Wedding albums

[E3_Photo_Studio]

If you have a photography business, do you offer wedding albums? Do you make your own or hire out?

We currently don't offer albums b/c I really don't have the time, and I'm worried that will hurt our business. :(

[sblais]

I do albums. You have control over the final product this way. Otherwise, you never know into what kind of Wal-mart brand albums the B&G will put your pictures in.

I currently make my own. It's a lot of work though. I'll keep it this way for the next year or so. Then, having more experience with weddings in general, I would consider raising my prices significantly and offer very high quality albums (Queensberry, etc) and use their printing and mounting services.

[coreypolis]

if you don't offer them you're missing out in a lot of ways. You can outsource as much as you want, the binding, print and bind, or design print and bind.

Theres tons of styles, materials, and options to choose from, a bunch of the vendors are listed in my resources page.

[sapearl]

If you have a photography business, do you offer wedding albums? Do you make your own or hire out?

We currently don't offer albums b/c I really don't have the time, and I'm worried that will hurt our business. :(

Offering albums will only be an enhancement to your business, another value added service. I don't understand why you think it would "hurt" your business. Could you elaborate more on that?

I'm the lone owner, shooter, chief cook and bottle washer. I shoot the job, send it to a lab for printing, and then assemble the albums myself. But then I'm only doing about 15-20 jobs/job, so I'll typically do assembly in the evenings, on my confortable couch in front of the TV.

Now, if you're shooting 50+ weddings a year, I could see how that may seriously cut into your time. What sort of volume are you doing?

[MJP]

My brother in law own a printing company, so i do my book at his shop

[liza]

I only offer flush mount albums with my more expensive packages and am signed on with Pictobooks, Bon Match, and Zookbinders.

[sapearl]

There are a ton of album offerings out there today, in a wide range of prices. Depending upon how you go, you can spend a lot of time assembling the mats, pages and covers, or less with those books that come "prebound." Or you can have Leather Craftsman, Zookbinders and several others do the whole thing for you.

How do you currently present your client work?

[E3_Photo_Studio]

Offering albums will only be an enhancement to your business, another value added service. I don't understand why you think it would "hurt" your business. Could you elaborate more on that?

I'm the lone owner, shooter, chief cook and bottle washer. I shoot the job, send it to a lab for printing, and then assemble the albums myself. But then I'm only doing about 15-20 jobs/job, so I'll typically do assembly in the evenings, on my confortable couch in front of the TV.

Now, if you're shooting 50+ weddings a year, I could see how that may seriously cut into your time. What sort of volume are you doing?

Oh no:( ....you misunderstand my spuratic typing. I'm worried that NOT having an album offered will hurt us. Sorry.... that wasn't really clear in my first post.

Right now...it's time with my kids. I have a 2 yr old and a 6 mos old. I'm a stay at home mom PLUS trying to run a business from home. So, things get a little crazy around here, and I just run out of time to even do dishes most days. :rolleyes:

[sapearl]

Oh no:( ....you misunderstand my spuratic typing. I'm worried that NOT having an album offered will hurt us. Sorry.... that wasn't really clear in my first post.

Right now...it's time with my kids. I have a 2 yr old and a 6 mos old. I'm a stay at home mom PLUS trying to run a business from home. So, things get a little crazy around here, and I just run out of time to even do dishes most days. :rolleyes:

Ahhhh.... now all becomes clear ;) . I remember those days - a long time ago. Something tells me your hands are fuller than mine ever were though. You should do what my wife did to get more time though - had me do the dishes. The kids are gone but I still do them :lol:

Yes, album assembly can be quite time consuming when doing it yourself. It used to take me a couple of hours, but now I've switched over to the Forentina style that I get from Albums Inc. They are prebound... you just select the type and size of mat inserts you want, attach the photos and slide them in. This has really improved my assembly time.

[E3_Photo_Studio]

How do you currently present your client work?

