Space

The more I post pictures on the internet the more it seems a poor viewing experience. These days I make prints of all the pictures I think have something about them then I frame them in cheap frames to ponder over them. What is important is to make sure there is enough space around the picture to show it at it's best. That is why computer screens are poor for viewing. There's always clutter, as the first picture proves.

When I make prints on A4 paper to go in my cheapo A4 frames I don't print right to the edge, or use the smallest border possible, I leave at least an inch between picture and paper edge. If I were to use as much of the paper as possible I'd be mounting the pictures to go in larger frames. Which I might get round to one of these days for a few choice images.

Adding a virtual frame, as in the version below (which could do with even more space for the 'mount' in my opinion), helps somewhat, but for becomes wearing when multiple images are presented in that way. Again it's down to space. They are usually too close together - as on a Flickr page for example. Space around the frame helps to define a picture even more, so I've given this one extra here.

It's not a perfect virtual frame, I made it using an on-line tool. The border could be wider, especially at the bottom. I hope it makes my point that how a picture is displayed affects how it is perceived nonetheless.

Something similar applies to books of photographs. Unless they are books of documentary pictures which work as a group I think photographs are best displayed one on each right hand page, with plenty of space around them. I dislike seeing photographs printed to the page edge and/or run over two pages. It's acceptable in a magazine, but if the book is just photographs, then it detracts from the viewing experience. That's my two bob's worth at any rate.

PS Click on the first picture for a larger (but still imperfect) comparison of the two.

---