Topic: Borders or No Borders

[Late Developer]

Years ago, I read advice in a book which influenced my thinking about about a number of things, including presentation of my photos.  The advice was to "begin with an end in mind".  Habitually, I do find myself making a conscious effort to think what I want the photo to look like before I press the sutter release.  Of late, however, the question of whether or not to include a border has become more important to me - though I have no idea why.  As a result, I'm tending to add a thin, white border to most photos.

Does anyone else pre-visualise their photos with / without a border or is this something that is considered afterwards (if at all)?

[charles binns]

I think it's a sign of old age .

I don't think about whether or not to include a border.

[02Pilot]

I can't say that I pre-visualize it when taking the shot, but I do basically assume a border of some sort will be applied - I just prefer the look of a photo with a border, generally white. How wide that border is varies based on the photo and how I want the border to interact with it (of course, in the case of sets of photos, I keep the borders consistent). The end product, then, is a combination of the photo and the border.

[Sandeha Lynch]

I think the purpose of a border is mostly to prevent the image bleeding into the page (think of corners of white sky on a printed white page) or to keep the surrounding dross from interfering with the image content (think ads on a web page, etc). 

Bear in mind that everything outside the image is 'real world' while everything within is fantasy.  I don't always use a frame (usually a 2 px black beading) but it's always a conscious decision.

[Francois]

I never visualize anything... I know Ansel would be disappointed but what can I say 

[Pete_R]

Re. borders: I always add a border and never pre-visualise the image with it.

Re. pre-visualisation. I used to try and do it but rarely ever do now. I actually tend to separate the taking and the editing. Almost like it is a different person editing. When taking I tend to aim for something with potential but then try and realise that potential in the editing but the end result is rarely anything I had pre-visualiised.

[jharr]

I guess I try to visualize when my eye is against the viewfinder. I try to look around at the corners and see if the composition is right. I never really have a border in mind, but I don't put borders on my photos electronically and I don't pay much attention to mats and frames on prints. As far as 'systematics' like the Zone or BTZS, I don't do my own printing, so visualizing the print is a bit of wasted effort.

[Francois]

I usually do only a few things which are kinda like visualizing, but not really.
I do like to frame perfectly in the camera, which often puts me in trouble when I'm using some crapcam without parallax compensation.
And I measure the light to select which item I want to either have detail in or have sit at zone V. And I just let the rest flow.

[Aksel]

All I care about is if I think I`m able to pass the emotion I feel over to who ever is seeing my snaps.
If I can tell a story I`m a happy man. Sometimes I might show borders just to tell I`m not cheating (cropping) but then in my next shot I cheat and crop   

[Domingo A. Siliceo]

Yes, I always try to visualize the image in the focusing screen before the shot. In my opinion, to visualize is a must if you make pictures with large format cameras.

About the white border, for me it is a procedure to isolate the interior of the photograph for the onlooker, a tool to save the image from the greasy fingerprints and a simple ornament.

[zapsnaps]

I like borders. And when I come to power, I'm going to borrow a policy from Trump and build a wall along my border. To keep them damned digits out. And who is gonna pay for the border wall? Yep - them digits