On a DVD slide show presentation, and prints that are in an ordinary album you'd get at like Target or something. :(

I have no budget. We're basically broke, and I'm trying my darnedest to get this business up and running on little or no money. :~( :~( :~( Sorry.....I've had a REALLY bad day, and I'm starting to feel very inadequate and like my dreams just are never going to come true and stuff right now. :(

[liza]

Honestly, if you don't offer albums, you probably won't attract the higher paying clientele.

[coreypolis]

Oh no:( ....you misunderstand my spuratic typing. I'm worried that NOT having an album offered will hurt us. Sorry.... that wasn't really clear in my first post.

Right now...it's time with my kids. I have a 2 yr old and a 6 mos old. I'm a stay at home mom PLUS trying to run a business from home. So, things get a little crazy around here, and I just run out of time to even do dishes most days. :rolleyes:
lots of ways of outsourcing part of or all of the album. One big name photog here has Albumesque or Pictage design the album, and then printed and sent to the client. Some will argue that since we aren't graphic designers, we all should do that.

Personally I enjoy doing the albums, and am using Adobe InDesign to do them and it flies through them, but without the template look. It only takes a a little time. About 60 pages (30 spread) album is maybe 4 hours for me. Then just have them sent off to be printed and bound.

[E3_Photo_Studio]

Honestly, if you don't offer albums, you probably won't attract the higher paying clientele.

Well, I really don't know if I'm ready for the higher clientele anyway. :( I know that i'm really only an "Amature Professional"....basicaly I know enough to get me in trouble (my husband likes to say that about me). :rolleyes: I know I need a lot more business to boost my self confidence and portfolio.....

Right now I only offer 3 pkgs.....$500, $800, & $1300
I know they're "too low" by most standards:( , but I feel weird charging people too much when I'm not really "professional" yet myself. Does that make sense? But at the same time, I don't want to be known as the cheap crappy wedding photographer. :(

[E3_Photo_Studio]

lots of ways of outsourcing part of or all of the album. One big name photog here has Albumesque or Pictage design the album, and then printed and sent to the client. Some will argue that since we aren't graphic designers, we all should do that.

Personally I enjoy doing the albums, and am using Adobe InDesign to do them and it flies through them, but without the template look. It only takes a a little time. About 60 pages (30 spread) album is maybe 4 hours for me. Then just have them sent off to be printed and bound.

Yeah.....we have InDesign, and Illustrator, and Photoshop.....my hubby decided to buy them all a couple years ago, and not tell me until about 7 months ago. :rolleyes: UGH. :rolleyes: But right now we only know how to use photoshop and illustrator. LOL :) We're still working on InDesign in our "Spare" time. Whatever that is....
I've heard of pictage before. Ya'll have given me a lot of names. I think tomorrow I'm just going to spend my afternoon (nap time for my girls) googling for different album places online. Maybe we'll find something that will work for us.....

[liza]

lots of ways of outsourcing part of or all of the album. One big name photog here has Albumesque or Pictage design the album, and then printed and sent to the client. Some will argue that since we aren't graphic designers, we all should do that.

Personally I enjoy doing the albums, and am using Adobe InDesign to do them and it flies through them, but without the template look. It only takes a a little time. About 60 pages (30 spread) album is maybe 4 hours for me. Then just have them sent off to be printed and bound.

I'm going to buy Zookbinders software. They have PS plug-ins with their templates for $100.

[coreypolis]

pricing and experience aside, you can offer albums as a additional product, and charge per page or album. Gary Fong sells a dvd set that explains the whole album predesign concept, and it just plain works. Even if they don't want an album a head of time, you can still sell them one. And theres a LOT of money that can be made in albums

[coreypolis]

I'm going to buy Zookbinders software. They have PS plug-ins with their templates for $100.
its actually free, they give you a $100 album credit with the purchase. Great deal, I just hate premade templates, and they scream that.

[liza]

Oh, they aren't too bad. And they offer 50% off on all studio samples. I like the look of the Zookbook.

