Wedding Albums + Prints: Valuable or Expensive? In the digital age, I believe the experience of printed photographs play a vital role in family history.
So much time, effort, and money go into planning a wedding. The dress, the venue, rings, flowers, wedding stationery, and the list, goes on.
Many couples nowadays opt out for wedding albums and prints because they see it as “an additional expense” and in this post, I'd like to share with you the value and importance of having a professional wedding album and fine art prints made.
Way back before the digital age, when it was just analog film, all weddings delivered prints and albums. It was the norm.
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Sadly, today, most couples store them on their computer or leave the pen drive in a drawer. This make me cringe.
Sometimes couples print their albums at Shutterfly (which is ok for somethings but not wedding albums) or somewhere else where the quality is cheap and quick.
However, I believe, if you invested so much in your wedding or elopement, and paid for a quality photographer, then conserving your images in a high-quality album to showcase and preserve your images should strongly be considered.
If you hired a professional to take your photographs, you should strongly consider getting your album from them. They are the creators of the images, and they will create the body of work the way it supposed to be.
Wedding Albums are Valuable
Yes, wedding albums are meant to stay around for decades — not years.
You can relive your memories on your anniversary, share with your family and friends. It's a family heirloom.
Looking at images on the computer or screen is not the same as holding an album.
Why are fine art wedding albums so expensive?
First of all, they are handmade and made with the finest inks and quality materials.
Many couples, trying to trim their budget opt out of getting an album made professionally and try to go about doing it themselves.
If you design your album, the process will be time-consuming, hard (as you're probably not a designer so the results won't justify your images. The colors will be off as the images are calibrated.
Wedding photographers work with professional album labs
Wedding photographers work with professional album labs who don't sell to the public. You have to have a legitimate photography website that is evaluated to use their services. These album companies use printers are of the highest quality. Every image is calibrated to look the way the photographer intended them, and they can read the image specs accurately.
From the covers to the thick gallery board pages, fine art papers and the UVA adhesive to preserve against the light, cannot compare something you buy on Shutterfly.
When a photographer shoots your wedding, they usually have the album in mind. They are photographing to tell your story cohesively. There is a start and an end. All of the selected images are then designed and come alive again in a book creating a beautiful work of art that will last for decades, not years.
Here is my process for each Wedding album
- You choose your favorite images and your cover.
- I then use professional design software that is color-calibrated to layout and design your album
- I send the design and layouts to my lab
- Each album is handmade with close attention to detail using the finest archival material to ensure a long life. They are museum grade printing with acid-free fine art papers and sealed with UVA protection.
- Process takes approximately 6-8 weeks
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