Steps for Preparing Your Oval Picture Frame for Hanging

Now that you’ve selected your oval picture frame it is time to prepare your photo to be placed in the frame. Although this isn’t difficult to do, here are some tips help make the process easier and help you avoid making any mistakes.

1. Before you cut your picture to fit an oval frame, always make sure the photo looks good in an oval shaped frame first. The best way to check is to take the frame apart so you can place just the frame over the photo. To do this, first remove the back of the frame and then take out the glass and set them carefully aside. Place the oval frame over your picture and center the frame around the subjects in your photo. This step will help you decide if you like how your picture looks inside an oval picture frame.

2. Next, take the glass from your oval picture frame and carefully place it over the photo where the frame had been. Adjust for best fit and eye appeal. Use care when moving the glass so your picture doesn’t get scratched.

3. Take your time in aligning the glass as the subject or individuals in the frame need to be straight in the picture.  Aligning a subject in an oval frame isn’t as simple as aligning a rectangular or square picture frame so make sure it looks right. Ideally, the individuals in the photo should be centered in the frame and have equal amount of space around them. For vertical spacing, the subject’s head should be about 2/3′s of the way up from the bottom of the picture. Positioning the subject’s head in the center of the frame leaves too much space above and throws off the picture’s eye appeal.

4. When you’ve found the perfect placement for the picture, gently and carefully trace along the outside of the glass with a thin pen to create your cut line. Thick pens or markers may bleed onto the picture so avoid using them.

5. Now you are ready to cut. Use a sharp pair of scissors and cut along the line you traced. You can also use a mat knife but just make sure you’re able to make a smooth and even cut otherwise, you should use scissors to avoid damaging your photo. Make sure your scissors are sharp because dull scissors can bend or crease your picture. Once your picture is cut, clean the oval frame glass and allow it to dry thoroughly otherwise the moisture can damage your photo.

6. Check to see if your oval picture frame came with frame backing. If it did, all you have to do is put the glass, photo and frame back on and you’re all done. If it didn’t come with backing, you can use an archival mat board or a piece of cardboard to make your own. The purpose of the frame backing is to help hold your picture and glass securely in place with the help of some small brad nails. If you need to make your own frame back and your picture is important to you, then you should only use archival mat board. The problem with cardboard is that it has acid in it that can degrade your photo over time.

The first step to making your own frame back is to place the oval frame face up on the cardboard or mat board. Next, you’ll need to trace along the outside edge of the oval picture frame back so it will fit perfectly in your frame. Cut it out and then use brad nails (about ¼ inch) to secure the backing to the frame. You do this by placing the brad nails on the board and pushing them into the molding on the back of the wood picture frame. Once the brad nails are securely holding the frame back, it’s now time to hang your oval picture frame.

As you can see, preparing and assembling an oval picture frame does take a little time but can be a simple process if you follow these basic steps. And once your oval picture frame is hanging beautifully on the wall, you’ll be glad that you took the time to do it.