[coreypolis]

Yeah.....we have InDesign, and Illustrator, and Photoshop.....my hubby decided to buy them all a couple years ago, and not tell me until about 7 months ago. :rolleyes: UGH. :rolleyes: But right now we only know how to use photoshop and illustrator. LOL :) We're still working on InDesign in our "Spare" time. Whatever that is....
I've heard of pictage before. Ya'll have given me a lot of names. I think tomorrow I'm just going to spend my afternoon (nap time for my girls) googling for different album places online. Maybe we'll find something that will work for us.....
sorry I'm replying so much, I'm a bit bored tonight.

Theres a post here and in my resources page that has links to many of the album companies that are reputible and good quality. However if you have time, take a drive to vegas in March for the WPPI convention, all the companies will be there and you can compare them all in person and talk witht he reps about software needed, costs, extras etc

If you want to learn InDesign in no time, download this video, its how I and many others learned it this month. http://www.newschoolphoto.com/blogme/software-video-series-indesign/ Definetly worth the money, though compared to photohop its like using the notepad. Theres only a couple things you need to know and then just play

[coreypolis]

Oh, they aren't too bad. And they offer 50% off on all studio samples. I like the look of the Zookbook.
Zook is great, my own wedding photog used them exclusively, and now that they print and bind (and they print for cheep, a 10x20 is $7) they are a very viable option for anyone.

[mrslevite]

Well, I really don't know if I'm ready for the higher clientele anyway. :( I know that i'm really only an "Amature Professional"....basicaly I know enough to get me in trouble (my husband likes to say that about me). :rolleyes: I know I need a lot more business to boost my self confidence and portfolio.....

Right now I only offer 3 pkgs.....$500, $800, & $1300
I know they're "too low" by most standards:( , but I feel weird charging people too much when I'm not really "professional" yet myself. Does that make sense? But at the same time, I don't want to be known as the cheap crappy wedding photographer. :(I just took a look at your website, and you have nothing to be ashamed of! Charge what your time and talent are worth! (Tell me that when I get my business up and going. Right now I'm studying and learning everything I can about the business side of this. I have my first wedding next month and it's a freebie for friends.)

[liza]

If you want to learn InDesign in no time, download this video, its how I and many others learned it this month. http://www.newschoolphoto.com/blogme/software-video-series-indesign/ Definetly worth the money, though compared to photohop its like using the notepad. Theres only a couple things you need to know and then just play

I used InDesign for a couple of years to design our yearbook before Jostens offered an online option. I spoke to the Jostens rep the other day about them branching out into wedding albums with their existing software. He's going to present that to the company as an option, which would be great. They have excellent online book design software. It makes designing the book a real pleasure rather than a chore.

Zook is great, my own wedding photog used them exclusively, and now that they print and bind (and they print for cheep, a 10x20 is $7) they are a very viable option for anyone.

After receiving their catalog today and comparing them to Pictobooks and Bon Match, I'll probably use Zook. They're becoming increasingly popular in the professional community.

[E3_Photo_Studio]

sorry I'm replying so much, I'm a bit bored tonight.

Theres a post here and in my resources page that has links to many of the album companies that are reputible and good quality. However if you have time, take a drive to vegas in March for the WPPI convention, all the companies will be there and you can compare them all in person and talk witht he reps about software needed, costs, extras etc

If you want to learn InDesign in no time, download this video, its how I and many others learned it this month. http://www.newschoolphoto.com/blogme/software-video-series-indesign/ Definetly worth the money, though compared to photohop its like using the notepad. Theres only a couple things you need to know and then just play

I don't mind the replies. It's actually all VERY helpful. :) So thank you!
Not sure if I'll have time in March.....we'll have to see how it all plays out. That might be helpful though to have a one on one conversation with someone.
As for InDesign, Steven (my hubby) has a pod cast or two for it. He said he's going to play around and figure it out and then "teach" me. :rolleyes: He knows how much of a visual learner I am. HA!:lol: I'm sure we'll get it. Have to learn it is more like it I suppose.

