Album advice.

[allcart]

Hi guys, I am new to the forum and new to wedding photography. I have recently shot my first wedding for a some friends, and although she has asked for prints only, I would like to present them in an album.
I am sure, while perusing the site before joining, I stumbled on an interesting thread about preparing for a wedding shoot. It spoke of things like syncronising your cameras, and gave lots of other tips. Does this ring a bell with anyone? as I cannot find it again.
Anyway, the point of all this is that at the end of the thread, the writer gave a few links to online albums. I looked at some of these examples and I started wondering. Does anyone print their own pictures for albums, or do you get someone else to create it for you?
I also noted that most of these albums consisted of pages of multiple pics in a montage style. Do you do that yourself, and if so, how big are the pages in the album.(they look quite large)
What is the normal size of the largest photo you would print for an album?

Ok, enough questions for now, I hope someone can help answer some of these.

[Curtis Cunningham]

Hello Allan,

Welcome to the Forum. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself and learn things too.

As to your questions about Wedding Albums, I too am new at doing weddings and as such have only done one album for a client. Thankfully she loved it. I think THRILLED was the word she used. In any case I used an online ordering system called ROES (Remote Order Entry System) from a Canadian company that allowed me to choose from a variety of templates for each page. To illustrate, the attached image shows a sample page on the left with your folder of images to choose from on the right. Once you finish a page, you add it to your order. You then complete your pages in the order you want them in your album. This is what worked well for me.

Do you have a budget for how much you are willing to spend on this album?

[allcart]

I have no budget figure in mind. The client/friend said she did not really want an album, but I would feel better about presenting her photos properly. The album would be like a wedding present from me. Can you give me an idea of the cost? How big are the album pages. I can only print A4 at the moment, and somehow I don't think that will be big enough to create the collage type layout.
I'll have a look at Roes to see whats on offer.
Thanks.

[Terry Zorich]

I use a software package called LumaPix FotoFusion (v4) to create my collage-style pages, and I have my books printed by AsukaBook.

FotoFusion has blank templates in the AsukaBook sizes, and it is the single best piece of software I've discovered since Photoshop itself. Last night I laid out a 20-page 10x10 book with fifty-two images in less than 90 minutes. It is fun and very easy to learn and work with. They even have some nice tutorials to help you along.

After exporting my completed page layouts from FotoFusion, I bring each page into Photoshop for any additional editing, and then I copy each completed page layout (now in a single layer) to the AsukaBook page templates (which are downloaable from AsukaBook). When the pages are all complete, you drag your folder of completed pages to the AsukaBook File Checker utility, which adds the pages to a big PDF file, and captures and includes your ordering information (book size, style, job ID, hot stamp text for the book jacket, etc.).

Finally, you log on the AsukaBook site and upload the completed PDF file. The finished book arrives in 4-6 weeks. The prices are very reasonable (a fraction of something like White Glove), and ordering additional copies (even one additional copy) of the same book will get you a discount.

Both FotoFusion and AsukaBook are highly recommended by me...

[Curtis Cunningham]

Allan,

Are you doing photography as a business or just a hobby? Because some companies will only deal with professional photographers. The company I work with for my wedding albums has a pro price list that is significantly lower the list for off-the-street consumers.

Another lower-cost alternative to Asukabook is Blurb. You can see a low-res sample of one of the books I've done with Blurb here.

[DFWdude]

I'm a guy who's shot hundreds of weddings and used albums from various vendors.
That being said, give the client what they want. They paid for photos, no album. She may have gotten an album as a wedding present. Either way, why go through an additional expense and time-taker-upper? If you want one for yourself, to show to your next potential wedding customer, that is another thing. Even then at a beginner level, I'd go to a "Hobby Lobby" or "XYZ-mart" for that proof book. Why? Because you will hopefully progress rapidly through the "beginner" stage, and toss that proof book in a few months. Then you can look at the albums by Leather Craftsmen, Zookbinders, Art Leather (An industry standard for decades who's currently having some financial issues), Album Crafters, or my favorite... Forbeyon. I don't do "proof books" any more. Most of the industry doesn't either. When I shoot 500-2,000 images at a wedding, and they get none of those in their finished package, I have no desire to do all that processing and printing for ?????? This is what the mid to upper end bride is getting from their photographer. - F O R B E Y O N - FOR BEYOND YOUR IMAGINATION
Magazine syle albums are the rage. Best part is many of these album companies will do the design/print/bind for you. Some, like Forbeyon will do the retouching/enhancements as well. Good fortune!

[DougAxford]

Originally Posted by DFWdude

I don't do "proof books" any more. Most of the industry doesn't either.

You may not, but 'most of the industry' is simply not true. There are many who post online but proofs or a variation of that 'proof binder' is still the norm. Certainly proofs are not a beginner stage.

Back to the original O/P, my pages are 12x12 and all done in PS. I found it easier than InDesign and far more versatile than any album software. A sample is here
Jessica and Mike

I post online after regular ordering is finished. If done before I find ordering is less from relatives because they can see it for free online.

BTW: Drew, what happened to real names?? I think it's a huge difference.

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