Proof Album

[lally0724]

Hello, where do you get your albums from to give your proofs to your bride & groom? I am looking for either black or white albums that hold 4x6 prints. I'm willing to spend about $40 on the album. I want it to look nice, but not cost a fortune.
Thanks for your help,
Lally

[tim]

I deliver proofs digitally, using a DVD made with proshow gold. Put \f in the caption and make it global and you see the filename on each slide.

If someone wanted a proof album i'd buy one cheap at a local bookstore.

[NGrinerPhoto]

art leather for a nice proof album ... it will cost you more like $60 though

i sell that to clients if they want it but prefer to give them a low resolution dvd

[Mark_48]

I deliver proofs digitally, using a DVD made with proshow gold. Put \f in the caption and make it global and you see the filename on each slide.


Thanks Tim, I did not know about the \f. I've looking for a way to stick the filename on slides just for the reason of previewing.:D

[DOrtiz]

I post mine online in low resolution with a watermark. Is that considered acceptible?

Regards,
Dave

[mackb]

I buy a cheap album a the camera store (like $2.99), I give them the proof album for free , I guess if I wanted to charge $50-$75 more I could buy a better one. now that I think about it ....................maybe I should be putting them in a better album..

[DOrtiz]

But what's to prevent them from making copies of your proofs though?

Regards,
Dave

[jbradc]

I deliver a proof portfolio that is 10x13 and has 8 3x3 images per page. Under each page is the file name and my clients order from that. It costs $2.50 per page and is wire bound with a clear cover over the front page. The front page has a large picture and room for 2 lines of custom text. I have done traditional proof books and digital proofs, but the bottom line is, I sell more photos off of printed proofs than I do off digital ones and my clients love the look of the portfolio.

[jboyd]

Where do you get your proof portfolio from? I have been looking at a few different places, and am leaning toward mpix for mine.

Jackie

[jbradc]

Several labs offer them (Full Color, WHCC, MPIX), but I like MPIX the best for the proof books, best value for the money IMHO.

[subtle_spectre]

Wal-Mart...$2.99 on clearance, holds 200 4x6's. Same album at the camera store is 19.99. Similar album at boutique album stores is 39.95.

[Actionphotog]

I give My Bride and Groom a Free proof album from https://www.perfectiondistributing.com/ they range from $11 to $30. The $30 album you can get the cover imprinted with their names and wedding date for $9 more.
For all my printing I use Mpix.

[lally0724]

Thanks for the site Actionphotog, which proof album do you use? I don't like how I can't really see the inside of the albums and stuff. Thanks for your help,
Lally

[sapearl]

Hello... I've used a company called Albums Inc. for around 20 years. For more information you can see them at:

http://www.albumsinc.com/index.asp

They have several offices and distribution centers around the country and have a large and diverse inventory of photograpy and artist supplies and will be happy to send you a free catalog for the asking.

I live in Cleveland, Ohio and usually get next day delivery on small items that don't require a lot of imprinting. But they have several different lines of finished as well as proof albums, individual photo folios which are great for protecting and presenting individual enlargements, frames, matt board, cutters, etc. I also have each folio imprinted with business information.

Proof books for all sizes are available from about $15 - $40 or so, depending upon picture format, number of pages, imprinting and so on. I had them make a permanent studio dye imprint of my business name which goes on the inside of every album, so they don't have to re-typeset it everytime I order a book. The one time fee was modest and there's a small charge for each time they stamp an album. It has my name, phone number, city and zip code so my clients always know how to refer me to their friends for potential future work.

I know some photogs who just hand there proofs over in a bag or plain box. This is very bad IMHO. You always want to present your hard work in an organized, attractive and easily viewable manner. If you don't think enough of your photos to display them in a pleasant manner, then why should the customer think much of you! Hope this helps - good luck.

Stu Pearl
Cleveland, Ohio

Hello, where do you get your albums from to give your proofs to your bride & groom? I am looking for either black or white albums that hold 4x6 prints. I'm willing to spend about $40 on the album. I want it to look nice, but not cost a fortune.
Thanks for your help,
Lally

[snibbetsj]

I was looking at the proof portfolios at mpix and they have a square format. How does everyone handle the 2x3 format of 35mm with the square format of the book?

[F. Stop Fitzgerald]

I know some photogs who just hand there proofs over in a bag or plain box. This is very bad IMHO. You always want to present your hard work in an organized, attractive and easily viewable manner. If you don't think enough of your photos to display them in a pleasant manner, then why should the customer think much of you! Hope this helps - good luck.



I agree. Packaging is everything in wedding photography. The thing is that the prices I get for wedding these days is making the whole traditional proof book and album not-so-cost-effective. ($2,500.00 down to an average of $1,800.00 per wedding). Though I've been digital for a few years, I still haven't used the online printing and proofing services.

The plain box method works if you include the proofs with the package and you really don't want to fool with putting together a book. That's not a very good practice if you're just starting out. It doesn't make a good impression.

I dumped AI about six years ago when itcouldn't get its act together. There were billing problems and misshipments. I use Wooden Nickel now. They carry the same albums, but they have much better customer service than AI did six years ago.

[jboyd]

I was looking at the proof portfolios at mpix and they have a square format. How does everyone handle the 2x3 format of 35mm with the square format of the book?

That is for illustration purposes. I have gotten proof portfolios from mpix, and the photos are in the 2x3 format, as submitted to them. I think they are great for proofs.

Jackie

[snibbetsj]

That is for illustration purposes. I have gotten proof portfolios from mpix, and the photos are in the 2x3 format, as submitted to them. I think they are great for proofs.

Jackie

Thanks for the info, I think I'm going to try a test run on a portrait portfolio.