[E3_Photo_Studio]

I just took a look at your website, and you have nothing to be ashamed of! Charge what your time and talent are worth! (Tell me that when I get my business up and going. Right now I'm studying and learning everything I can about the business side of this. I have my first wedding next month and it's a freebie for friends.)

You have no idea how wonderful that is to hear from someone that is not related to me. Thank you so much!! *HUG*

[i2iSTUDIOS]

Funny enough, Snapfish offers coffee table books at a reasonable price and great quality

[E3_Photo_Studio]

Funny enough, Snapfish offers coffee table books at a reasonable price and great quality

Yeah, so does shutterfly (which is who we use for our prints), but I just want something that's a bit more "impressive" I guess. I like shutterfly's quality of prints for right now, I'm not sure about their albums. :(

[AMeyer]

Hi Erika,

I'm in the same boat you are. I currently don't offer albums, but I'm looking into different options to start offering them. Graphistudio is looking promising to me right now (www.graphistudio.com (http://www.graphistudio.com)), although I'm waiting on more information from them.

And I know how you feel about not wanting to be known as the cheap wedding photographer. My prices are similar to yours ($600/$800/$1200/$1500) because my portfolio is so small and I don't have as much experience as others. I'm starting to get calls from the brides who mention "you're the cheapest I've found", or "your prices are so reasonable", etc....I had one last week, though, that boosted my ego a little bit. She said at first, she went to my site because of the low prices, but after viewing the galleries, she booked me for what she saw. Which made my day!

Let me know what you find out about other album companies, I'd be interested in getting information from others.

Amanda

[AMeyer]

I use Shutterfly's Pro Gallery for my online proofing and reprint orders, and I also order my prints from them. I have ordered a few of their books - the covers look great, but there's not much room for creativity on the pages. Also, the pages feel like magazine pages - very thin and tear easily.

[tnicol]

Hi Erika et al...It's interesting to me there are so many of us in the same boat. It's too bad we can't sit around a bar and commiserate, but then again if we could we'd be close enough to be competition and probably wouldn't want to! I've been exploring this whole album thing too and have tried several, Picaboo, Blurb, and now Asuka, but Asuka's offices are closed for another week so the album I spent yesterday creating will sit for a while I guess. Zookbooks seem to be getting a lot of good press. They seem to be a combination of digital and conventional albums. Could someone who's used them, describe to someone unfamiliar (like me) how the process works? I found this website earlier: http://www.pyjammydesign.com/index.html that for some reason struck me as interesting. They presumably take the pain out of doing a Zookbook yourself so they could be offered as an add-on. That way, base rates could be low, but offerings comparable to other people. I also found another: http://www.mkfoto.com which is the website of a person who's found a solution similar to one we're looking for. Enough rambling, just food for thought. Tom...

[AMeyer]

www.pyjammydesigns.com (http://www.pyjammydesigns.com) will give you a 10% commission on any work you send her way. She is based out of New Orleans, and I knew her back when we were both on theknot.com's bridal message board (we were both planning our own weddings last year). She has accounts with several companies, so you can choose which one you want her to send it to.

[i2iSTUDIOS]

Yeah, so does shutterfly (which is who we use for our prints), but I just want something that's a bit more "impressive" I guess. I like shutterfly's quality of prints for right now, I'm not sure about their albums. :(
I'm doing Snapfish for this first one, I'm in a bit of a pinch and they can make me an album quick. I sent it in Saturday night, I just got an email that it has shipped, I should get it in 3 days max. It's 102 pages, leather bound, Cost me $125 after taxes and shipping.

It's just a sample but the images and layout is nice enough, not perfect, but nice enough.

