Need Help with Choosing Photo Mat ?

[scottie]

I am considering taking a photo mat onboard to drop off at GS for character signing. Any suggestions on what size mat to get and/or what size cut out for the photo? I am not sure how many Shutters photos we plan to buy this time so we may end up using a photo we take in the frame... that decision won’t be made till after the cruise.
I assume a white mat is a good choice and maybe place some painters tape around the edge?
Any tips are greatly appreciated!

 

[Cruise]

Well, the Shutters photos are 6x8 and 8x10. If you use one of your own, it's a moot point as you can have it printed in any size you like.

It really depends on what you plan to do with the picture. Is it going on a wall in the living room or an office? Or will it be to set on a desk or a mantle?

I'd say for a wall hanging picture, get at least an 11x14 mat and then put an 8x10 photo in it (the mat itself being for an 11x14 frame).

As for the color, I would say it also depends on the photo you plan to use. I had a white one done using various ink colors for a "fun" picture, then I had a black mat done using a silver pen for a formal picture.

I would definitely put the painters tape around the edge as I didn't and the signatures go right to the edge.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I used a beige colored 11x14 matte with a 6x8 cutout, landscape. I used multi colored sharpies for the autograph. I found that with an 11x14 frame, there was more room for signatures with the 6x8 opening.

 

[scottie]

Thanks for the help. I am guessing we will hang it on a wall in our home. If I think we would like to use it in landscape, do we specify that in some fashion so the signatures look correct?

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I put an arrow on the back pointing up. So they knew which way to sign it. You might also want to consider putting about a 1/4" of artist tape around the edges so you have space for the frame without covering any signatures. You could put arrows on the tape as well.

 

[M&N]

I got a frame with a mat that is made especially for signatures at Michaels or AC Moore. It was extra wide and the autographs turned out great.

 

[jamdkvan]

I used a beige colored 11x14 matte with a 6x8 cutout, landscape. I used multi colored sharpies for the autograph. I found that with an 11x14 frame, there was more room for signatures with the 6x8 opening.

What type of sharpies did you bring? Do the fine point work okay? Thanks!

 

[HallsofVA]

We used 11x14 mats with 5x7 openings. Purchased at Michels. Gave tons of room for the signatures. My DD's 6x8 Snow White picture with the snow white border fits perfectly and dopey and a little birdy from the background are "peeking" into the picture while the rest of the border is hidden by the mat.

For DS, I used a 6x8 picture of him with Mickey printed without a border, but the ones with a border could have worked as well.

 

[PurdyBertnie]

just a tip we printed off the Shutters release form and made a smaller copy of out 8X10 to fit it in out 11X14 frame