Using digital matting techniques, it is now easier than ever to experiment and move beyond the understated traditions of neutral and muted colors.  If you look at any good color photograph, it is alive with various color tones and combinations that are waiting to be accentuated.  The old adage that beauty is in the eye of the beholder applies to how we look at scenes and compositions that capture our attention.  Light and shadows, colors and tones all contribute to setting mood and impacting our feelings about the world around us. 

A presentation can be subtle or bold in the way it aims to capture the eye of the beholder.  Neutral and muted matting allows the viewer to find their own mood and statement in the context of the photograph on display.  By adding texture, colors matched from the photograph itself, or combinations of the two, the effect can make specific aspects richer and bolder, giving the life of the photo more zing than otherwise possible from surrounding it with subdued colors and tones.  With traditional mattes, finding the right color matches and putting the product together successfully would be both costly and time consuming.  Digital matting can allow you to grab a viewer’s attention and point them at what your composition is saying to you. 

When your photo is not meant for public display or appreciation, and you are highlighting it simply for your own enjoyment rather than its potential commercial value, you can take your experimentation to a greater level.  Trying out different color combinations with or without textures can give you a chance to find just the right statement of framing and mood that works to suit yourself.  Compared to the hundreds of dollars it takes to matte and frame one picture, the low cost digital matting process can provide a variety of alternatives to choose from until you find exactly what you are looking for. 

From a recent customer’s feedback, I heard an interesting story about the impact of one set of mattes I had done.  The customer had printed out the two digitally matted photographs in a 4 x 6 format, and framed them as a gift for a co-worker.  My customer later learned that the person who received the gift had replaced the original pictures with their own, but had also taken the time to use the digital mattes around their replacement photos by cutting out the original photos.  Even though there is only so many ways to matte a photo, the new options available with digital techniques have significantly broadened the potential horizon.

Texture and colors add zing and draw the eye to specific matches in the photo

Textures and colors create mood and highlights for compositions

Traditions are time honored practices that people carry forward from generation to generation, to preserve the benefits associated with such activities.  When it comes to photo matting traditions, many of these practices should have been overthrown a long time ago.  Even applying the most simplistic concepts for creating a basic matte, the time consuming job of measuring mattes to fit frames, then matching the right colors, and finally making sure the matte is cut to appropriately fit the picture can be troublesome for both amateur and professionals alike. 

It is the need for precise cutting, placing and measuring that keeps many people away from trying to do it themselves to any great extent.  One of the most vexing parts of this precision activity can be the fitting of the picture to its matte without losing too much around the edges, or leaving gaps on any of the sides.  In some cases, I have seen poorly matted and framed placements slip apart or get off center while being transported from a frame shop to home, or taped together combinations come apart over time and need to be redone.  Another problem with the traditions of matting is that more complex layers and designs add increasing amounts of thickness and weight to the framed picture.  If easy is not enough, the added complexity means added cost to accomplish the desired visual effect. 

There is undoubtedly a worthwhile visual impact associated with matching up a picture to a nicely done matte, even if the matte itself is just a basic colored border.  When I started creating digital photo matting techniques, it was like a light bulb going on in my head.  Digital methods allow me to keep the traditional advantages of picture matting, while solving many of the traditional problems associated with manipulating the physical materials.  With digital mattes, I do not have to worry about the problematic measurements to fit the matte and picture to the frame, because the finished product can be printed to fit the right size frame, be displayed perfectly in a digital picture frame, or be used with a variety of other display methods. 

Traditional problems of edge loss with conventional mattes can be completely eliminated with digital matting techniques, because the picture and its matte are fused together in a single printed image, while a complete view of the photo is displayed.  With the digital system, any loss in the photo composition is intentional when choosing to round off corners, or create non-rectangular freestyle shapes.  As complexity of digitized matte layers increase, there is no increase in the materials, thickness, or weight required to produce the end result.  All the visible elements of the matting technique can be printed out on a single thin sheet of photo paper. 

