This little guide is designed to help you through the album design process from picking your images to deciding on cover choices and the exciting design options available to customize your beautiful wedding album.
THE Album Order Form
You will need to complete the Album Order Form which is linked here and is also linked in the navigation menu in the header of this page under the albums section. Please complete the form and either email it or mail to me in order to start the album order process.
Please note that this will not be ALL of the images in your album so don't feel like you have to "trade" some of these to get something you really want into your album. If you feel an important image is not included in this list then by all means let me know. This list just represents the type of images that I find people will be most particular about and/or those images that I am not very good at picking out. Reception images are a prime example. I have no way of knowing in many cases whether a "great shot" that I put in the album is even someone the bride and groom are very close to.
You are still welcome to choose all of the images for your album. I will do the best I can, but I cannot spend the extra design time trying to force your selections into one of my creative designs. Those who wish to choose all of the images for their album will get one round of changes limited to five image swaps. Otherwise, clients who limit their selections to the above list will get two rounds of changes with unlimited image swaps.
Also, I would like to discuss the use of background images. Sometimes I include them in an album design and they can lend a very nice design element to the album if there are appropriate images for this type of design. Many clients remember viewing my sample albums and the use of background images in them is very appealing. However, background images should generally be used sparingly and only when they are aesthetically appropriate. And background images take a perfectly fitting image that is not always available for each spread. But mostly, negative space is a very important design element as well, and negative space keeps the eye focused on the subject and avoids clutter.
THE Standard ALBUM COVER
All of my Signtaure One albums come standard with premium leather and fabric options that offer choices galore. From the traditional leather colors that have been standbys for years to the more contemporary tooled and stamped leathers that make for exciting album options, there is something for everyone. Don't want leather? Check out the beautiful silks and unique fabrics available in the Paraphernalia and Brocades lines. Take a look here to see all of the delicious cover choices available on the standard album, plus a few upgrade cover materials that will tempt you, too!.
Square or Landscape
I am starting to introduce the landscape album design into my album portfolio. The square design has been a standard which reaches back to the "old days" when many weddings were shot on square medium format film. The prints fit in the album very nicely because you didn't have the concerns over how the image was cropped - they were all square!
Today we have digital photography which dictates that most weddings are going to be shot on 35mm digital cameras allowing both portrait and landscape images. I personally shoot a majority of my images in landscape orientation, especially candid images and couple portraiture. Often these images are ideally suited for the landscape album design as you can fit an entire shot on one half of the spread and still have and entire other half for an image grouping that has plenty of space for an uncompromising design with larger images.
While square albums are still a great design. You may want to give some thought to the landscape album. So, let me know which you prefer before we start the design process.
WHAT ABOUT TOO TONES!
One exciting option for the Standard Album Cover is to combine two cover materials for one great look. The TooTones option is available in several combinations and you can even combine some silks with some leathers. A particular leather favorite of mine is Secret Garden as the main material with Date Book as the binder. Both of these are in the Fragments collection and a sample image is below. This combination is a decidedly classic look that will never go out of style. I even love it without a cover photo for that "old book" style. TooTones is $ 75 on any size album.
UPGRADE YOUR COVER TO ARMOUR OR ICE?
Armour and Ice are definitely client favorites and either one make an irresistible album that will get tons of oohs and aahhs. If you choose either one of these upgrade cover options, all you have to do is select the binding material that displays on the spine and back of the album. Due to the binding process for these covers, you are limited to the leather cover collections that are noted at the top "Armour and Ice Compatible". Here's the link again for the cover choices. The Armour and Ice covers are available at $ 225 for a 10"x10" and 10"x13" album and $ 300 for 12"x12"or larger album.
The Armour cover is a textured metal photographic emulsion process that lends a soft muted effect to the cover images used. While you can use almost any photo with this cover, it is best if the image is styled with less chromatic colors, but even vibrant images can be softened for optimal appearance with the Armour cover. The sample Armour cover below is bound with Sagebrush Lizard and is the most popular binding option with my clients. Another popular binding is Komodo Dragon, but many of the leathers will look great with this cover, depending on the image used.
The Ice cover is a made with a brilliant metallic process photo adhered behind thick beveled Lexan. This combination gives any image used with this cover a high impact appearance and is particularly suited to dramatic images with lots of color and contrast. The sample album below is Ice with Saturday Night Special as the binding leather.
OPTIONAL IMPRINTING
If you did not get the Armour or Ice upgrade, you do have the upgrade option of adding imprinted text for your album cover. You may add up to two lines of text (usually your names and wedding date), and you will also need to make sure that the cover option you chose allows imprinting. This is noted on each collection in the lower right.
If you want imprinting on the cover you will need to decide EXACTLY how you want your names or text to read. There is a limit of 30 characters per line.
Finally, pick an imprinting font and foil color suitable to your taste and the color of your album cover using the guideline at this link. I will be happy to help you out if you have any questions. Imprinting is $30 per line, two lines maximum.
Cameo Cover Photo Option
If you have chosen the Standard Album Cover, you may also opt to have a 5X5" photo opening on the front cover with a photo of your choice. Many clients use a portrait photo, but photos of details that are special to the day are also popular options. Really, you should choose whatever image you like that you want to represent your day. If you wish to have a photo on the cover, please choose this photo prior to ordering your album so the photo will not be used in the interior design. The 5"x5" cover cameo is $ 50.
Parent Album and Book Options
If your package did not come with a parent album or book then now is the perfect time to look at the options available for parents. There are basically three options for parents and I will explain each of them here. By all means if your parents have questions about any of these options or the album process please have them call or email me.
The first option is for parents who want the Signature One album (the album that I use for all my couple albums) AND they want a custom design where they choose the images, cover material, and album size. This album is priced at retail and that pricing is available in your pricing brochure for the size and type of album you want. They will need to choose the images they want in their album and send them to me so that I may produce a custome design for them.
The second option is the Signature One Parent Clone. This album is an exact duplicate of the couple's album design yet the parents can choose their own cover options and upgrades. The Signature One Parent Clone is priced at 45% off the retain price in your pricing brochure.
The third option is the Parent Book. The Parent Book (see photos below) is available in clone design only meaning that it is an exact duplicate of the couple's album design, custom design is not available. It is a beautiful coffee table book made by the same album maker that makes my Signature One album. This book is by far the best quality coffee table book I have ever seen, distinguished by the fact that it is produced with actual photographic paper by photo process rather than ink jet printing which is typical of coffee table books. I love this book and I am so happy to be able to offer it to my clients. The pages, while not nearly as thick as the Signature One album, are still substantially thicker than any book I have seen. The Parent Book is available with a selection of stylish cloth and synthetic covers or beautiful custom photo cover as shown below. See your pricing brochure for sizes and pricing options.
SEND IT TO ME!
Finally, send me the album order form by email if possible. Don't forget to proof your choices to make sure you have related everything exactly the way you want it. That's it! Once your choices are sent to me I will prepare an album design and forward a proof link to you. You get two rounds of changes. Then, after your final proof, the album will go into production. Remember, if you have ANY questions along the way, be sure to drop me a line or give me a call (540-312-8460).