albums look confusing, any tips?

i would really like to make an album for my next wedding, but the whole task seem confusing. the designing part looks like something i can handle, but the ordering process with all the little options looks confusing. can anyone give me some helpful tips? i would like to get a quality album/prints.

Hi Craig - first you have to decide what sort of "book" you want to create.

Do you want to create what is often referred to as a coffee table book? Typically this involves using album design s/w where you lay out the pages and pictures on screen, pick the type of binding, cover, etc. and then email or ftp all this info to a company that will print, assemble and bind the finished product for you. There are hundreds if not thousands of choices here.

The other alternative is make what's referred to as a traditional style wedding album. You PP the image in CS3 or your program of choice, send the files to a lab, they print it, send the prints back to you, and then you buy one of hundreds of different styles of wedding albums, matts/pages, insert the photos and complete the assembly. - Stu

Stu's given you good advice. Albums are pretty hard to do when you first start, guess how long you think it'll take, then triple it. After a while you get a LOT quicker, especially if you have design software.

The first step is to pick your vendor, after that the details are different. Check out Asuka and KISS albums.

I'd look at Candid2000. I have yet to do an album, but I think they are the company I'll go with.

Their offerings look quite attractive - any idea how long they've been around?

The critical factor with any of these firms is long term durability regarding the page adhesives. With the old fashioned bound style albums the mats would slip in and the bindery was solid. Lamination of the page photos to the base is the critical factor with the coffee table style.

TXLEBER wrote in post #4761799
I'd look at Candid2000. I have yet to do an album, but I think they are the company I'll go with.

sapearl wrote in post #4762549
Their offerings look quite attractive - any idea how long they've been around?

The critical factor with any of these firms is long term durability regarding the page adhesives. With the old fashioned bound style albums the mats would slip in and the bindery was solid. Lamination of the page photos to the base is the critical factor with the coffee table style.

They have a new company they've recently launched, called Tuscany. I was ready to use them due to the quick turnaround and reasonable pricing, but I've heard a number of complaints about product quality issues.

I've been reviewing a lot of album vendors lately, trying to determine a firm that will do flushmount books. I'll do all the PS and design work myself, probably using the Lab Prints s/w. It's fairly widespread in the industry and a lot of pro labs are compatible with it and use it themselves. It's also not specific to any particular high end photographer or book binder.... not that there's anything wrong with that... but I prefer more generic stuff that's more widely used. I'm in this for the long haul.

The problem is there are so many good choices out there. I was "visiting" over at DWF, perusing their Album Forum and had a headache by the the time I got done reading their wealth of info - some really good stuff there.

But when in doubt, I fall back on some general "rules to live by" that have helped me survive in the picture business.

So I ask myself: Who is fairly widespread, who do a lot of folks use, who has been around for a while, who is fairly reasonably priced, what do you see people using, and what do respected friends and associates use? Much of the time the answer is for merchandise and services that cost a little bit more than the average, and a bit more than the budget newcomer. But that's usually because of better quality control, level of service, and overall fit and finish.

Repeatedly, associates have recommended these 4 biggies: Leathercraftsman, Zook, Classic and Capri.

I've no doubt there are other vendors as good as if not better than these. But these keep popping up. I believe the least experienced of these has been around for at least 15-20 years; one for about 50 years. That says something.

i really like finao and kiss. they seem simple, straightforward.

I like the versatility of Finao. You can customize the look based on the client's taste. I'm going to put together a couple of Finao One books for studio samples to have on hand when people come for a wedding consult. I'm also going to use the self-mounts for senior photos and baby sessions, as I think the covers will sell well to that clientele. I already have one of their self-mounts and love the ease of use and the quality of the product.

Liza, perhaps I'm being a little unfair in prejudging the self-mounts. How did you feel things went with the adhesion part.... any issues with bubbles, smoothing, positioning, etc.?

You have to take care in getting the photos aligned properly. Some say it's best to cut away just a part of the backing along the edge at first so you can get the photo aligned properly. I didn't have any issues with bubbles and was pleased with the adhesion. The album itself is quite eye catching.

I did my first Wedding Album in November, and by the end of the album it was pretty easy. I used Maxima album and matts. I was concerned that the adhesive wouldn't hold as well as I wanted it to....right up until I made a mistake! Ya! Good thing I had a duplicate image and another matt! They HOLD. LOL
I talked to the client about a month ago and she said all of her friends were commenting on the album and photos with "OMG! You must have paid a fortune for this. It's beautiful!" so, With comments like that, I'm feeling more confident. Everyone likes good feedback. Do your album, take your time, and maybe do some practice pages before the actual album. Good luck! Let us know how it goes for you.