly come with thin plexiglass instead of glass. 

It is clear I have a duty to my clients to help them out of this morass. I have so many options for displaying and enjoying their family photos. Lets look at a few of them:

• Gallery Wrap canvas prints-these are traditionally stretched over a wooden frame and varnished to protect them from UV light and finger marks. They can also be framed. A relatively inexpensive option.
• Metal Prints-images are printed directly onto coated metal for a modern and durable look. They have various mounting options and float away from the wall.
• Acrylic prints: the print is mounted to the back of a clear piece of acrylic which floats away from the wall like Metal prints do
• Wood prints: The image is actually printed onto Maple plywood so that the grain shows through the lighter parts of the image!
• Ready matted and framed or custom matted and framed-the sky's the limit on this option!
• Matted and mounted prints in a folio box: no room on the wall? You can buy a selection of prints and display one at a time on at table stand. Some folio boxes have a framed lid, so you can show off the image on top and Graphistudios, (my Italian vendor), will even print one of your images on the lid of the box!

I did find a frame at Hobby Lobby, although it was not what I wanted and it wasn't particularly cheap. It definitely opened my eyes to the value of what I provide. My job is not over when I take the pictures; I can use my expertise to make displaying them easy and stress free!