How Does Matting Affect a Picture?

I'm Being Framed

Matting is a simple cardboard or poster board material that is cut into the shape of a picture frame and placed over a picture or drawing. The matting borders the picture much like a frame does, but it does not have a lot of fancy grooves,or cut designs, and it does not detract from the picture itself. Instead it establishes a border around the picture.

The mat, which is usually beveled along the inside edges, actually draws the eye into the photograph. When you put a border around something, the eye will trace the border and then be drawn into the center of this border. That is how a mat gives a photo more authority and presence.

A photo or drawing is designed to create the illusion of depth and so is the matting. Since the edge is beveled it creates a transition into the photograph; the eye is tricked just a little bit more as it follows the beveled edge. Since the mat is thick, it gives some lift from the photo and sets it back into the entire frame, adding even more depth through real three dimensional offsetting.

Different colors of matting can also affect your picture. Putting a white mat around a photograph will give a much different effect than a black or tan colored mat. Usually, black and white photos have a white or black mat, depending on which color dominates the photo. The matting can add to or detract from the photo or drawing if the color is too bright, too dull or distracting. Patterned mats can also add different effects that blend in with the ideas and patterns in the image.