Framing software - non-destructive

[Musotographer]

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Can anyone recommend any software, LR compatible, which adds a frame, fillet, virtual mount etc, without impinging on the area of the original photo? Does such a thing exist? There doesn't seem to be anything in the Nik suite, and I don't have Photoshop. Even for online viewing, properly displaying a photo can make such a difference.

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[evikne]

If you mean adding an outer border (without cropping anything) to an exported image, the LR Plugin Mogrify 2 can do this. I use it myself, and it has almost endless customization options.

Here is a screenshot of my LR Export window with the plugin installed:

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[Musotographer]

Thank you SO much - that's exactly what I've been looking for. I should have asked on here months ago!

Christopher

[Jeff S]

I don’t use borders, as I print (using ImagePrint software as an external editor for Lightroom), and then custom mat and frame my worthy pics. But Lightroom does provide for making borders (as does ImagePrint, but that’s an expensive piece of software). Is the LR functionality not sufficient for your needs?

Jeff

Edited July 2, 2020 by Jeff S

[CharlesL]

The Mat and Frame dialog in Picture Window Pro 8 (now free) from Digital Light & Color does what you want with lots of flexibility. Export a .tif from LR and open it in PWP.

 

[evikne]

8 hours ago, Jeff S said:

Is the LR functionality not sufficient for your needs?

The problem with LR and most other software is that they "eat up" the edges of your image when borders are added. This is not always desirable when you have put effort into making an accurate cropping of an image.

[ianman]

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19 hours ago, Musotographer said:

Can anyone recommend any software, LR compatible, which adds a frame, fillet, virtual mount etc, without impinging on the area of the original photo? Does such a thing exist? There doesn't seem to be anything in the Nik suite, and I don't have Photoshop. Even for online viewing, properly displaying a photo can make such a difference.

For free there is AppleScript... but it can be a bit of a PITA to use  Or it you feel up to it, a shell script with Imagemagick for example (there are other tools).

If you prefer a nice IU solution, Retrobatch can add as many outer borders as you like and do a bunch of other things.

[Jeff S]

3 hours ago, evikne said:

The problem with LR and most other software is that they "eat up" the edges of your image when borders are added. This is not always desirable when you have put effort into making an accurate cropping of an image.

That’s why I do my own custom matting and framing. Online viewing already dilutes much of the effort that goes into the making of a photograph worth displaying, IMHO. But I get your point.  I doubt that ImagePrint software has the border cropping issue, but I’ve never used it.  Before deciding to display a print, I like to make a final ‘work print’, without any borders, to see how it stands on its own for a week or two.
 

Jeff

[Musotographer]

Thanks very much everyone; I'll have a proper look at all the suggestions, but on a quick explore it seems to me that evikne's Mogrify is closest to what I'm looking for.  And it's relatively simple, which for a non-techie like me is important. 🙂

[250swb]

If you want 'non-destructive' action save a copy of your photo before applying a border. I know it's anti-Lightroom to suggest a simple and traditional backup idea but it works every time.