Need to be snapped out of your winter doldrums? Perhaps the album design we're sharing today will do the trick! The southern charm of this plantation wedding, the colorful florals, and the oh-so-amazing photographs by Dana Cubbage have us feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. We hope you love it as much as we do! 
 
Dana is a talented wedding photographer based in Charleston who we've loved working with for a few years now! We always look forward to receiving Dana's image galleries because they're chalk full of gorgeous images! Dana even frequently requests our Culling Service so that she can send us more than 300 images and get our help narrowing them down to the best of the best. 
 
We love that Dana sent us the following photos of this 12x12 Red Tree album with a Winter White leather cover. Seeing our designs in their printed format makes us so happy!

And here's the full album design for you to flip through: 
 

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Design by: Andrea (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Denise

It's no secret that we absolutely ADORE working with Sharon Elizabeth! We've gushed about her photography and her personality plenty of times in the past (see a list here) and have even featured guest posts written by her on this blog (Focusing on What You Do Best and Image Selection for Albums).  
 
So of COURSE we're excited to be sharing another one of her album designs here today!! This one is from a stunning affair held at Warner Hall in Gloucester, Virginia. We love all the classic details, sweet romance, and gorgeous scenery. 
 
AND we get to share some photos of the finished Leather Craftsmen split-edition album with you as well! Sharon sure knows how to spoil us -- sending us photos of our designs in print always makes us so happy!  
 
Enjoy!

To view the complete album design, flip through the slideshow below: 
 

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Design by: Kari (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Denise

Hi friends! We hope your holiday season has been full of good cheer. Today we're excited to blog about an album design that makes us cheerful! Everything about this album design we created for Maryland-based photographer Lauren R Swann makes us happy. Her photography is outta this world, this couple's joy-filled expressions are contagious, the event is oh-so-elegant, and the album's design style is beautifully timeless.  
 
Oh, AND Lauren took photos of the finished album for us -- what could be better than that!?  
 
We hope you love scrolling through these photos of this 10x10 Madera Books album with a Premium Black cover. Enjoy! 

Plus, here's the full album design in its entirety.... 
 

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Design by: Denise (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Denise

Today we're pleased to introduce you to the lovely Nikki Santerre, Virginia-based fine art film photographer and Align client. We recently asked her if she'd be willing to share her thoughts on her journey into heirloom albums and we're thrilled that she agreed! We thought her insights into the role of the sample album within her business were especially helpful. So without further ado, this is Nikki!

Headshot by Shannon Moffit 
 

Hi guys, Nikki Santerre here. If you're a photographer who wants to start offering albums but is overwhelmed with how to start, I'd have to say that there is something truly magical about seeing your work printed within the pages of a quality product. My recommendation to you is to invest in your business and yourself by getting a sample album before you begin to offer them to your clients. That was the gateway drug for me. Once I saw what my work was capable of becoming within those pages, I knew it was a service I must provide to my clients. It speaks volumes to your work, more-so than any squares on social media.  
 
A little bit about me -- I am a self proclaimed "Heirloom Curator" who specializes in marriage and motherhood and uses both film and digital mediums to document my clients in their most precious seasons of life. 
 
When my clients book me for wedding day services, I send them a Welcome Kit that contains a bridal guide which highlights the most important details of their photography experience from start to finish. There is an entire section devoted to albums where I reiterate the importance of the album as an heirloom, not just for themselves, but for future generations.  
 
As I've priced myself into a higher-end market, my clients have become increasingly eager to invest in an heirloom album. I think my brides who are more inclined to invest in their wedding photography view the album as an important tangible result of their investment over and above the digital files alone. 
 
One of my biggest struggles when I first started offering albums was the TIME it took to create the design. In my first three years in business, I was a full time teacher, so time was a precious and limited resource. Enter Align! Outsourcing this portion of my business remains one of my smartest business decisions to date, especially now that I'm a mother. The time I would be spending designing albums I now spend doing things that fill me with more joy, like time with my family or writing for some of my favorite publications.  
 
When it comes to printing, I had been using the same album printer for the last three years. They offered a product I found to be both beautiful and valuable. Unfortunately, the company closed their doors (with VERY little notice to their customers) earlier this year. I was forced, very suddenly and at the start of wedding season, to find a company who also produced an equally beautiful product. Almost serendipitously, around the same time I received an email from Align saying they were going to begin printing albums. Alas, Align to the rescue, AGAIN! 

 

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Wow, Nikki, thank you so much for sharing your insight and album experience with your fellow photographers! You're amazing! And a BONUS thank you for sending us photographs of one of your recent Align Legacy Books! Our heart skipped a beat when we saw them! 
 
The following is a 10x10 Align Legacy Book with a Metropolitan-colored linen cover with engraving. The interior contains 17 spreads on our thick-page paper. Take a look...

For more photos of Align Legacy Books, check out the Align Legacy Books category on this blog. 
 
And to view Nikki's full album design in its entirety, click through the slideshow below: 
 

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Design by: Kari (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Denise

Goodness gracious, have we got a pretty album design to share with you today!! Not only do we love the beauty of this outdoor wedding and the elegant layouts of this design, but we absolutely adore the photographer behind it -- Valerie Duvick of Val Marlene Creative. Val is a wedding photographer turned creative business coach based in the Midwest. You may remember her from the awesome two-part blog feature she contributed to us this summer! If you missed it... 
 
Part 1: Val Marlene on Determining your WHY for selling albums 
Part 2: Sweet photos of Val's clients viewing their wedding album for the first time 
 
Today's album design features Val's photography from a stunning Iowa wedding with an outdoor ceremony and a rustic barn reception. So dreamy! Here are some of our favorite spreads from this design:

To view the complete album design, click through the slideshow below. Enjoy! 
 

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Design by: Andrea (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Denise