DebAnn Loc: Toronto

I don't shoot a lot of weddings but when I do I offer a professionally printed coffee table book. A photographer colleague told me that she is finding that brides now increasingly want old-fashioned photo albums - the kind where you stick printed photos onto the pages. Are any of you pro wedding photographers finding this to be so?

Beercat Loc: Central Coast of California

Interestingly I had someone ask this week. But they wanted a book that could accommodate several different sized pictures. As today there are limitless variations of crops in post processing the pictures are usually already cropped and sized based on the crop.

If someone was going to want this it would be good to know prior to the edit ....

ronz Loc: Florida

I always cover this in the first meeting and let them pick from samples. Makes life easier after the wedding and yes it seems the younger ones are reverting back to a more old fashion type album and the older couples feel they want the latest and greatest and willing to pay whatever it takes, interesting observation......

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

I'll chime in saying that I don't. I can't say that anyone has asked, but if they did, I would probably just consider them "not my ideal client" Not that I'm a snob, but it's part of my corporate identity. I have people contact me because they saw "so and so's" album.

Instead of offering more and more items, I'm trying to be and do the best I can do, and be consistent with my offerings.

As Cliff Lawson once told me. The idea is for them to want what you do, not for you to consistently try to do what they want, because those people will never be satisfied.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Why am I the "Album Guy"! Why do I sell albumes to MOST of my wedding clients? For me, it a matter of statistics adn history.

OK- I have been at this for a very long time- started in the late 1950s. Over those years I have photographed wedding celebrations covered in many mediums and formats. For many years the traditional product was a WEDDING ALBUM, early on in black and white, shot on large format, and eventually in full color prints. At the same times there were many other things being added to the mix and sold in addition to the album. Here's a list; 3-D (Stereo) slides, 35mm slides, 8mm (silent) movies and the Super 8mm movies, 16mm movies, Super 8 sound movies and then of course video. Nowadays, goes without saying- CDs and DVDs of all the still images. Most of theses products were sold in addition to the album. Back in the day when color prints were too expensive for the market and were known to fade, slides and movies were a way to show the color of the weddings- bridesmaids gowns, flowers decorations etc. Natural color albums were a natural progression when the process became more practicable and affordable.

What I have found out is that the ALBUMS are the main "survivors" over the years. I am now shooting the grandchildren of some of my early clients and I discovered that most of those albums are still intact- get the most usage, kept in more easily accessible and convenient places and simply last longer than most of the aforementioned methods of storage and exhibition. Some of these old albums are so well used that the come back for repair- re-gilding of the edges etc.

I'm not a fan of thin paper books for weddings so I still make prints. My favorite album maker is Leather Craftsmen. Their albums are extremely well crafted, available in a wide selection of styles, formats and colors and beautifully engraved and gilded. You can create centerfold type panoramics, montages and although the pages in a basic format are all the same size, you can mask off areas, create cameos, montages, rectangular and square compositions- all in the same album.

When the leather bound albums first came into popularity, they were called LIBRARY ALBUMS as opposed to the plastic slip in models. They look like fine books and could be kept on library type shels, a coffee table or end table rather than ending up in a closet, drawer, basement or attic. So...I still call them my LIBRARY editions. Big jobs may call for multiple volumes in a slip case.

Many of our contracts also include video coverage and slide shows on CDs are still made available to clients, however, the ALBUM is my main product.

My selling points are the longevity factor andthe style and the process of album design. When images are being selected for the album a layout and storytelling plan is designed and this service is included in the price. We are not just sticking the pictures in an album but creating a journalistic and magazine-like layout of the images. For the folks who already have one or more of my albums, I suggest that the may be ready for "Volume ll- in the form of a "parents or grandparents albums" -old fashioned but why not?

Wherever this subject arises in this forum, there is alwasy someone saying that the were married 30 or more years ago and haven't seen their wedding pictures since then or the pictures are in a box somewhere in the cellar. Surprisingly enough, I haven't seen or heard much of that among my clients or even my family. Then, of course there are the doom and gloom sayers that contend that nowadays marriages don't last all that long so why worry about longevity of the images"? Well, even if only 50% stay married- that's still lots of pictures. Me?- my lovely wife and I are going on our 50th year in December! Folks are still having more or less traditional weddings and spending significant amounts of money on all the trimmings. Photographers shoud get a fair share of the action and album sales certainly help.

So...I am not the only act in town and potential clients have their choice. I never expected to book every wedding but my wedding sales are still decent and ongoing. Sometimes I find that doing things differently works well- It helps you stand out from the crowd.

Something to consider! The creation of an incredible sample album may be a good investment. After all, we all invest in updated equipment- all the latest and greatest but many of us are still selling our images in the same form, perhas limiting our sales and profits. So we have better gear, sharper and more saturated images and we work better but we are still charging the same rates and limiting our add-on sales. Oftentimes, old stuff and ideas becomes new again- be a trendsetter in your neighborhood and prosper!

So I don't mind when the couple come in and say "So you're that ALBUM GUY!

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Thanks to all of you who replied, especially Mr. Shapiro who took the time to send such a detailed reply. I've only done one "old-fashioned" album housed in a quality cover with heavy grey paper pages. The few others I've done have been printed in coffee table book form with beautiful linen covers and high-quality photo paper. They do sit on the couple's coffee tables or book shelves and get looked at often. I'm not photographing weddings for a living - I just get asked by family and friends. I just thought that since it's possible to get printed books in such high quality these days, for me, they are the way to go. I have one recent wedding shoot completed and am waiting for the couple to choose which photos they want to include in a book. I'll ask them which kind of book they'd prefer. Thanks again everyone.