Floral Texas Wedding Album Design for Paige Vaughn Photo
We're so excited to share this beautiful album design! It features a lovely, wildflower-themed wedding photographed by the talented Paige Vaughn. Paige is an Austin and San Fransisco-based photographer with a candid photography style and a sincere enthusiasm for capturing her clients' joy. We always love working with her and her gorgeous images!
This wedding was held at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and it drew inspiration from the vibrant colors and textures of the botanicals. Paige did an amazing job of photographing the unique details, preserving them for future generations to admire!
Here are a few of our favorite spreads:
This wedding was held at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and it drew inspiration from the vibrant colors and textures of the botanicals. Paige did an amazing job of photographing the unique details, preserving them for future generations to admire!
Here are a few of our favorite spreads:
To see some other designs we've created for Paige, check out this beautiful Align Legacy Book Design and this lovely Texas ranch wedding album design.
And if you'd like to flip through the whole album design for THIS album, click through the slideshow below!
And if you'd like to flip through the whole album design for THIS album, click through the slideshow below!
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Design by: Sarah (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Alaine
Design by: Sarah (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Alaine
When Should You Update Your Sample Album?
Showing a studio sample album is crucial to selling albums. Seeing and holding a sample album allows clients to visualize their own album in a way that no amount of description can do! Many photographers understand this and create a studio sample album when they first begin offering album. But as their business progresses, they become unsure of when to update it. So how DO you know when it's time to create a new sample album?
Here are four indicators that you might need a new sample album:
1 -- Your style has changed
Photographers may be entrepreneurs, but we're also artists. As such, our style and skill level develop over time. When you reach a point where the images in your sample album no longer represent your current photography, it's time for an update! For example, when I shifted my photography focus from digital to mostly film, my sample albums no longer reflected my work. I got new sample albums and loved the way they were a reflection of my best, most current work!
2 -- Your album offerings have changed
This one might seem like common sense, but it's important! Your sample album is there to provide an example of what you offer. When your clients feel the weight of it, touch the pages, stroke the cover, admire the design -- all of those should be indicative of what their own album would include. So if you change the dimensions, cover materials, etc. of the primary album you offer, you should also get a new sample album to match. This is especially true if you change album companies!
3 -- Your target client has changed
As I mentioned in my blog post, How to Choose Which Wedding to Feature in Your Sample Album, your studio sample should feature a wedding in which the details and couple are relatable to your ideal clients. If your ideal client changes -- if you now want to attract clients who are edgier, more traditional, more whimsical, etc. -- those are the kinds of images you should be showing in your sample album. That way when you have those kind of clients in front of you, they will resonate with the work you show them and be more likely to both book with you AND purchase an album.
4 -- You're tired of your old sample album
Sharing your passion for albums is so important in helping your clients to value them! Your enthusiasm shines through! Similarly, if you're feeling stale and bored with your sample album, that feeling will come through to your clients, as well. So if you look at your studio sample and feel just "meh", refreshing your sample album is sure to revitalize the way you share albums in client meetings!
If any of the four indicators above are true in your business, it would be wise to get a new sample album -- one that represents your style and skill level, your album options, and your ideal client ... and that also makes you excited about offering albums!
If you found this post helpful and would like to receive tips like this straight to your inbox, click here to sign up!
Here are four indicators that you might need a new sample album:
1 -- Your style has changed
Photographers may be entrepreneurs, but we're also artists. As such, our style and skill level develop over time. When you reach a point where the images in your sample album no longer represent your current photography, it's time for an update! For example, when I shifted my photography focus from digital to mostly film, my sample albums no longer reflected my work. I got new sample albums and loved the way they were a reflection of my best, most current work!
2 -- Your album offerings have changed
This one might seem like common sense, but it's important! Your sample album is there to provide an example of what you offer. When your clients feel the weight of it, touch the pages, stroke the cover, admire the design -- all of those should be indicative of what their own album would include. So if you change the dimensions, cover materials, etc. of the primary album you offer, you should also get a new sample album to match. This is especially true if you change album companies!
3 -- Your target client has changed
As I mentioned in my blog post, How to Choose Which Wedding to Feature in Your Sample Album, your studio sample should feature a wedding in which the details and couple are relatable to your ideal clients. If your ideal client changes -- if you now want to attract clients who are edgier, more traditional, more whimsical, etc. -- those are the kinds of images you should be showing in your sample album. That way when you have those kind of clients in front of you, they will resonate with the work you show them and be more likely to both book with you AND purchase an album.
