DISPLAY CONDITIONS - IMPACT ON CONTRAST

[ian moore]

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I am about to have my first display of black and white photographs and wish to boost the visual impact of the pictures by boosting the visual contrast.

 

I understand the concepts of colour constancy,colour casts,etc in relation to the ambient lighting colour temperature.

 

However,will having white mounts surrounding the photographs boost the apparent contrast,or will black mounts be better? I appreciate the importance of neutral colours but its the contrast I am interested in.

 

Also,the luminence of the ambient lighting and it's effec will be using D65 standard but,for interest,does a high ambient lighting enhance the visual contrast of the photogrpahs,or does a low ambient lighting?

 

All help appreciated.

 

 

Ian.

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[stunsworth]

Almost every exhibition I've been to has used white mounts. I happen to prefer them myself.

[erl]

Black mounts rarely lend something to the image, with notable exceptions in my experience. I always use 'off-white" matts because pure white will always make the whites of your prints seem 'grey' by comparison. It is merely an optical illusion but does happen. The 'offness' of the matt white should only be slight or it will no longer be seen a s white. Pure white matts can also out glare your print. Any high key prints matted with white can become lost in the matt. I have tried cutting a black cored white matt that when the bevelled window is cut gives a fine 'pencil line edge around the print that defines its limits. All these tricks should, IMO, be done very low key so as not to separate them from the overall exhibition.

 

Good lighting is paramount, just as it is when taking the photograph. You will probably limited by what is available at the display location, but it is very important.