Framing a landscape image

[Seajay]

Hi all!

My son gave me a frame he bought from ikea which is a white box frame.The size 27 1/4 by 11 1/2
He would like me to use one of my images for it? I have never framed an image other than the usual 7x5 etc so not sure if this frame is the best option or not.

Question is how to best present a landscape image for it?
I will hopefully use the image below but need some help with what size should i make the image and would it look better with a mount inside?

 

[StewartR]

Have you got the dimensions of the frame right? If so, I don't think that's the right image for the frame. (Or the right frame for the image.) They're totally different shapes.

I assume the dimensions are given in inches but it makes no difference to the argument if they're in centimetres. Say you wanted a border 1" high at the top and bottom. Then the image will be 9 1/2" high and it will come out at 15 3/4" wide, so the borders either side will be about 5 3/4" wide. That will look all wrong.

The alternative would be to crop the image to fit the frame, but you'd have to crop it quite drastically. If you want a 2" border all round, you'll need to crop about 50% off the height of the image. If you want a 1" border all round, you'll still need to crop about 40% off the height. I don't think either of those would work very well.

 

[droj]

Roughly speaking, and if I understand the given dimensions and the type of frame correctly, crop the image so that it's a couple of inches smaller than the inside measure of the frame all round.

Then, you could mount and mat it or float it, etc ....

 

[StewartR]

Here are some APPROXIMATE visualisations. You could do this yourself in Photoshop to see what it looks like before committing. (Note that, when I've cropped the image, I've just cropped it centrally for ease: you might want to be more creative.)

(1) Uncropped, 1" border top and bottom.

(2) Uncropped, 2" border top and bottom

(3) 1" border all round, cropped to fit

(4) 2" border all round, cropped to fit

What do you think? Personally I think the cropped versions look better than I expected. There quite a lot of foreground that doesn't seem to add an awful lot to the picture (in my opinion). On the other hand those dark clouds at the top of the picture in the centre are lovely, and I don't see how you can crop thee image and still keep them.

If it were my image I think I might go with something like option (4), or maybe halfway between (3) and (4). Maybe a 1½" border all round. Maybe 1-1½" on three sides and a little bit more, say 1½"-2" at the bottom. Something like that. Maybe.

Hope this helps.

 

[Seajay]

Thank you everyone!

Stewart I like the last two and agree there is not much going on at the bottom so a crop is just fine.
Question is do I crop then print it off at the biggest size I can get from my original then add the mount and find a frame to fit?
I only have a Canon 700d so don't get huge images from it. How big can an enlargement go from an original file size?
Cathy

 

[Seajay]

prints arrived and all looking good thanks everyone!