4 -- You're tired of your old sample album
Sharing your passion for albums is so important in helping your clients to value them! Your enthusiasm shines through! Similarly, if you're feeling stale and bored with your sample album, that feeling will come through to your clients, as well. So if you look at your studio sample and feel just "meh", refreshing your sample album is sure to revitalize the way you share albums in client meetings!
If any of the four indicators above are true in your business, it would be wise to get a new sample album -- one that represents your style and skill level, your album options, and your ideal client ... and that also makes you excited about offering albums!
If you found this post helpful and would like to receive tips like this straight to your inbox, click here to sign up!
And exciting news! If you're a photographer who wants to start offering albums without investing hours of guesswork and trial and error -- we have a solution for you! Check out the Album Start-Up Kit and start maximizing your profit today! Note: This Kit INCLUDES a beautiful custom designed sample album!
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Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Captivating Barn Wedding Album Design By Annie Ryan Photography
The wedding in today's featured album feels like it was shot entirely during golden hour. Every image and page just GLOWS! Annie Ryan photographed this rustic-chic barn wedding, and she did a phenomenal job of capturing not only the stylish details, but also the emotional family moments and the swoon-worthy love story! Make sure you check out the slideshow at the bottom of this post to get the full impact of this beauty!
Annie is a talented photographer based in Ohio & Kentucky. Her clients are drawn to her adventurous spirit and dedication to photographing authentic relationships. We're always so delighted to work with her gorgeous images!
We feel so lucky that Annie sent us the photographs of the finished album! The spreads were designed by Align and the album was printed through Miller's Professional Imaging. We LOVE seeing the way our design looks in this heirloom-quality album! Here are a few of our favorite spreads:
Annie is a talented photographer based in Ohio & Kentucky. Her clients are drawn to her adventurous spirit and dedication to photographing authentic relationships. We're always so delighted to work with her gorgeous images!
We feel so lucky that Annie sent us the photographs of the finished album! The spreads were designed by Align and the album was printed through Miller's Professional Imaging. We LOVE seeing the way our design looks in this heirloom-quality album! Here are a few of our favorite spreads:
To enjoy the full design for this stunning album, click through the slideshow below:
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Design by: Kari (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Alaine
Design by: Kari (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Alaine
Touching Tennessee Wedding Album Design for Rebecca Denton Photography
Sweet romance and deep emotion resonate all the way through today's feature album! Nashville-based wedding photographer Rebecca Denton captured this beautiful wedding, and it's just so stinking charming! We have been designing albums for Rebecca and her clients since 2016. She's always a joy to work with, and her airy, timeless images are a dream! For this design, we worked with Rebecca to highlight the meaningful moments and special details, and we're in love with how it turned out. We might be biased, but I think we make a great team!
Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this design:
Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this design:
To see previous designs we've made for Rebecca, check out this Classy Nashville Wedding Album Design and this Enchanting Nashville Wedding Album Design.
To view today's album design in its entirety, click through the slideshow below:
To view today's 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: Alaine
Design by: Kari (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Alaine
3 Tips for Up-selling your albums the RIGHT way
Hey guys! Melissa Jill -- Align's owner and Phoenix-based wedding photographer -- here again to continue our series on successfully selling albums and pricing for maximum profit. In a recent post, I shared why you should be up-selling your albums and that there is a right and wrong way to do so. Today I'm going to share three tips for doing this the right way.
1 -- Educate clients up front
In order to make sure your clients have a great experience with you and your album workflow, you need to be very clear on your process up front. Let them know in your initial client meeting -- before they even hire you -- that you will likely design their album with more spreads than what comes included in their package. Let them know that you do this as a service to them. That right now, it's hard to know how many images they will want in their album since they haven't seen them, and that by designing an album that tells the story of their day in an ideal way, they will have options. Whenever I explain our process in this way to potential clients, they nod in agreement. It makes sense to them and they are on board.
Another way that I communicate this is in the verbiage of my package and pricing information. Rather than including a specific album in a package, I include an album credit. My album credits are $1,700 or $3,000, and each amount is enough to purchase each of the albums I offer with the minimum number of spreads. So I can point to my Queensberry Duo album (a version of which is pictured above -- this set of albums purchased by my clients was a result of an upsell -- both the couple's album and the parent album ended up with 30 spreads and the client spent a total of $7,500 on their albums alone!) and let them know that the $3,000 credit will cover that album with 16 spreads. But the fact that it is worded in the package as a "credit" indicates that they may choose to spend more on their final album after the wedding. The credit is a way for them to set aside money toward their album pre-wedding with the option to upgrade later.
