The Frame Game

How many of you have walls in your house that look like this?

For myself I favour the traditional beige paint with delicate cracks in the surface,
plus the occasional fingerprint. Readers of a more refined taste, however, may wish to cover the surface with art - and if they are photographers there is no better art than that created by themselves. It’s not bragging if it’s good. However, it is rarely good on its own - a poster stuck to the wall of your first student flat with Blu-Tac is all very well, but by the time you’ve learned how to shoot, edit, print, and criticise, you are ready for the next step in presentation - framing.

I asked Paul 1 and Paul 2 from Fitzgerald Photo Imaging at 350 Fitzgerald Street, North Perth, what they had in their shop that was new, exciting, or dangerous. They settled on ready- made frames - apparently there is a whole new batch in-shop ready for photographers now. They didn’t say whether these were dangerous, but they could be exciting.

The opportunity for the photo shooter to complete their art in a professional
manner is very good news - and here I need to be delicate... I have shopped for frames before, myself. My studio has a number of images hung round the walls, as does my home. In some cases I have gone to a professional framers, and in others I have gone to a big general retailer. I liked their meatballs, but I found their

Some fit my photos. Some fit someone else’s work, and in sizes that are popular elsewhere in the world. Many reminded me of scale model kits from obscure makers - things nearly fit, much of the time... I SHOULD have gone to Fitzy’s. They frames are made in-house by people who print images on real paper sizes.
They are finished, and if I need different colours, they have them. If I need help, they can give it - their aesthetic eyes are far more attuned to the look of good art than mine. They know proportion and can assess the right amount of matt width for an image. They can make the print I make look ever so much better.

Like I’ve said before on this column, the image in the camera or phone may be a
good start - it can become better once it passes through the editing program - and has matured for a few days. But it only becomes real when it’s finished well - and the counter at Fitzgerald’s is a great place to go for this.