[EOS mE]

I don't mind the replies. It's actually all VERY helpful. :) So thank you!
Not sure if I'll have time in March.....we'll have to see how it all plays out. That might be helpful though to have a one on one conversation with someone.
As for InDesign, Steven (my hubby) has a pod cast or two for it. He said he's going to play around and figure it out and then "teach" me. :rolleyes: He knows how much of a visual learner I am. HA!:lol: I'm sure we'll get it. Have to learn it is more like it I suppose.

how about having your hubby learn it and design it for you. ;)

I'm trying to learn the indesign as well. but haven't gone very far into it. I'm like you.. broke and trying to get my business started. Heck, my website is not even up and running yet. I've spent most of my savings into buying glass and gear, but that's only enough to start out. So, you are very far into the game compared to me.

I too feel like my dream of being a photographer seems dark and at times lost, but I can't allow myself to think that (under the encourangment of my wife)... otherwise, i'd truly be lost and stranded with my camera.

[EOS mE]

I'm doing Snapfish for this first one, I'm in a bit of a pinch and they can make me an album quick. I sent it in Saturday night, I just got an email that it has shipped, I should get it in 3 days max. It's 102 pages, leather bound, Cost me $125 after taxes and shipping.

It's just a sample but the images and layout is nice enough, not perfect, but nice enough.

i've never seen a snapfish one. can you post up some photos and personal feedbacks about the print and quality? thx~

[sapearl]

Sounds like a pretty nice price.... it should be very attractive.

Is that basically a leather bound magazine style album, where the "pages" are actually heavy weight photographic paper, as opposed to a rigid matted album?

I'm doing Snapfish for this first one, I'm in a bit of a pinch and they can make me an album quick. ...... It's 102 pages, leather bound, Cost me $125 after taxes and shipping.

It's just a sample but the images and layout is nice enough, not perfect, but nice enough.

[i2iSTUDIOS]

i've never seen a snapfish one. can you post up some photos and personal feedbacks about the print and quality? thx~

Will do, I'll be getting it in 3-4 days :)

Sounds like a pretty nice price.... it should be very attractive.

Is that basically a leather bound magazine style album, where the "pages" are actually heavy weight photographic paper, as opposed to a rigid matted album?

Yes it is leather front/back with a hole cutout. The pages are heavy weight photographic paper. Pics in a few days.

this is only because I'm in a pinch and because it's a cheap option. I can't wait the 4-8 weeks for an Azuka book to get here so I'm going with Snapfish. :)

[coreypolis]

You pay for what you get. I did a shutterfly one for a school assignment a while back.

It gets direty really quickly. Page numbered, logo on the back, thin pages, color wasn't perfect, could have been my own issues, but based on the paper I'm guessing it'll never be perfect.

But it was only $30. Not something I would hand to a client for a finished product, but something you could do as a thank you to a vendor or something maybe. Definetly for family photos.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v721/viperx27/OT/Shutterfly-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v721/viperx27/OT/Shutterfly-2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v721/viperx27/OT/Shutterfly-3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v721/viperx27/OT/Shutterfly-4.jpg

[videochicke]

If I were shopping as a bride, I would be not be inclined to use a studio that does not have an album to offer. The easiest route is a slip in album to get you started. It takes plain old 8x10's and you just slip them in. Takes just minutes to physically put the album together.

http://www.albumsinc.com/catalog.asp?ProductKey={6DF8B50F-853E-4C32-A135-3AA0EDB93F4E}

Just keep in mind when you are shooting digital, the frame is essentially an 8x12. You will loose the ends when cropped to an 8x10. Groups cannot fill the frame in the camera from end to end or they will be cut off when you print.

The next album up would be a matted album, such as this:
http://www.albumsinc.com/catalog.asp?ProductKey={5D6C95D8-92EA-45F9-8345-E1870FC54AD8}

The pages are 10x10 and you attach the pics to mats and slip them in so they are oriented the proper way.

No need to go crazy when you are starting out designing digital albums. The bride can go to a studio that does that if that is what she wants. You can concentrate on traditional albums and have the time you need to spend with your kids. There will be time to build your business up later.

