Decide whether you want a picture to be viewed from a standing or a sitting position. Experiment by taping a picture-size paper cutout on the wall. For pictures weighing less than 5 pounds, use a decorative picture hook and a ring that screws into the top of the frame, a saw tooth hanger hung on a nail, or adhesive or gum-backed hooks and hangers.
For heavier pictures, make a hanger of braided picture wire of appropriate strength attached to screw eyes. Using an awl, make starter holes for the screw eyes about one-third down other side from the top of the frame. Cut a piece of wire about 8 inches longer than the width of the picture. Pull 4 inches of the wire through a screw eye, loop it through again, then twist the end securely around the main wire.
Repeat this on the other screw eye. When you pull the wire taut, its apex should be halfway between the screw eyes and the top of the frame. For very heavy pictures, put two extra screw eyes on the bottom of the frame, one-third of the way in from the corners, or on the sides, one-third up from the bottom.
Hook-and-nail hangers can support from 1 to 100 pounds. Space two small hooks a few inches apart (instead of one large hook) to keep a picture hanging evenly. Nail hooks for heavy pictures into studs. To hang heavy pictures on thin paneling or plasterboard walls, use hollow-wall anchors or toggle bolts as the package instructs. On concrete or brick was, use a plastic or lead masonry anchor.
Have someone hold the picture in place while you make a pencil mark on the wall at the center of the lower edge of the frame. Then slip the picture hook under the picture wire and pull it taut. Measure from the bottom of the frame to the top of the hook. Measure this distance up from the pencil line on the wall, and mark the spot. Reinforce plaster with an “X” of tape, hold the hook firmly on the marked spot, and gently hammer in the nail.