Photograph albums

I was thinking the same thing, so i think im going to buy the cd with all the high res pictures and then use vista print to do the albums... they have great deals on there for around £30!! Quite a difference to a £500 album.

Sorry its not much help but those are my plans Good Luck

I think it depends on what you want at the end of the day... a traditional album will have better print and finish quality (and shelf life) whereas the "bargain" printed albums will have a very different finish and may not last as long (I'm talking family heirloom type length of time here not a couple of years!)

Everyone is different. My priority is not the "album" exactly but more about having the images to put on canvas, prints to go on the wall etc. If I can find a good enough deal then I will get one, if not then I'll get the cd and make my own.

Hi I know I probably get shot by the other photographers on here but I am going to give you a reccomendation to have a look at www.photobox.co.uk as they make a number of different styles of book some with pre built designs you drop your pictures into, I have used a number for family presents in the past. (These too are ink printed and not real photographic prints)

Most of the books you can buy printed are printed with inks rather than using actual photographs (some photographers offer these books but its obvious its not a photographic surface) and they are actually very good for what they are.

What you need to make sure you are receiving when you get your disk of images is that all of the files are medium - High resolution JPG files and that all of the files have been colour balanced and have had the appropriate density corrections applied (Basically corrected for exposure, tone and colour)

Obviously a photographer has different costs and they present them in different ways, I charge a sensible rate for the day and my albums are also fairly priced.

It takes me around a day tom design a large storybook album and then a another 4-6 hours making changes for the bride plus the cost of the photographic storybvook all of which has to be accounted for somewhere.

If you get the files as specified above from your photographer and use photobox or a similar lab supplying albums you wont go far wrong

Tim

I'm also thinking of going with the CD and then getting a quote off something like graphi studio after the wedding - i would like one of the italian storybooks - i'm just not sure i want to pay the £1000+ price tag to go with it. I'd rather worry about that cost after the wedding.

Thanks for all your posts, its nice to know im not the only one looking into this.

The photography seems a really expensive part of the wedding, and although its something you will keep forever, it just seems such a large amount of money.

I have to agree with Tim Driver as photobox offer a wide range of books but its the basis of you get what you pay for, the reason why photographers have to charge what they charge is that the albums cost alot from the manufacturers.

Other places to look are tesco's and cewe books. Jessops online also offer a really good deal for single prints.

To save money I would recommend looking away from the high street as those photographers have to pay manufacturing costs as well as rent and business rates which all get passed down in to the overall package costs.

My OH's cousin is doing our photography and giving us all the pictures so I can make our own album, It's mainly because I can't afford a photographer but I'm also looking forward to making the album!

Well I am going to get the album fromt he photographer. He's a decent guy and wont dig his arm in!! He also gives us a dvd of all the pics of the day so may consider photobox for picture gifts for our parents, bridesmaids etc so they can have an album for themselves.

My sister's Photographer is a friend. He doesn't usualy do weddings, but neither of us wanted formal weddingy shots and he took some wonderful pics for my sisters wedding. He then gave the disc to her, and she made a wonderful album using Kodak's photoshop, the book has a black cover with diamontes dashed down the side. Personally I wouldn't have known it was from Kodak if she hadn't told me. It cost her £40.00 and the quality and finish is fantastic!

Are these storybooks people are buying? Does anyone know anywhere where you can have tradtional albums made?

We've bought digital, but I'm a graphic designer and very picky about how I like print work presented so I decided where possible in the wedding I would like to do things my way.

I am going to use blurb.com to make our books

Indeed, there are several photobook options as mentioned previously. These are new-ish suppliers and I am not sure how long life the images in these books are. This isn't intended as a scare post...and Mrs C's comments suggest this too. Properly printed photographs will last a lifetime if printed on archival paper. I don't think that the cheaper photobooks can guarantee the same. They may look fantastic when delivered.....although a few years on, the images may possibly not be as good.

As also mentioned many times previously, if you get images on a disk, be aware that the disk lifespan is also debateable......always copy it and back it up every couple of years to ensure that your disk of wedding photography will remain readable.

I am thinking of doing this, as i have found a photographer who does a photo only package for £350!

x

In relation to Soon to be mrs W 's question unfortunatly professional traditional albums are very difficult for the general public to get ahold of and this is because there are very few companys that supply them and even a decline in the supply of that market with a major manufacturer Spicer hallfield going out of business mid last year. Your best bet is to try ebay as this is a good place for photographers to get rid of excess stock.

You can get albums where you put the images in using clear corners but they are not the same.The reason why these new kind of story books are everywhere now adays is because they are easy to mass produce.

Hey, not sure if these:

http://www.heritagephotoalbums.co.uk/products/Wedding_Albums/Heritage_Wedding_Collection

or these:

http://www.kikijames.com/KJ1115IVORYBLM.html?mv_pc=froogle&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=deluxe_wedding_albums

are any use to you?

"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after low pricing is forgotten" - Grace Ormond

Wow, okay. I was trying to help - it was just a suggestion. OP - these people make them up for you if you'd prefer - they say they do traditional aperture albums

http://www.portlandstudios.co.uk/wedding-album-design.html

This wasn't a personal comment directed at anyone in particular. I simply posted the above quote as a general reminder to take care if cheapness is your over riding priority. I now it can be hard when you are on a tight budget, but as has already been stated your photographs, and of course your wedding album, are probably going to be your most cherished posession from your day.

Oh okay, sorry, just being oversensitive then.