Align Album Design Blog http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm Align Album Design Blog en-us Charming Asheville Wedding Album Design for Jean Smith Photography http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=697&charming-asheville-wedding-album-design-for-jean-smith-photography http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=697&charming-asheville-wedding-album-design-for-jean-smith-photography Thu, 23 Oct 2025 03:11:00 GMT Jean Smith -- a Michigan wedding photographer and one of our favorite, longtime clients -- photographed this wedding at The Farm: A Gathering Place in Asheville, North Carolina. If it's possible, every spread of this design is more interesting and charming than the last! We are enamored with Jean's eye for composition and light and how she tells the story of a couples' wedding day in a way that is filled with genuine emotion.

To date we've designed close to 200 albums for Jean and feel so blessed that she trusts us as her album design company of choice. She is such a joy to work with!

This design ended up being 35 spreads (70 pages) which is such a luxury for us! Plenty of room to showcase Jean's images to their full potential! Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this beautiful design:







To see the design in full, click through the slideshow:



Thank you, Jean, for trusting us with your clients and images!

]]> 8 Tips for Timeless Album Design http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=113&eight-tips-for-timeless-album-design http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=113&eight-tips-for-timeless-album-design Tue, 21 Oct 2025 08:00:00 GMT
above images by Megan Travis Photography


Hey guys! Melissa Jill here! I remember the first album I designed myself. It was 2004 and my client had asked for an album. I had never even created a sample album at that point so EVERYTHING was new to me. But I figured, how hard could it be? I'll just whip one up. Haha! Poor little naive me. Three months, ten headaches, and a dozen workflow issues later, I had my first album done. It turned out to be much more challenging than I had initially anticipated. And being that I was new to albums, I was dealing with a HUGE learning curve. Since then I have learned so much about the album design and sales process, and that's one of the main reasons I'm sharing this series of tips -- to help others who may be facing this learning curve for the first time themselves.

I remember looking back at that very first album years later in my client's home and cringing at a few of my choices. Namely, I thought it would be fun to make a collage of overlapping and tilted images for a reception spread. You know...because receptions are wild and crazy, the design should be as well? Yikes! Major regret on that design choice. There were a number of other design trends that I succumbed to in that first design that are SO entirely outdated now. Which makes me sad, because wedding albums need to last generations without looking outdated. Of all things, a wedding album should be timeless.
Today I'm going to share some timeless design tips that we at Align adhere to, and that I would recommend to any of you out there who are designing your albums in house. I hope I don't step on any toes or hurt any feelings, but there are also a few outdated trends that I'd like to call out as well. I learned my lesson the hard way by regretting my design choices, and I want to encourage you all to keep your designs clean and timeless so you don't experience this same sense of regret years from now.

So let's start by ripping the bandaid off first. The outdated trends to steer clear of are:

1. Using images as backgrounds
2. Making images opaque
3. Excessive overlapping of images

All of these trends clutter up your design and don't allow your images to stand apart and be appreciated as art. Your images themselves are interesting. You don't need to make your design overly complex to create a beautiful album. Let the images shine and tell the story for you. As a side note, even though we don't recommend any of the above design choices as being ideal, Align can absolutely design albums with these specifications. The most important thing to us is that you and your clients are happy. And we strive to customize our designs to fit your unique preferences. Just select the "Styled" design option and put your preferences in the comments section of your order form.

Now for the positive tips. Here is what TO DO if you want your albums to be beautiful and remain timeless for generations to come.

#1 -- Use restraint and don't clutter up your spreads with too many images. The fewer images per spread, the more importance you give them.


above images by Candace Berry Photography


#2 -- If you do use a lot of images on a given page, make sure to use a structured layout that makes it easy for your eye to "read" what is going on.


above images by Maggie Harkov Photography


#3 -- We prefer white backgrounds, but if you'd like to use some color on your album spreads, makes sure to pull the color from the photographs that are used on the spread to keep everything cohesive.


above images by Amelia Soper Photography


#4 -- Much like matting for a framed photo, using negative space is a great way to draw attention and importance to an image. Don't feel the need to fill every white space.


above images by Hello Love Photography


#5 -- Make your favorite image the focal point of the spread. Duh, the best images should be given the most real estate.