2 -- Allow clients to narrow down the design
Once your client sees the initial design, give them the option to narrow it down by deleting spreads. So in the example above, if I have a Queensberry Duo designed with 25 spreads and the client paid for 16 spreads in their package, they have the option to delete 9 spreads and have no further financial obligation. But at least they are seeing something ideal and given the option to upgrade. Like I mentioned in my last post, many clients do decide to upgrade because they love their images so much. But obviously there should be no obligation to do so.
3 -- Charge per additional spread
When you are presenting an option to upgrade, price based on the number of spreads that the client chooses to upgrade by. As photographers, that is what we are charged for by our album company, so we should also charge this way to cover our costs. "How do you figure out how much to charge per spread" you ask? Easy! Divide the price of the album in your package by the number of spreads included for that price, and round. That's your per-spread price for the upgrade. Mine is $100 or $190 depending on the type of album they order.
These are my three tips for up-selling the right way! If you educate clients clearly up front, give them the option to narrow down the design to just what they ordered, and charge per spread for any upgrades, you will maximize your profit AND your clients will be on board and thrilled with the process!
Check out my next blog post in this series in which I share how up-selling helps many Align Album Design clients cover their outsourcing costs for album design PLUS make bonus profit!
If you found this post helpful and would like to receive tips like this straight to your inbox, click here to sign up!
1 -- Educate clients up front
In order to make sure your clients have a great experience with you and your album workflow, you need to be very clear on your process up front. Let them know in your initial client meeting -- before they even hire you -- that you will likely design their album with more spreads than what comes included in their package. Let them know that you do this as a service to them. That right now, it's hard to know how many images they will want in their album since they haven't seen them, and that by designing an album that tells the story of their day in an ideal way, they will have options. Whenever I explain our process in this way to potential clients, they nod in agreement. It makes sense to them and they are on board.
Another way that I communicate this is in the verbiage of my package and pricing information. Rather than including a specific album in a package, I include an album credit. My album credits are $1,700 or $3,000, and each amount is enough to purchase each of the albums I offer with the minimum number of spreads. So I can point to my Queensberry Duo album (a version of which is pictured above -- this set of albums purchased by my clients was a result of an upsell -- both the couple's album and the parent album ended up with 30 spreads and the client spent a total of $7,500 on their albums alone!) and let them know that the $3,000 credit will cover that album with 16 spreads. But the fact that it is worded in the package as a "credit" indicates that they may choose to spend more on their final album after the wedding. The credit is a way for them to set aside money toward their album pre-wedding with the option to upgrade later.
2 -- Allow clients to narrow down the design
Once your client sees the initial design, give them the option to narrow it down by deleting spreads. So in the example above, if I have a Queensberry Duo designed with 25 spreads and the client paid for 16 spreads in their package, they have the option to delete 9 spreads and have no further financial obligation. But at least they are seeing something ideal and given the option to upgrade. Like I mentioned in my last post, many clients do decide to upgrade because they love their images so much. But obviously there should be no obligation to do so.
3 -- Charge per additional spread
When you are presenting an option to upgrade, price based on the number of spreads that the client chooses to upgrade by. As photographers, that is what we are charged for by our album company, so we should also charge this way to cover our costs. "How do you figure out how much to charge per spread" you ask? Easy! Divide the price of the album in your package by the number of spreads included for that price, and round. That's your per-spread price for the upgrade. Mine is $100 or $190 depending on the type of album they order.
These are my three tips for up-selling the right way! If you educate clients clearly up front, give them the option to narrow down the design to just what they ordered, and charge per spread for any upgrades, you will maximize your profit AND your clients will be on board and thrilled with the process!
Check out my next blog post in this series in which I share how up-selling helps many Align Album Design clients cover their outsourcing costs for album design PLUS make bonus profit!
If you found this post helpful and would like to receive tips like this straight to your inbox, click here to sign up!
And exciting news! If you're a photographer who wants to start offering albums without investing hours of guesswork and trial and error -- we have a solution for you! Check out the Album Start-Up Kit and start maximizing your profit today!
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Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
