Wedding Photogs - Signing Mat?

[Erin Kathleen]

Does anyone offer a Signing Mat for their clients? I've had a few clients asking for one recently and I'm not sure where to go to get the matting and framing done. Any recommendations? Thanks!

[Holly]

I did this for a wedding this past June. Basically, we matted an 11 x 14 photograph to a 16 x 20 off white matte board. A local shop that used to process all of my prints when I shot film does the matting, but they charge a lot. Any print shop or frame shop should be able to do it for you locally, and most online places. We didn't frame it, and made sure there was a border around the print left blank for the frame. I didn't think about framing without the glass for signing - to prevent anyone from writing on the edges and being hidden by the frame later. I know of one photographer who actually attaches a pen to the board with a cutesy little bow or something - totally not my style. The bride provided the pens on the one I did.

[brad]

We do our own matting most of the time.. any white mat will do, you can even purchase cut mats in standard sizes at Hobby Lobby or Micheal's..

[Holly]

I tried the precuts at Hobby Lobby once, using double sided photo tape. Didn't hold worth a dang. And they warped pretty badly with time. But then again, when I had mats professionally done, I would have them foam back it - that always helps :)

[Erin Kathleen]

Brad - How do you matte them? It's something I was thinking I could learn rather than pay a fortune (though I think I would like to use the foam board like you were talking about, Holly). Hmmmm.

[dab94]

Aaron Brothers!!
They have everything you'd need, at great prices. If you don't want to be doing the framing yourself, they can do it for you.

On a side note, I used to work as a framer. It's fairly easy to do, but to do it right and to do it well takes some practice. If you're willing to put the time and energy into it, it's a great 'add on' for sales.

[brad]

Ditto what dab said... I have a Logan cutter.. its decent. You can get big pieces of mat board from those same places as well.

If you go out to the State Fair, there was a guy there with another mat cutting system.. really nice system, actually, but was a lot more expensive than the Logan cutter.

(Oh, and the Logan cutter came with an instructional video to teach you the basics.)

[dab94]

You want to talk about a 'really nice system'?
I almost bought one of these babies......

While really cool, they're REALLY expensive. In hindsight, I'm glad I got out of framing, but also glad I learned the skills to be able to do it myself.


[/hijack] (sorry, Erin!)

[Erin Kathleen]

Oooooooo - Now, y'all know that my husband has said NO MORE PHOTO equipment until I actually start taking money out of the business for us. Something about me quitting to do it full time and him not seeing any money from it bothers him. Not sure why. So NO MORE TEMPTATIONS. No more toys unless I can find a REAL business need...mostly. So - how can I sell my signing mattes and matted, framed photos to my clients to justify needing all this, right?

[dab94]

Well..........technically...........this isn't 'photo' equipment.

Seriously, though.......
If you're willing to raise prices, then figure the cost of all this stuff in, and raise them accordingly. If you deliver framed pieces, you are delivering a truly finished product, ready to hang on the wall.

[Erin Kathleen]

True - but I would need to at least know that I can (a) produce a decent product and (b) enough people are going to order them to warrent the cost. I'll put them in some of my packages and as an add on when I revamp my pricing scheme and use a local framing place for now. If there's enough of a demand for them, though, I'll probably go ahead and get the equipment to do it myself.

[LoungeLizard]

Originally Posted by Wilson

I know of one photographer who actually attaches a pen to the board with a cutesy little bow or something - totally not my style. The bride provided the pens on the one I did.

You are missing out on a great little detail shot!

[Holly]

You are missing out on a great little detail shot!

ha ha! I guess you're right about that!! LOL

[Erin Kathleen]

And we all know how much Holly likes her details.

[shutterflypro]

I also cut mats and mount all of my pictures.

It is easy it just takes some time to practice and get used too. for 100 bucks you can get a mat cutter. Mats will then run you about 6 bucks for a 32X40 piece of mat material. You will master how to get the most out of it.

As far as the mounting. The reason your pictures warp is because the expand and contract when on the frames. When you use tape it will not allow them to do this hence you get those nasty warped looking pictures.

Ther are 2 ways around this. One way is to use photocorners and discreetly disguise them behind the mat. The other way is to use photo spray mount and mount them to foam core. Make sure you get the photo mount spray that is non acidic and designed for photos though. about 12 bucks a can. The foam core will run you about 6 bucks for 32X40

32X40 is good for 4 16X20

Now as far as the signature mat. This is a wonderful item and I let the brides know that they will usually get more people to sign these than they will a signature book. There are a couple of problems though: 1. The frame, the couple usually need a frame for them(make sure you get yours back in one piece, experience here) 2. Watch out for those little demon kids that want to defile your work of art.

They are great otherwise. If you have any more questions just ask and I will be more than willing to help.