Displaying Photos

[Don Harpold]

Hello All,

I have a series of 8X10 contact fibre prints window matted 13X16, I have an area to display them and I am trying to decide the best way. Two are vertical and one is horizontal, these are by an Alaskan photographer and are a landscape theme, my thinking is the horizontal in the center and vertical on each side. I was trying to decide if it would look better if the tops of the frames were on the same level or the center horizontal should be centered or ?? Would it be better to find another vertical and go with all the same orientation. I do have another vertical from a different photographer that is matted 13X16 but the size of the photo is slightly different and the window is different.

I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks Don

[Bill_1856]

Put the bottoms of the frames all on the same level.

[Donald Miller]

This is a matter of personal taste. I would place the horizontal between the two verticals and I would center the horizontal top to bottom on the verticals...In other words I would have no adjacent horizontal frame planes on the same plane...that would provide more visual interest to me of the grouping. But that is my personal taste.

[matthew blais]

It's a personal choice, but gallery "rules" are that the center of the image be at average eye level, and the "rule of thumb" for this average is, I believe, at 60-62 inches high. Never-the-less, I almost always align per the center of the image. Sounds like you are hanging side by side, so I'd hang the horizontal one in middle, with above recommendations, but that's sight unseen. Your decor, tones, compositions can sometimes have an affect on how they work together.

[Bruce Watson]

Hard to say - depends on the images, the space, your personal taste.

That said, I've hung a lot of photographs, often many photographs per wall. The height I use is based off the "lead" photograph - I come down from the top of the image (not the frame - the image) about a third of the image height, and put that at eye level. I then use a four foot carpenter's level and make the tops of the remaining frames line up with the top of the "lead" frame, and exactly level (both of these are way more important than you would think). To carry this further, I do this with all photographs in a room so that the tops of all the frames are in line, and level.

Spacing on the wall is also important. I tend to space frames equally apart, but add extra space at the ends, particularly if one end is a corner. For example, if I have a small wall (one side a corner and one side a doorway) and a single frame, I hang the frame asymetrially farther away from the corner and closer to the door. Try it and you'll see why.

What in the world would make me think that this is the right way to hang an exhibit? I watch the people looking at the art. I talk to them. I listen to what they say to each other. Since I started hanging frames this way, comments about the way the exhibit is hung have just ceased. All I hear are comments and questions about the art itself.

In other words, no one notices how it was hung. Isn't that the point?

[John D Gerndt]

Hey Hogarth,

I do the same exact thing and came to it by exactly the same means. I am so glad to have confirmation of this intuition.

Thanks,

[matthew blais]

Just another thought based on other replys; Unless all the images are the same size, same vertical or horizontal position, in the same size frame and matting, then aligning by top or bottom of frame would work once you decide on height. For different sized images and frames, stay with the center of image rule. Also good to ask the local gallery or museum folk for advice as they'll have extensive experience in hanging shows. You've only three to hang, so not too tough to play around with. I base my advice on gallery classes w-a-a-ay back in college. Enjoy the view!

[Mark_3709]

center line, 58" from the floor. While there are no rules, this is what we do in the Museum. The heights vary by an inch or so, but the 58" is very common.