Are borders non -cool?

[kairos]

Recently I have been adding borders to my photos. I slipped up on the latest assignment and miss matched the border to the photo! But should I be using a border at all?
All suggestions gratefully received.
Richard.

[xxpinballxx]

Alot do not like them and some flickr groups dont like them in their groups but I have recently started practicing with them and I think I like them. Sometimes they get to big or wide or dont really match up but for the most part i think it gives the viewer an idea of what it framed on the wall would look like.
I think its all a matter of taste and we here at DPS don't have any rules as far as I know about them.

[wulf]

Personally, I would say that the answer is a resounding yes. Borders are almost always uncool. In most cases, I think borders detract from rather than complement the picture. It is different when displaying them in a custom gallery or for printing and hanging on a wall, when framing is an essential part of the display, but for places like this site I prefer to see just the photos with no distracting borders (or watermarks for that matter).

However, it is up to you. As long as you keep the overall image within 600px max on the longest side, I'm cool with that. I am more likely to skip over the image (although I'm sure plenty of people will like it) but once in a while I do see a border that I like.

Wulf

[Jamesc359]

They can be kind of tacky at times, but for the most part I enjoy the occasional border. Plain borders are what I prefer the most, but sometimes a good decorative border is nice too when it compliments the photo. So, I think borders are cool in general.

[Nicole]

Meh, personally I don't like them. I realise that mattes are borders on physical prints, I just don't like them on digital images. I think it's one of those things like watermarking though. Some people like it, some don't. It's all personal preference.

[jdepould]

On physical prints I usually like them (white, less than 0.5"), but digitally I generally prefer borderless. Note, I'm not talking about matting, I'm talking about the actual border on the print itself. If you're going to do it on digital, emulate the analog. It can also be good if you want to watermark without doing it on top of the image, though it's easier to remove that way.

[Liz Caldwell]

I personally like borders on portraits if it fits the mood. But really, any photo could look good with the right border... really, it's your art, you choose how you want us to see it.

[mattdm]

Originally Posted by kairos

Recently I have been adding borders to my photos. I slipped up on the latest assignment and miss matched the border to the photo! But should I be using a border at all?

I vote for "kinda tacky". But beyond that, they kind of offend me technically. The border shouldn't be part of the image, but rather part of the display mechanism: frame/matting for a print, or HTML/CSS for online.

[carl yeomans]

I somtimes like them, and somtimes dont. It depends on the picture. I agree with pinball, that it gives you an idea how it will look mounted and framed. I cant say there are distracting, as i never sit and stare at a border.

[jdepould]

Originally Posted by mattdm

I vote for "kinda tacky". But beyond that, they kind of offend me technically. The border shouldn't be part of the image, but rather part of the display mechanism: frame/matting for a print, or HTML/CSS for online.

That's an interesting thought. Only downside is that a lot of the more popular photosharing sites don't let you tweak the CSS.