Professional Wedding Photo Albums

Why you should buy them and not do it yourself
By Kara Schultz
Wedding Photographer, Kara Schultz – Storyteller
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At this point in your planning you’ve probably done a lot more do-it-yourself projects than you ever thought was possible, so why not add the album on top of that? Places like Shutterfly, MyPublisher and Blurb all seem to have great albums and they’re a whole lot cheaper than those that your photographer is offering so why not right? Think again. Most photographers spend hours meticulously laying out your album and will narrow down your pictures for you which is a lot easier for them than it is for you. Narrowing down pictures for an album is taxing and it can take a long time to finally do it. Most brides who say they are going to do their album, they either never do or they take at least a year to get it done, some make them a lot faster but for the most part you may never get around to it. Also the consumer places don’t really care about the quality of your wedding album or it’s longevity.

Your photographer spent many hours adjusting your images just right for print and the consumer places don’t look at the color profiles embedded in the files. They also will not guarantee any type of quality over time or that each album will turn out identically, sometimes you will get a good printed album from them and other times you won’t, it’s a complete risk. Your photographer has access to pro-quality albums that guarantee quality and are made for an heirloom. Remember those photo albums you took out of your parents or even grandparents, these are your heirloom so go ahead and put it in your budget to buy a high-quality album. There are many different options from Flush-mounts to Coffee-table books and everything in between so talk to your photographer about the options you have, if you’re worried about price, ask about payment options such as a payment plan so that you can afford an album!