The Album Design Process

Purchasing a wedding or portrait album is a great way to preserve your photographs for years to come.  It’s so much easier to show someone an album and have them flip through the pages together, then to say, “wait a minute, let me get my computer and find my favorites from our wedding…”  🙂  The process of choosing an album, designing, and then receiving an album may sound daunting, but I assure you it’s very simple.

Here’s the rundown:

I offer two types of albums.  One is from Forbeyon and is a flushmount album that I custom design for you, and then is sent to Forbeyon for printing and binding.  I refer to the Forbeyon albums as the Dream album because, frankly, they are pretty dreamy!  Their album cover choices are limitless, and you can truly get your “dream” album – exactly the way you want it.  Imprinting, cover cameos, accent materials, matching slipcovers, additional pages, or simple luxurious leather.  Truly, the sky is the limit with the Dream album.  When choosing the Dream album, your album includes your choice of cover and photo cameo.  Accent materials, or upgrading to a metal cameo, are extra.

The second album I offer is much more simple and is a great option for those who want something basic.  I call this the Storybook album, which is also a flushmount album.  This album comes in one size, 8×8, with twenty pages containing a single image per page.  The Storybook Album is available in black or brown leather cover choices.

The difference between the Dream album and the Storybook album are that the Dream album has thicker photographic pages and more luxurious cover materials and choices, while the Storybook album comes in one size and page length, with only two cover material choices. Additionally, with the Dream album, inexpensive parent & senior albums are available.

The process of designing and ordering your album is as follows:

– You place your order either at your ordering appointment, or  it is included in your wedding photography package.

– I design your album initially with images I choose.  For weddings, this allows your wedding story to unfold cohesively.  For portrait sessions, this allows your album to have both variety and cohesion as well.  I’ve also found it’s easier for the client to make changes once they have seen the initial layout and design.

– I design the album with more pages than you order so that you have options.  The story of your day or session can’t be contained within a fixed number of pages decided ahead of time, so I give you options.  Once your initial design is complete, I will place your design online for you to view, email you the link, and you’ll receive a simple design revision form.

– At this time, you may choose to swap images (vertical for vertical, horizontal for horizontal, etc).  You may also choose to narrow down the number of spreads to the amount you ordered or you can choose to purchase a larger album at a set amount per spread.

– I’ll make revisions and update your design online for you to approve.

– Once your album is approved, I’ll ask you a few questions about your cover design.  You will then receive a proof online to approve.

 

The album design process can take some time, depending on which album you choose.  The Dream Album takes a few weeks to print and bind, while the Storybook album is a bit quicker.

That’s it!  Pretty simple!