Choosing a Frame and a Wall for Your Dog's Portrait

Most people think of a dog portrait as a photograph. It's really a piece of furniture. It hangs in a room you live in, next to a couch you sit on, and you'll see it a hundred times a week. The frame and the wall decide whether it looks like art or an afterthought. Born To Run SF puts it simply: the goal is "beautiful images for your walls that celebrate the bond between dogs and their people."

Start with the wall, not the frame

Walk around your home and ask where you want to look at your dog every day. A few good candidates: above the couch, along the stairs, beside the front door, in a bedroom, in a home office where you sit all day. Pick the wall first. The frame follows the wall.

Look at what surrounds it. Wall color, wood tones in the furniture, the metal on your lamps and hardware, even the flooring. You're not trying to match everything. You're trying to avoid a fight.

Wood frames and barnwood

Robert's site shows framed wall art in barnwood and wood frames. Wood is a good match for dog portraits because it's warm and familiar. It sits easily next to fur, leaves, sand and sky. It also works in more rooms than people expect. A pale wood frame feels light and modern. A darker one feels grounded and classic. Barnwood has a weathered, lived-in look.

One client, Ric H, wrote that "The barnwood frame he helped us pick out is the perfect fit for our lakehouse." Notice the phrase "helped us pick out." Choosing a frame is easier with someone who has seen how the finished print looks in different surrounds. You don't have to guess alone.

Let the photograph choose

The picture itself gives you clues. A portrait of a golden retriever on a sunlit path has warm browns and greens. A natural wood frame will echo that. A studio portrait of a black dog on a grey ground is quiet and graphic. A simple, darker frame will keep it crisp. A beach shot full of blue and pale sand can handle a lighter wood.

Here is a quick way to test it. Hold two or three frame options against the print and step back several feet. The right one makes the dog look better. The wrong one makes you notice the frame first.

How big, and how high

These are common interior-design habits, useful starting points rather than laws:

• Over a couch or console, a piece about two thirds the width of the furniture tends to look balanced.
• Hang the center of the picture roughly at eye level, which many people treat as about 57 inches from the floor.
• Leave a hand's width or so of space between the frame and the top of the couch.
• In a hallway or stairwell, think about where you'll be standing when you look at it.
• A large single portrait often looks stronger than several small ones crowded together.

If you can't decide on size, cut a piece of paper to the size you're considering and tape it to the wall for a day. You'll know quickly whether it feels too small.

Mind the light

Direct sun is hard on any print over time, and glare makes a picture hard to see. A wall that gets bright light all afternoon might not be the best spot. A wall that gets soft, indirect light usually is. Check the wall at a few times of day before you commit.

One dog or a whole wall

Many people want one large portrait of their dog. Others, especially people with more than one dog, like to build a small grouping over time. If you're planning a grouping, keep the frames consistent so the wall reads as a set. A studio portrait and an outdoor portrait can hang together nicely if they share a frame.

You can also hang the portrait of a dog who has passed alongside a recent one. It can be a comfort to keep the whole family together on the wall.

Talk about products before the shoot

It helps to think about the wall before the session, because the room can shape the way the picture is taken. A tall narrow space asks for a different crop than a wide one over a couch. Robert's own line on the photography page says it best: "For more info on pricing, products and procedure feel free to contact me." Pricing isn't published, so the way to learn the options is to ask.

Bring a photo of the wall. Bring a picture of the room. Tell him what you like and what you don't.

To plan your portrait and your wall, call Robert at 415.516.9541, or see examples at /san-francisco-bay-area-dog-photography.