Album Layout Advice??

[italianfemmy]

Hey everyone. I have been looking at people's albums and noticed that nobody has any going vertical where you'd have to turn the album sideways to properly look at the photo.

So, when you shoot veritcally, and you get a great shot, do you change it to horizontal for the album and how does that work? Obviously if you switch it from horizontal to vertical, you have to lose a few inches in order to fit it and then wouldn't there be negative space on the top and bottom? Hope I'm not confusing anyone. If I am, it's because I am confused about this situation.

:-)

[danpass]

I prefer not to turn the book so I don't want someone else to have to do it for themselves.

I see three books out there; square, horizontal and vertical.

The theme of your book will decide the format. Having pics go across the gutter (the middle/binding) is another option.


But I prefer to not have people to be required to turn the book.


.

[sapearl]

I feel the same way as Danpass Alicia. I feel that for the viewer to have to rotate the album is both distracting to the work and a nuisance.

A type of matted album that I use has a large enough page to accomodate a slide-in rectangular mat that can be rotated either vertically or horizontally. If the shot lends itself to a vertical format, that's how I have the lab print it. Same thing with a horizonatal aspect. It works out very well that way and the viewer can comfortably sit with it in their lap without having to swing it about.;)

[Phil V]

It only means that they can't be printed full page - nothing wrong with vertical pics on a landscape page - series of pics printed across look particularly effective. IMHO It'd look terribly amateurish to print them so that the book needed turning.
Most of the early digital books were portrait orientation, - the advantage being that you can print uprights full page and landscapes across a 2 page spread (probably why the mfrs started this way).

[italianfemmy]

So, let's say I am shooting vertical with the 70-200 on and going for a headshot and shoulders .. then would I need to allow extra space so that when I flip it to horizontal and crop it for the framing, it will not cut off part of the face?

[sapearl]

Somewhere amongst all my posts I included some photos of some of these albums, but for the life of me can't find where those are right now. If you do a search on the forum you may have better luck than me.

But I agree, anytime you have to flip around and rotate a "finished" book, that gives it an amateurish look. I tried that with some inexpensive books about 25 years ago and really hated the look. But I will admit that with proof books, the orientations are mixed and there is a little bit of "turning." But those are proofs and it's a non-issue.

[Transcendence]

There are Panorama albums available where you would have to look through the book sideways like that.

[sapearl]

Yes - but that's a camera/composition/shooter thing and not really a book issue.

You should always think about your shot as much as you can while doing it to save cropping aggravation later on. Crop in the camera as you take the picture. I realize this is not always possible, but it's easy enough to learn and becomes second nature the more you shoot. For myself and many others here is pretty much an automatic reflex.

Whenever I look at a scene or a person, I almost always know before hand whether or not it will be a vertical or horizontal. That's the way I shoot.

So, let's say I am shooting vertical with the 70-200 on and going for a headshot and shoulders .. then would I need to allow extra space so that when I flip it to horizontal and crop it for the framing, it will not cut off part of the face?

[Phil V]

So, let's say I am shooting vertical with the 70-200 on and going for a headshot and shoulders .. then would I need to allow extra space so that when I flip it to horizontal and crop it for the framing, it will not cut off part of the face?

I still don't understand why you're insisting that a landscape oriented page needs landscape oriented pics. No album I've used in the last 10 years has forced me to do this. In the old days some albums had only one style mat, but I wouldn't use them anymore. I frame my pics as I'd like to print them, rarely will I crop something from one orientation to another.

[sapearl]

I've seen those and personally find that distracting - but then that's just my taste. Others love them. Bottom line you have to gear the product to the client, or decide that you will only offer certain products and services, thereby limiting yourself if that is your direction.

There are Panorama albums available where you would have to look through the book sideways like that.

[italianfemmy]

I still don't understand why you're insisting that a landscape oriented page needs landscape oriented pics. No album I've used in the last 10 years has forced me to do this. In the old days some albums had only one style mat, but I wouldn't use them anymore. I frame my pics as I'd like to print them, rarely will I crop something from one orientation to another.

Lol. Because I've never done one before and don't know. That's why I was asking.

What made me think about this is that I just got some test prints back.. all 8x10's and I got an inexpensive leather album to put them in for now.

One of them is vertical and the others are horizontal. The one vertical one has to go in sideways. It won't fit any other way and this is what made me think about it because flipping the book to look at it didn't feel right.

[sapearl]

It sounds like these mats have already been locked/glued in Alicia? Or actually, it sounds like the actual album pages are pretty close to the size of the 8x10, so there is no room to rotate.

You need to get larger books then. Those that accomodate both the portrait and landscape orientation have enough extra space on all 4 sides to allow for the rotation. I don't have one here with my now to actually measure, but I will guess that the pages are in the ballpark of 13x13".

.........What made me think about this is that I just got some test prints back.. all 8x10's and I got an inexpensive leather album to put them in for now.

One of them is vertical and the others are horizontal. The one vertical one has to go in sideways. It won't fit any other way and this is what made me think about it because flipping the book to look at it didn't feel right.

[italianfemmy]

Yes, the book I picked up is an 8 x 10 book. I wasn't thinking about the rotation at that time. Learn from experiences. lol. :-)

[sapearl]

Certainly understandable - been there done that myself.;)

Yes, the book I picked up is an 8 x 10 book. I wasn't thinking about the rotation at that time. Learn from experiences. lol. :-)

[LeesaB]

Yes - but that's a camera/composition/shooter thing and not really a book issue.

You should always think about your shot as much as you can while doing it to save cropping aggravation later on. Crop in the camera as you take the picture. I realize this is not always possible, but it's easy enough to learn and becomes second nature the more you shoot. For myself and many others here is pretty much an automatic reflex.

Whenever I look at a scene or a person, I almost always know before hand whether or not it will be a vertical or horizontal. That's the way I shoot.

That is one rule that is golden...WOW...it should be the top and foremost in any book!!!

[Phil V]

Like Stu said, wedding albums are rarely this restrictive (thankfully). The more traditional books (in the UK, at least) have square pages and so the mats can be rotated in either direction, like I said earlier the more modern books are even more versatile.

[sapearl]

I finally found my old post which has some photos of the current bound "slip in" ablum that I use:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=320885

What's really nice about these is the flexibility of the large number of different mats available for the standard page opening. Essentially one mat will hold a single 8x10, or (2) 5x7's..... the combo's go on. But it does illustrate how the proper album vendor offers books that simultaneously take vertical and horizontal formats.