[liza]

Funny enough, Snapfish offers coffee table books at a reasonable price and great quality

Yeah, so does shutterfly (which is who we use for our prints), but I just want something that's a bit more "impressive" I guess. I like shutterfly's quality of prints for right now, I'm not sure about their albums. :(

I wouldn't use either of them for weddings. As Corey said, you get what you pay for. As for prints, consider Mpix for starters and then perhaps Miller's Lab or White House Custom Color. Keep in mind that Zook does their own printing now and have reportedly been doing a great job.

Hi Erika,

I'm in the same boat you are. I currently don't offer albums, but I'm looking into different options to start offering them. Graphistudio is looking promising to me right now (www.graphistudio.com (http://www.graphistudio.com)), although I'm waiting on more information from them.

And I know how you feel about not wanting to be known as the cheap wedding photographer. My prices are similar to yours ($600/$800/$1200/$1500) because my portfolio is so small and I don't have as much experience as others. I'm starting to get calls from the brides who mention "you're the cheapest I've found", or "your prices are so reasonable", etc....I had one last week, though, that boosted my ego a little bit. She said at first, she went to my site because of the low prices, but after viewing the galleries, she booked me for what she saw. Which made my day!

Let me know what you find out about other album companies, I'd be interested in getting information from others.

Amanda

Graphi has some customer service issues from what I've been told. That's the reason I opted not to use them.

I've been forced to add a "cheap" package for budget brides just to get bookings these days. It's disheartening, to say the least.

[tnicol]

www.pyjammydesigns.com (http://www.pyjammydesigns.com) will give you a 10% commission on any work you send her way. She is based out of New Orleans, and I knew her back when we were both on theknot.com's bridal message board (we were both planning our own weddings last year). She has accounts with several companies, so you can choose which one you want her to send it to.
It's a small world after all.

[E3_Photo_Studio]

I wouldn't use either of them for weddings. As Corey said, you get what you pay for. As for prints, consider Mpix for starters and then perhaps Miller's Lab or White House Custom Color. Keep in mind that Zook does their own printing now and have reportedly been doing a great job.



Thanks Liza! I've been doing my research over the last 36 hours, and think that I'm going to use Shutterfly for the first few orders. Don't really like their quality of books, but we are already using them for prints, so we'll see if they can do better over the next year.
I REALLY liked what I saw on Zook and on Queensberry and a couple others. I like the flush mount with the leather covers. So pretty and classy looking. But right now....just can't afford them. Maybe next year we'll be doing well enough that we can upgrade to zook or pictage or something. Already feel like I've bit off more than I can chew....best not choke on more. LOL :lol:

[tnicol]

Thanks Liza! I've been doing my research over the last 36 hours, and think that I'm going to use Shutterfly for the first few orders. Don't really like their quality of books, but we are already using them for prints, so we'll see if they can do better over the next year.
I REALLY liked what I saw on Zook and on Queensberry and a couple others. I like the flush mount with the leather covers. So pretty and classy looking. But right now....just can't afford them. Maybe next year we'll be doing well enough that we can upgrade to zook or pictage or something. Already feel like I've bit off more than I can chew....best not choke on more. LOL :lol:

Hi Erika...I've been doing a lot of thinking about this over the last couple days too. First, I didn't want to include something in a package that I didn't know very much about (like Zookbooks) and second I didn't want to include something that looked pricey for fear of scaring off customers. I don't have enough as it is. I decided to streamline my basic offerings and include other things in "Extras". Proof books will be Picaboo-style, coffee table books will be Asuka-style. Those things I'm familiar with. If someone's interested in a more professional album, I'll contract with someone like Pam at http://www.pyjammydesign.com and handle that as a standalone offering for cost plus something. For now this makes sense to me. At least when I'm talking with people I have a clear story at rates I can live with for now and hopefully that will make my services attractive. We'll see...

So have a look at http://www.tomnicolphotography.com/gallery/2231009

Comments welcome.