above images by Megan Alvarez Photography


#6 -- Group your images by location so that each spread tells a cohesive story. This is a great thing to keep in mind when you are shooting too. Taking a number of different photos in each location will make for a great album design!


above images by Leezett Photography


#7 -- Think about the color story you are telling on each spread. If there is too much going on color-wise, think about separating competing images onto separate spreads, or putting some of the images in black and white.


above images by Katelyn James Photography


#8 -- Help your design to tell a story by including a number of scene-setting spreads that set the scene for what is to come. This is another great tip to keep in mind for when you are shooting! It's not only wedding detail photographs that help make a design beautiful, think about how you can take detail shots of the location and venue to help tell the story of the day.


above images by Leezett Photography


I hope you've found these tips and examples helpful!

----------> If you are overwhelmed with design and want to give outsourcing a try, click here to find out more about the design styles that Align offers. We have 3 standard design styles but can definitely customize to meet most needs, so don't hesitate to send us examples of designs you like and let us know what your preferences are, and we will design to those specifications. After you take a look at our design styles to find out which one would work best for you, click here to sign up for an account with Align. When you do so, we'll send you a free welcome gift -- our "Top 10 Most Popular Album Companies" Resource List. That way you can find out which album printing & binding companies are the most popular among photographers who use Align, and more importantly, WHY.


If you already have an existing Align account and want a copy of this resource guide, you're welcome to email us for a copy.

8 Tips for Timeless Album Design


]]> Spring New York Wedding Album design for Francesca Marie Photography http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=696&spring-new-york-wedding-album-design-for-francesca-marie-photography http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=696&spring-new-york-wedding-album-design-for-francesca-marie-photography Thu, 16 Oct 2025 03:10:00 GMT East Coast wedding photographer Francesca Marie. Francesca captured this Briarcliff Manor wedding in the Hudson Valley region of New York this spring and she did such a beautiful job!

She loves a clean, classic album design with decent white space, so that is what we delivered! Francesca opted to use our Hands-off Service to streamline the revision process and the finished design ended up being 20 spreads (40 pages). Francesca did a great job of sending us a variety of images shot in the same locations which allowed us to design visually cohesive spreads that tell the story of the wedding day in a beautiful way.

We love how this design turned out! Here are a few of our favorite spreads:









To see the design in full, click through the slideshow:



It was an honor working with you and your beautiful images, Francesca!

]]> Virginia Barn Wedding Album Design for Kaitlyn Phipps Photography http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=695&virginia-barn-wedding-album-design-for-kaitlyn-phipps-photography http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=695&virginia-barn-wedding-album-design-for-kaitlyn-phipps-photography Thu, 09 Oct 2025 03:08:00 GMT Kaitlyn Phipps -- a Virginia wedding photographer! We have had the pleasure of working with Kaitlyn for the past decade, which is such an honor. What a blessing to be able to work with photographers over the course of their entire career, serving their clients and seeing their photography and businesses evolve! Kaitlyn does such a great job capturing the joy of each wedding day in her characteristic clean, bright and timeless style. Her images are always so great to work with because she excels at storytelling -- her albums practically design themselves -- haha!

Kaitlyn likes to have us leave one spread open for family photos and she asks her client to pick the images for us to design that spread during the first revision round. This particular album ended up being 18 spreads and was finalized in less than a month after only one round of revisions! It was a super-smooth process!

Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this beautiful design:







To see the design in full, click through the slideshow:



Thank you, Kaitlyn, for trusting us with your clients and images for so many years!

]]> To Outsource or not to Outsource http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=109&should-professional-photographers-outsource-their-wedding-album-design http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=109&should-professional-photographers-outsource-their-wedding-album-design Tue, 07 Oct 2025 08:15:00 GMT
This is a question every professional wedding photographer must face -- should I do my album designs myself, or outsource this portion of my workflow to someone else? Obviously, as an album design company, our view at Align is a bit biased. BUT I have also been a professional wedding photographer myself for over 20 years. I started running that business LONG before I started Align, so I myself had to answer this question early on before I had any idea I would be starting an album design company.

