Many questions arise when considering wedding albums. Clients are often curious about the process of selecting an album, the different styles available, and of course, what’s included. Below Rhode Island and Massachusetts wedding photographer, Mark Davidson and Maine wedding photographer, Brea McDonald give excellent insight on everything you’d like to know about wedding albums, in addition to alternative products.

Top: Mark Davidson Photography | Bottom: Brea McDonald Photography

myKPW: What is the process of selecting an album or product with a client?

BM: All of my clients receive an album with their coverage plan and get to select what style (matted or collage) best fits them. My brides & grooms select their favorite images and I work on the design based on their favorites and album style. We work together throughout the entire process to be sure they get the perfect story from their day!
Each album has custom printing on the cover and couples select the cover material, color and can even add in custom elements. Our current favorite is nautical chart end papers from the coast. Many of these charts show the location where the bride & groom were married! A wonderful way to set the tone when opening up your wedding album.

MD: I offer two different types of albums to my brides and both are distinctly different.  The first album is an entry-level album in which I select 125-150 images and create a predesign for their album.  I find this to be more helpful than asking my brides to pick out 150 images because they have no idea where to start.
The album predesign is an excellent way to jump start the album process.  If the couple would like to make some changes to their album, they can review it on the online gallery that has all their images from the wedding day.  Once they complete their selection, they e-mail me the number of the new images to add to their album.  I have found with this process we typically only need one round of changes from the original predesign.
The second type option is the deluxe album. It is a completely different process in getting this to a finish product.  The couple and I select 150 images for their album. I forward those images to a team of designers that are truly album experts and they begin to layout the images for a custom design.  This allows them to create different cuts and folds in the album making it a unique one-of-a-kind wedding album.  The same designers who created the layout of the album – print the images on archival photo paper.  These books are created by hand, so there is no automated process when making it.

Top: Brea McDonald Photography | Bottom: Mark Davidson Photography

myKPW: What are the different types of albums available for clients?

BM: I offer two basic album styles to my clients. The first is the more traditional matted album where the images are set into an opening in the matted page. The second is the collage style where the entire page is one print with images laid out within the single print. There is no matting in this album, the prints go flush to the edge of the page.

MD: The entry level album is created in Italy.  You have several different choices for album covers.  A popular format is one with a center cut window and triangular window on the side of the book.  When it comes to the color of the book you can select from brown, dark brown, or black.
The deluxe album is created by hand and a lot of creativity and time goes into the design of this album.  There are no computers or big machines that are cutting the album. My designers make sure everything is done to perfection with rules and exacto knifes. The quality of this book is amazing.  It has a hard cover, the pages are thick, and the bind is prefect. Each page has a special protection coating that allows you to touch any of the images while not leaving behind fingerprints.  You could even clean it with windex if you’d like.   Each album is completely different from any previous one that we had created.  The designers do not use any templates to create these albums.  This makes the wedding album unique for the client.

Top: Mark Davidson Photography | Bottom: Brea McDonald Photography

myKPW: Are there any new trends that clients are opting for instead of wedding albums?

BM: I have noticed a bit of indecision with my couples as to what style of album to get especially for weekend coverage. We are doing two things: a hybrid album with lots of flush images in the matted style or married couples are opting for a smaller matted album from just their wedding day to compliment the collage album from their wedding weekend. This way they can get the best of both worlds!

MD: Often times when a couple isn’t ready to commit to an album they are considering a canvass wrap of their favorite image.  A canvass wrap is an image printed on a canvas and is stretched by the printer. You have the option to choose from sizes starting at 6×6 and all the way up to 60×100.  These prints are sprayed with a UV coating that prevents the print from fading.
In addition to albums and canvas wraps, I offer my couples a proof set of their wedding day images.  Typically, there are 500 images in a proof set that have all been color corrected by me.  The images are delivered in a personalized proof box with an image wrapped around the front and side of the box.

Thanks to Mark and Brea for their insight!

Rhode Island and Massachusetts wedding photographer, Mark Davidson and Maine wedding photographer, Brea McDonald are members of my Kate Parker Wedding your online wedding resource guide geared towards directing couples to quality vendors based on their price range and state.

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