Using a Physical Frame During a Photo Session

Recently I experimented with a portrait idea that had been sitting in the back of my mind for a while.

Normally, photographs end up in frames after they’re printed. But I started wondering what it might look like if the frame existed inside the photograph itself.

So I set up a large physical frame during a portrait session and had the subject sit naturally behind it, allowing the portrait to feel like it already belonged on a wall somewhere.

The subject of this particular portrait was my mother, which made the session even more meaningful. Photographing family always carries a slightly different weight than photographing anyone else. The images become part of a shared memory rather than just a creative exercise.

I wrote a short breakdown of the idea and the behind the scenes setup on my photography site.

If you’re interested in the concept and process, you can read the full piece at this link.