So, what is the bottom line here?  What it all boils down to is a major reduction in labor, cost, and time needed to produce excellent matting results that range from simple to highly sophisticated designs.  Traditional mattes can only be used in the solid frames they are designed to fit when they are created.  Digitally matted photos can be used in a variety of ways and sizes without going back to the drawing board and starting from scratch.  Say goodbye to cardboard and cutters, the digital revolution is knocking on another door.

Digital matting adds creativity and solves problems of traditional mattes

It has long been recognized that truly good photographs may come by design, or pure accident.  Professional and novice photographers alike continue to capture images that resonate with those who view them, and allow an audience to share in the quality of those brief moments.

Making a good picture better can involve a number of different techniques and changes in framing, lighting, filtering, effects, cropping, and other enhancements.  One of the single most dramatic ways to enhance the quality and highlighting of a photo is to use a good matting technique, and to be mindful of the type of frame that will be used to showcase the photograph.  With digital photography, there are lots of new ways to manipulate images that were simply not available with old style film techniques. As growing numbers of people grab their digital cameras and use the associated software that comes with them, it is easier than ever to create interesting and unique results.

When it comes time to showcase your images, I think there should also be a less expensive and improved alternative to the old school techniques for matting and framing your pictures as well.  While digital picture frame manufacturers work to sort out their best ideas for how to display your digital photographs, I turned my attention toward focusing on creating digital matting techniques that broaden the scope and lower the costs associated with achieving excellent matting results. 

For a tiny fraction of the cost associated with physically matting a photo, my digital techniques allow better results and more variations at the same price.  My matted photos fit perfectly in the common frame sizes without worrying about meticulous placement or having to purchase frames thick enough to handle the usual heavy matting boards.  This means lower cost frames can achieve great showcase results.  Best of all, low cost matting can allow everyone to highlight and display more of their favorite photos without paying through the nose to do it.

If people wonder why they have not yet heard about digital matting for photographs, they would be in the same place I was when I started developing my own techniques.  Looking back at the digital phenomenon, the evolution of photography and its presentation makes sense.  First, there were cameras which got started and improved over time, then digital picture frames for displaying electronic versions of photos, and now my digital matting techniques to expand and improve on the time tested practices of picture display enhancement.  Whether or not my personal efforts succeed to raise awareness of this exciting new prospect, I have no doubt the idea will continue forward in its own good timing.  At worst, anyone who applies these new techniques will have a house full of beautiful pictures for their friends and family to enjoy. 

With digital matting and your picture frame, you can transform your photos for as little as $3

Using the virtual world of digital matting techniques, it is possible to create more elaborate accent styles at lower cost.  Where traditional matting techniques use real materials, digital methods can create similar effects using much less expensive virtual images. One interesting new technique explored by this article is called the “picture in picture” technique.

A large part of using this technique is to find ways to allow a photograph to be both the focus point and its own matting highlights.  There are several interesting variations that arise from applying this framing method. Essentially, the main ingredients are to use a larger and intentionally blurred version of a photo as the main matte background, while imposing a smaller, sharpened image in the center and foreground of the matte.  The sharper defined image may then be further highlighted using virtual insets, solid color matches from the photo, color blends, or variations of these approaches to complete the desired effect. 

Other variations might come with creating outer edge variations of color or texture, while keeping the focused image at the center or some intentional offset location.  In some cases, a tunnel image effect may help to draw focus on the sharper image as the blurred forms step down to the intended target.

Though the picture in picture style is not the best choice for all photographs, it does offer some real attention getting results for a variety of subjects and colors.  Creating mattes for any kind of art, whether it is paintings, photos, or prints is all about finding ways to accent and focus viewers on the displayed subject.  Many bland or neutrally colored mattes, which are seen almost everywhere, merely draw the viewer’s eye to the work surrounded by the matte.  More colorful and ornate matte designs help to accentuate details or enrich aspects of the work.  Matting can reinforce mood or suggest a context for photos. 

Traditional matting continues to do the job of adding a professional looking touch to a framed subject.  When a bolder statement is needed, the picture in picture technique will capture attention in a fresh way.  Best of all, using the digital application of this approach will cost less than trying to reproduce a physically layered equivalent. 

Examples of picture in picture matting techniques