IMAGE CREDIT: Desiren Photography & Video
One For The Books – Wedding Album
Much like a romance novel, the pages of your wedding album tell a great love story – your love story! Jemmah Kelly reveals why in a digital world, printed wedding albums of wedding photos are still popular page-turners.
Online albums and photo-sharing websites are getting increasingly popular. Many newlyweds may consider choosing to receive their wedding photos on a CD and post them online for all to see. Instead of showcasing them in a more traditional wedding album.
While this is a popular trend, it is important to remember that technology is always on the move and changing. A tangible wedding album, however, will always stand the test of time. For memories that last for generations, a wedding album is a great choice.
Desiren Photography & Video’s Sash Ilievski shares his expertise and offers Melbourne Wedding & Bride readers some helpful hints to ensure your memories are preserved in a high-quality wedding album that you will cherish for decades.
Quality Not Quantity
Whether it is due to time or budget constraints, designing a wedding album may seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, most professional wedding photographers can create your wedding album for you. After all, you hired a professional to photograph these precious moments. So why not follow through by having a professional print and design your gorgeous wedding album?
“We take the hard work away from the couple by selecting the images a few weeks after the wedding. Then designing the layout according to the story of the day, making the album look visually beautiful,” says Ilievski.
“The couple then come in to see what we’ve created and view their awesome layouts, make changes where needed and finalise. Once finalised, the layouts then get the final touch-ups. Then, it is sent to print. The couple can then have their amazing album within months of the wedding day, not years!
“This system isn’t set in stone. Some brides like the opportunity to select which photos they would like for their album.”
One of the most important things to remember is that you’re telling the story of the wedding day in just a few pages. So it is important to refine your image selection.
When making your final selection, remember it’s often the small details that make a photo album-worthy. Ilievski recommends choosing images that best depict the action and emotion of each part of the wedding day. Also to arrange pictures chronologically.
“An album should be dynamic. One spread might have quite a few smaller images of the bride getting ready for example. Whereas the next spread could be one image running over the whole spread. With maybe a few on the side like a collage.”
To avoid a cluttered look, Ilievski suggests placing fewer images on each page for greater visual impact. Leaving some empty space on a page can create a wonderful visual effect. As opposed to trying to squeeze in too many photos.
“We like to keep the layouts clean and simple. It’s not about our graphic design skills. However, the photos themselves. It’s much harder to keep a design simple and creative than it is to clutter the page with photos and have it look busy,” says Ilievski.
Type Cast
Once you have made your final image selection, the next step is to choose the photo finish. Although there is no right or wrong type of photo finish – it’s simply a matter of taste. Ilievski has some advice when choosing the most appropriate look for your wedding album.
“The two main types of finishes are photographic process finishes and inkjet finishes. Photographic process is photographic paper, usually in a matte lustre finish, and processed through chemicals. Similar to printing film. It is then backed onto a card. So the album pages end up thick.”
These high-quality photos will look just as good on your diamond anniversary as they did the very first day you opened it with recommended care.
“The other main type of paper finish for wedding albums is inkjet, which has come a long way. This process can be done on photo paper, but is usually done on art paper with texture, like linen,” says Ilievski.
“We have an inkjet option where the pages are printed on linen textured art paper. Then, backed onto card and assembled in a book-bound album, to keep with the thick pages. The pages have a more matte finish, and the black and white and toned effect images look exceptionally nice.”
Inkjet finished pages can also print on both sides of the page. So you don’t need to back anything onto thick card. The look referred to as a magazine. Or, book-style wedding album because of its loose pages. Which are easy to flick through.
Cover Up
It’s time to add the finishing touch – the album cover. As Ilievski reveals, there are a number of different cover options available. Ranging from more traditional looks through to modern designs.
“Albums generally start with either a leather or leather-look cover, with other options including cloth, suede, metal or timber. Another popular option is [to have] a photo on the cover, with the two main types being a metallic high-gloss photo under perspex, [or] a laminated photo that wraps around the front edge,” says Ilievski.
When binding your wedding album, many couples opt for professionally book-bound pages. Thus resulting in a beautifully presented and finished album.
The Big Picture
When it comes to wedding photography it is often a case of ‘you get what you pay for’. While there are many couples who simply don’t want a professional album and would prefer to ‘go it alone’, Ilievski finds that the majority of couples he encounters are after a professionally built and designed book-bound wedding album.
“A wedding album will become one of your most treasured possessions, a visual story of the greatest day of your life. It will be viewed by family and friends and your children and children’s children. So I think that it’s quite important to get it right and create it exactly the way you envision it.”
For an enduring set of beautiful photographs, a printed wedding album is the way to go. You will be able to relive your special day for a lifetime and for generations to follow.