Wedding Photography Tips #25; Designing My Album

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  I can’t believe it’s Christmas already.  2010 is just about over.

So who puts these albums together?  I offer clients the opportunity to choose their favorite photos, around 50.  From that I design the album myself.  Some photographers will out source this set, it depends if they album design is easy or hard for them.  It’s always good to know your strengths and weaknesses.   I personally enjoy it and it doesn’t take me more then a couple hours to put one together.   I then send the client a PDF of the design so they can make any changes before it’s send to print.  Most album company’s do the printing and binding in house.  Once it’s send to print it can take up to 8-10 weeks for the photographer to receive the album then deliver it to you.  I still have yet to figure out why exactly it takes so long to print and bind, maybe I should tour a factory?  But the time is pretty universal across the industry.

When you’re interviewing your photographer take time to look at the layouts in their albums.  Does it excite you?  Do like the white space, or the back grounds they’re using?  Does it feel they are enough photos to tell the story of your day?  What about covers, do you like the options they offer?  Not to say you should make a decision on who’s going to shoot your wedding based on they’re album.  But it could be a tie breaker if you’re struggling between two.

Just 6 more tips to go!