I started my business in 2003 and I designed my first few albums myself. I had no clue what I was doing, but I also had no idea that I could outsource. I was completely and utterly clueless. I quickly realized I couldn't keep up with everything myself and still have time to do the things that would help my business grow. So I brought in some help -- an employee who did color-correction and album design for me. This worked great for years, but as my employee's job description grew to the point where SHE couldn't do it all, we started outsourcing our album design to Align. Utter freedom and bliss ensued.

But outsourcing isn't for everyone. Each business owner has to decide for themselves.



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From my point of view, there are two good reasons to do your album designs in-house:
1 -- You have an employee you can pay to handle the initial design work and revisions.
2 -- You just really LOVE doing album design. Like really love it.

If you're having to do everything yourself AND you don't enjoy designing, better to pass it off and spend your time doing the things you are best at and that fuel your passion. That's how the most successful people in life succeed -- by focusing on their unique strengths and passion.

Businesses that fall into the following categories are ideally suited for outsourcing their album design:
1 -- Newer businesses where the photographer is also working another job
2 -- Businesses with no additional employees beyond the business owner
3 -- Businesses where the photographer is most passionate about shooting or growing their business in other ways
4 -- Businesses owned by people who want to have a life outside of work and value family or recreation



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Have you answered this question for yourself? Like I mentioned above, every business is different, so this isn't a one-size-fits-all decision. We would love to hear from you in the comments below! Which variables weighed in when you were considering the options? What was the ultimate deciding factor?

If you fall into the category above that is ideally suited to outsource, why not give it a try to see if it could free you up like it has for me and the other photographers quoted above? Click here to sign up for an account with Align, and when you do so, we'll send you a free welcome gift -- our "Top 10 Most Popular Album Companies" Resource List. That way you can find out which album printing & binding companies are the most popular among photographers who use Align, and more importantly, WHY. Or if you already have an existing Align account and want a copy of this resource guide, you're welcome to email us for a copy.


In the coming weeks, I will continue to share tips for album workflow that can be applied by photographers who fall into both camps -- those who keep their designs in-house, and those who outsource. Stay tuned!

]]> Grand Estate Wedding Album Design for Melissa MacDonald Photo + Film http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=694&grand-estate-wedding-album-design-for-melissa-macdonald-photo-film http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=694&grand-estate-wedding-album-design-for-melissa-macdonald-photo-film Thu, 02 Oct 2025 07:49:00 GMT New Jersey wedding photographer Melissa MacDonald for the past 4 years. She photographs some of the most grand, beautiful weddings, and we are so excited to show off the most recent design we created for her clients today!

Melissa's work is truly outstanding! She has a unique gift for showcasing her clients in a way that feels both editorial and effortlessly genuine. You can see some of the other designs we've created for Melissa over the years by clicking here.

This particular design was approved with NO REVISIONS from her client, which is a huge compliment to us! We ADORE how it turned out as well! Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this stunning design:







To see the design in full, click through the slideshow:



Thank you, Melissa, for trusting us with your clients and images for so many years!

]]> Late Summer Maryland Wedding Album Design for Anna Lowe Photo http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=693&late-summer-maryland-wedding-album-design-for-anna-lowe-photo http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=693&late-summer-maryland-wedding-album-design-for-anna-lowe-photo Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:36:00 GMT Anna Lowe -- a Maryland wedding photographer we have had the pleasure of working with for the past 7 years! Anna loves a more minimal album design style with fewer images per spread and plenty of white space. We too are fans of this design style because it allows each image to shine and not get lost in an over-crowded design!

Anna opted to use our Hands-off Service for this design and that really streamlined the process -- allowing us to directly communicate with her client throughout the revision process.

We love how this late summer Maryland wedding album design turned out -- complete with the cutest white pup, thoughtful details and stunning garden views. Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this beautiful design:







To see the design in full, click through the slideshow:



Thank you, Anna, for trusting us with your images and clients for so many years!

