The Framers Forum

Hi folks,

I feel this has got to be said, and to be honest I am quite prepared to take some flack from some quarters, but so be it!

Last week I had an order for a 'professionally' taken child's portrait photograph. Nothing controversial there!

Firstly the photographer in question flummoxed me and this time didnt sign his work.......thankfully....weyhey. Secondly he had advised the clients to have the piece canvas bonded, ....still no controversy!

Then it happened, yes, all the previous work.....well, it all fell apart around, both me and the client.
Firstly, This photographer had stretched the canvas around badly out of square stretcher bars, and to make matters worse he had stapled right across the mitred corners, with the longest staple I had ever seen, at least 1 1/2 long. The bars were incapable of movement in any direction.
Secondly because the bars were so far out of square, he had mitred and cut the canvas in each corner to make it easier to fold the corners over, thus manking it vurtually impossible to put right once everything had been taken apart and re-stretched, but we managed.
Thirdly, he had hammered the wedges in so tight, (upside doen as well) they would not come out, until everything had been taken apart, and even them one set of 2 wedges had to be prised out with pincers, they were in that tight and that far.

Apparently from what I can gather, this is this photographers 'speciality', i.e. canvas bonding photographs, and stretching them. All I can say to all decnt framers everywhere, especially those on this forumis...God help us all, if this continues? There are cowboys everywhere, this man or woman (my client would not tell us, fair play, they were disgusted too once all had been explained), should not be allowed anywhere near stretcher bars or a stanley knife!
Are some (not all) photographers incapable of asking for help, or at least asked to be shown how to stretch a canvas?

Rant Over

Steven

As long as it's open season on photographers, my pet gripe is the sticky label that they insist on welding to the backs of their pictures. Why not just place them on the cardboard mount, then the photograph can be easily removed and dry-mounted prior to being properly framed.

Hi FN,

This isnt so much open season on photographers, its not what I intended, just some of their so called 'professional' methods, but I totally agree with you on that darn'd label. There is no need for it at all, for instance, wherever a photograph is displayed, whether its framed or just in its cheap cardboard mount, no one ever sees it! Complete waste of time.
I find lighter fluid gets the labels off quite easily, and does no damage to any part of the photo, as it evaporates quickly. I also use it, along with a cotton bud, to get the odd photo that has stuck to the glass, it doesnt harm the emulsions, etc., just dont light it!!!!! hahahahahaha
I have mentioned this before in another posting: One of my other beefs, is the photographers signature on the actual photo, why? A school photo, portrait photo, etc. is not art as such, (in my opinion) so why sign it? Like us framers they could put a label on the back of the cardboard mount...just keep it off the photo, all the customer wanted was a photo of their kids , or family. I have no problems with photographers who take landscape, seascapes or any other type of photo, signing their work like artists, just not photos of kids or families, etc.

Steven

Sometimes people "don't know that they don't know"

That is what is being discussed here. If these people were in the legal or medical profession and did similar mismanagement of their tasks for a client what would be the reprocussions? A lot more than just a little grumbling.


As for those misplaced labels on the back of a photo........I still see a rubber stamp impression from time to time that will not conflict with mounting. It is my opinion that the photographers who insist on using these labels think they look better than a rubber stamp smudge. On the other hand they have not thought about the implications of what the label can do.
A hair dryer or heat gun gently used from the back and a spatula will in most cases release the label without any chemicals.

Thanks for the heatgun tip Jerome. I'm looking forward to trying it out. Just can't believe that, in all the time I have been framing, I have never come across this tip before now.

I use this method for all types of self adhesive tapes........
from the back of art......
from the back of frames (ATG dust covers or sealing tape)
bad mounts.........


once again ........watch the amount of heat...........

Hi all,

thanks also from this quarter for the hot air tip, I may be about to need it to remove some tape from an expensive (£200) photograph that another (so called) framer has applied along the entire length of the photograph.

I am only just starting out in framing, I am also a photographer - all previous remarks noted and agreed with! - and I am quite appalled at the standards I have seen from some framers, especially in mount cutting.

The photo referred to above has, I am told, had three mounts cut for it because the first two were not acceptable. I picked up the photograph, wrapped, and took it away believing all was well, until I unpacked it. The window mount is ok but the photo is stuck to the back of it, the undermount consisted of a flimsy piece of card with roughly cut edges and of dubious provenance, it fell off when the package was opened! I now have to remount the photograph, which I will do properly using unbuffered museum board for both the window and undermount. This image is unique, it cannot be replaced and the original framer should have known this, hopefully I can now pick up some work from the photographer who created the image!

Regards

Les Sutherland aka less