My newly Designed Album. C&C Please

Im just about to send this to the lab to be made and before i do so i want to post it here to get some comments from you folk. Its a 12inch by 12 inch (12 x 24 when fully opened)

Honest opinions please and if anything you think doesnt quite look right in regards to design and layout etc then please give it to me.

One thing im not too sure about is the constant changing between a Black background to white background, to an image as a background.
Does this work?

One thing i am sure of, and some folk on here may disagree is, a mix between Black and white images and colour images on the same page/layout.
What do you think?

Im really looking for some comments on this one before i send it off. Last thing i want to do is send it off then a page or whatever isnt quite right.

I will be sending these shots to the Bride and Groom also, who happen to be really good friends.

Thank you guys/Girls.

PS: Forgive the bad compression

John

Page 1-2 I want to illustrate the location (Spain-Alicante) on these pages as i didnt really get a chance on other images.

page 17-18

page 33-34

I would redesign page 3-4 and and 7-8 .

-3-4 : the 2 big image on top is look blur to me ....if it not blur ...it's good.
-7-8 : I would mix the dress image with the image on page 9-10 .

I'll give you my very quick opinions - please read everything as constructive and imagine smileys on the end of each line.

1-2: I don't like the overlaid images, just go with the spread. Put the little images on the first half-page if you like, I don't really see how they tell muhc of a story.
3-4: dislike midnight sepia and mixing B&W and color on a page. B&W image will be chopped in half right? You could lose a lof it in the gutter. I like symmetry in page, so i'd try for the two large shots to be landscape (or portrait). Can you put a few more litle shots in?
5-6: not bad layout, again mix of color & b&w. I often go all B&W for prep images.
7-8: I'd remove the diagonal layout, go vertical.
9-10: I find the U shape of the brides head distracting - I like to see heads around level and the faces about the same size in this type of page.
11-12: Earrings image is weak, nice photo of people is too small. 2 page spread for that nice B&W one? Or make it span the pages and take up 70% of the width and move the small ones to the side?
13-14: Go for symmetry. Make the left side look like the right.
15-16: Simple, elegant. Best page yet.
17-18: could the car shot be a 16:9 ratio?
19-20: you'll lose the bride and Dad in the page gutter. Also funny boxes at bottom. How about two larger portrait images, one on each page, and move/resize the smaller images if necessary?
21: Is ok layout wise, try a plain white background and a black stroke around the images
23: Nice layout, B&W conversions need work. Again midnight sepia I don't like.
25: Group pic bigger? Span the two pages if you can make it work? Also in future get up high and put them in a more round group, that means less width so faces are bigger on the page.
27: Make image on right larger - align top with the top of the images on the left, ditto for the bottom.
29: Smaller image on top, larger at bottom? Bride pic on rt larger.
31: Move bottom right pic so it's right aligned with the wide pic.
33: larger image at top of left page? One sepia mixed with B&W I don't like. Vertical alignment of rt page to center.
35: Color/B&W mix - all b&w instead? The colors are boring in that location I think, distracting even.
37: See the redesign i'll upload in a minute
39: cramped on right. Consider removing landscape and one other image. If you have a single side (ie half spread) you can use move the right hand side to that and spread the rest of the images out more nicely. Not sure I like the very bold white line for the last image.

Hope that helps

My two takes on P37.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

John, some suggestions:
p 3-4: too much white space
p 8: make the three images in a vertical or horizontal line
p 11-12: make the people bigger...too much background
p 11-20: too much white space
p 19-20: what're those horizontal bars adn the writing underneath
p 21-22: people shots too small
p 26: take this image all the way across the spread...put the other in where you can
p 31-32: blue bar in center gutter? What?
p 33-34: too much white space
p 39-40: red dotted line in center gutter?

Thanks guys. Loving the Comments here. i will re read them and go over my layouts.
Tim, the reason why i can get away with the image straight down the gutter is because there is no loss in image, as mentioned above. same with the text box in page 19-20, this wont show up on final output.

Storybookpages:
these lines, dotted lines and text boxes wont be there in final output. i have mentioned this at the start of my post.

Thanks guys.

The reason for the first page with the background image is you can see the cathedral were they got married and also the hotel they both stayed in before and after the wedding. the 2 images coudnt go anywhere else otherwise you wouldnt see both these places

1-2: Move the images to the outside of the pages
3-4: Images are all over the shop - the spacing on the smaller panels isn't consistant, tbh it looks like you've thrown them on the page and hoped for the best
5-6: Prefer it if all the panels were the same size
7-8: 7 is fine, 8 - again looks like you've thrown the images on the page..
9-10: Like this page see how having consistancy with the panel sizes helps the layout
11-12: Looks like you ran out of ideas for this? - how about making mother and daughter the dps and then have the other pics at the bottom?
13-14: Oh boy..
15-16: Nice layout - i'd crop in on the elevator and on the getting into the car tho'
17-18: Again a nice looking layout - can you not stretch the car to the edge of the set of 4? (prehaps croping a little off the top and bottom)
19-20: good idea, how about having dad and daughter filling more of the page?
21-22: Thats worked well
23-24: Again well done WB is off
25-26: MEH.. have the group shot fill the page, if there is no center fold, then it can stretch over and then shrink the set of 4 on p25
27-28: Good layout - swap the kissing shots tho'
29-30: Make the photos on 29 the same width
31-32: Shave some of the photo in 31 to give the same margin between the 2 photos as you've given border. align the 2nd photo on 32 with the right side of the pool shot
33-34: Stretch the photos on 34 to align with the bottom of the photo on 33
35-36: Good layout, but photos don't look like they're the same size on each side (could be the jpg resize)
37-38: I like the 2nd edit Tim did
39-40: 39 - oops, you need to either re-think this layout, or shrink the botton middle photo to give more breathing room.. nice photo on 40

Cheers Bobster. great comments there.

Ive made some changes to the design of some pages by reading your comments and i think its made a difference.

BTW, page 13-14, you say "oh boy". is that a good thing or a bad thing

jjmucker wrote in post #4278743
BTW, page 13-14, you say "oh boy". is that a good thing or a bad thing

I'll guess it wasn't a compliment! The page just isn't well balanced. Album design takes a while to learn and get used to, I look at the first album I designed a few years ago and think to myself "OMG what was I thinking?!"