Framing Tutorial Part 3

This tutorial assumes that you have already completed the getting started tutorial and are familiar with the basic settings of the framer.

If you haven't already, please load the setup file "Example Frames."

Your DPU window should look like this:

Notice that the image has a small white border, not unlike a photographic print, and a shadow to makes it look as if it is floating slightly over the background.  Lets take a closer look at the settings used to produce this image.

Notice that both the Inner Mat and Outer Mat are inactive.  This effect is created entirely with the Frame and Wall components.  The key is that the Frame shape is set to "Flat." 

Tip:  When the "Flat" Frame Style is chosen, the composition (Metal, Plastic, Wood, Mat) have no effect.

You will notice that by choosing a "Flat" frame, there are no seams in the frame, no inner shadow, and no beveled cuts.  The frame looks like the edges of the paper instead of a frame.  The outer shadow creates the floating effect.

Tip:  In order to be sure that the shadow will fit on the wall, the wall size should be at least 1/10th the Frame depth setting (e.g. if the Frame depth is set to 50, the Wall size must be set to a value of 5 or greater to fit the shadow).  In addition, if the Frame "Width=height" checkbox is check, the Wall "Width=height" checkbox should also be checked.

Notice that this image does not have a white border like the previous one did.  However, is does have a shadow to makes it look as if it is floating slightly over the background, just as the previous setting did. 

The only difference between this the "Floating Print" and "Floating Picture" settings is that the frame width is set to 0.  This effectively removes the white border.  The frame is still active so that it can produce the outer shadow effect.

Tip: These effects can be very effective in web sites to make your images and thumbnails standout.  Use a wall color that is the same as the background color of your web.  That wall color will blend in with your web site and your image will appear to float in front of the screen.

This action is designed to show some of the flexibility of the Framer function.  By creating a very thin and tall frame with sharp corners we are able to create the appearance of a shadow box.  We will experiment more with this action in the next tutorial to create an unusual visual effect.

Tip:  One common problem is finding mat and frame colors that best match your image.  If you choose the color "Other" at the top of the list of colors, you will see 16 custom colors that digital photo utilities generated to best fit with your image.  These colors capture the major color themes of your image and can be very useful in complementing your image.