Photo Frame Gifts: Matching the Frame to the Photograph

Framed photographs are among the most given and most quietly rehomed gifts. The photo is usually fine. The frame is usually the problem.

A frame is an opinion about the photograph, and giving one means giving your opinion along with it.

The mount does most of the work

The single biggest upgrade to any framed photo costs almost nothing: a generous border of plain card between the photograph and the frame.

A mount gives the image room to breathe and instantly reads as considered rather than functional. A photo pressed to the edge of a frame looks like a document; the same photo with a wide cream mount looks like it was chosen.

If you take one thing from this, make the mount wider than feels necessary.

Match the frame to the photo's age

• Old black and white prints suit plain wood or simple black. Ornate frames fight with them and tip into pastiche
• Modern colour photos suit thin, plain frames that stay out of the way
• Children's photos get changed often, so choose something easy to open rather than something sealed
• Anything meant to last decades should have a mount that is acid free, or the photograph will yellow along the mount line

Personalized frames need restraint

A frame carrying an engraved name or date is a lovely object and easy to overdo, because the frame is competing for attention with the image it surrounds.

Keep engraving small, on one edge, in a plain typeface. The photograph should still be the first thing anyone looks at. See personalized photo frames.

Giving a framed photo without imposing

This is the real risk. A framed photograph asks for wall or shelf space, which is the most contested resource in anyone's home, and it is difficult to decline politely.

Two ways to reduce that. Choose small, which is easy to place anywhere. And choose neutral materials, which suit any room rather than requiring a particular one. A large, strongly styled frame is a decorating decision made on someone else's behalf.

Frequently asked questions

What size photo frame is safest as a gift?

Small, roughly four by six or five by seven. Small frames find a home on any shelf. Large ones need a wall, a hook and a decision, which is asking a lot of a gift.

Should I include a photo or leave it empty?

Include one. An empty frame is a task rather than a gift, and it usually stays empty. If you are unsure which photo, ask a family member to choose.

Is glass or acrylic better?

Acrylic for anything being posted or going into a child's room, since it will not shatter. Glass looks better and is the right choice for a piece staying on a wall in a settled home.

How do I stop a photo fading in a frame?

Keep it off walls that get direct sun. Sunlight is the only thing that meaningfully damages a framed print, and a photo opposite a south facing window will visibly fade within a few years.

What if I do not know their decor?

Plain light wood or plain black, small, with a wide cream mount. That combination is close to universally acceptable and never looks like an imposition.

Wide mount, small frame, plain wood

That covers most situations. Browse photo frames or the full Christmas collection.