print highlights and borders

[rogueish]

As a (night class) student, I've had a couple of instructors say, one should NOT have highlights or whites that blend into the border (if you have a border). whites should always be burned in to a light grey (gray?) so as the border is always distinguishable from the print.
I do this in class as the instructor wants it that way (gotta keep those marks up ya know), and that there is an exception to every "rule". So I put it to you APUG people: what is your preference? Edge of the border always discernible or can "whites" flow into the border?

perhaps I should take a class in spelling

[sparx]

I prefer to have discernible borders. If i have a totally white background i will usually pre-flash the paper first.

[papagene]

I do what is right for a particular image, not some pre-conceived idea. If an image calls for a blinding white, whether it's the sky, a reflection or a light source and it's falls on the edge, that's what gets produced.
That's my feeling - others may disagree, and that's OK.

gene

[Francesco]

I am with Gene on this issue. Sometimes white must be white and burning it in to delineate borders might just make that area look mushy and bland. The negative will dictate how it should be printed.

[donbga]

As a (night class) student, I've had a couple of instructors say, one should NOT have highlights or whites that blend into the border (if you have a border). whites should always be burned in to a light grey (gray?) so as the border is always distinguishable from the print.
I do this in class as the instructor wants it that way (gotta keep those marks up ya know), and that there is an exception to every "rule". So I put it to you APUG people: what is your preference? Edge of the border always discernible or can "whites" flow into the border?

perhaps I should take a class in spelling

I've done it, but only once, with mixed feelings on my part but it worked effectively because it helped to visually describe to the viewer a sense of space, which in this case was the inside of a cave.

One of the things I did though was to make this part of the print very light grey instead of pure white. This wasn't just a blank area but had detail; I needed to give the viewer a sense of the light source in the cave. If I could locate the print or negative easily I would scan it to show you what I'm talking of.

Generally though I don't think it is a good idea to lead the viewers eye out of the frame with with white space.

Don Bryant

[roy]

[QUOTE=rogueish]As a (night class) student, I've had a couple of instructors say, one should NOT have highlights or whites that blend into the border (if you have a border)[QUOTE]

I would say do what pleases the instructors if their marking approach is not that creative and you get better marks by doing that. If, in the real world, you are going to mount and mat your prints, you can always 'hold' the highlight detail with an ivory or antique white board if it is close to the edge.

[rbarker]

The instructor is always right . . . inside the classroom. Outside those 4 walls, however, I'm with the others who suggest doing "what's right" for the specific image. Muddying down a highlight for border separation doesn't make sense to me. Once the print is in a mat, the border won't show anyway.

The other alternative, of course, is to be a "troublemaker" in class, and make all your borders black.

[Max Power]

FWIW I print as I see fit depending upon what it is I'm trying to achieve. Personally, I don't like 'grey' skies just to create a definite border. If the sky blends into the border, so be it.

Kent

[oriecat]

Just print them all full frame with the black edge around it.

[Eric Rose]

I guess your instructor would fail Brett Weston on this image.