]]> Align's 2025 Holiday Deadlines http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=443&aligns-2025-holiday-deadlines http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=443&aligns-2025-holiday-deadlines Mon, 22 Sep 2025 02:07:00 GMT
'Tis the season for all things cozy, yuletide cheer ... and the mad dash to get everything done before HOLIDAY DEADLINES! Aren't you happy you're a photographer right about now? :)

Your clients know that albums make amazing Christmas gifts, but do they know how long the album creation process takes? We want to help YOU help THEM have their albums in hand by the holidays, so here's a refresher on our design turnaround times and an announcement of our holiday print deadlines:


Turnaround times for DESIGNS:

Due to the back-and-forth nature of the design and revision process, there is no one-size-fits-all estimate for how long the design process will take from start to finish. Please allow yourself and your client ample design time (multiple weeks) by placing your design order AS SOON as possible.

Initial designs - Within 4 business days of receiving your order form, deposit, and images
Revision requests - 2 business days after we've received the comments and any additional images or clarifications needed
Final file delivery - 1 business day after the album has been approved AND the final balance has been paid (**see note at bottom of this page)

Our business days for designing are Monday through Friday except for the following holidays:
Thanksgiving - Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28, 2025
Christmas - Wednesday, December 24 and Thursday, December 25, 2025


Deadlines for PRINTING:

If you'll also be printing through Align Legacy Books and wish to receive your album in the mail by December 21, 2024, you must send your album to print (i.e. fill out the custom Print Confirmation order form we email you after the design service is paid for) by the following dates:

Friday, November 28** for standard AND rush production turnaround times

Orders placed before 11:59pm November 28 with standard production will ship within 10 business days of the order date
Orders placed before 11:59pm November 28 with RUSH production will ship within 5 business days of the order date
Orders placed after November 28 will ship within 10 business days of the order date (starting the first week of January)



**Important Advice Due to the back-and-forth nature of invoicing, please plan for about 48 hours in between when your design is approved and when you will receive your final files (if you are printing elsewhere) or the link to your custom Print Confirmation order form (if you're printing with us). To skip the invoicing steps and speed up the process, you can:
-Authorize us to automatically charge your saved credit card (find this setting at the bottom your Edit Profile page).
-Or pre-purchase Align Credit (in any amount) on your Account Balance page which will be automatically applied to your balance.


PHEW! That is A LOT of detail! We're SO excited to help you serve your clients well this holiday season!

]]> Michigan Conservatory Wedding Album Design for Jean Smith Photography http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=692&michigan-conservatory-wedding-album-design-for-jean-smith-photography http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=692&michigan-conservatory-wedding-album-design-for-jean-smith-photography Thu, 04 Sep 2025 03:21:00 GMT Jean Smith -- Michigan wedding photographer extraordinaire! Jean brings a refined eye for light and composition to everything she shoots and she makes our job of telling the story of a wedding day in album form SO FUN.

This wedding took place at the most beautiful glass conservatory on the outskirts of Detroit. We are enamored with it and think it made the most interesting location for this high-end event. Plants and light streaming in on all sides -- yes please!

Jean always sends us a mix of color and black and white photos and likes us to mix them in a balanced way throughout the spreads of the design. She typically sends us duplicate versions of many of the images in order to facilitate this -- one in color and one in black and white. We love the result!

Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this lovely design:









To see the design in full, click through the slideshow:



Thank you, Jean, for trusting us with your images for so many years!

]]> How To Choose Which Wedding To Feature In Your Sample Album http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=235&how-to-choose-which-wedding-to-feature-in-your-studio-sample-album http://alignalbumdesign.com/blog.cfm?postID=235&how-to-choose-which-wedding-to-feature-in-your-studio-sample-album Tue, 02 Sep 2025 10:30:00 GMT
Hey there, fellow photographers! Melissa Jill here, pro-photographer and founder of Align. I know I've mentioned before how VITAL it is to share our passion for albums with our clients. More specifically, I've talked about how important it is to give our clients a tangible experience by letting them hold a sample album and leaf through the pages.

The truth is, if we want to sell albums, we have to show them! There is great power in studio sample albums. They hold the potential of taking an engaged couple from "mmm ... no thanks" to "umm -- YES PLEASE!"

While I've touched on 5 features every sample album should include, you might still be wondering which of your sessions would be the best to use for your sample album.

Today I am going to break down the top 5 elements to consider when choosing which wedding or portrait session to feature in your sample album!

1 - Feature a favorite.
Duh, right? You know the wedding or portrait session that has you swooning long after the day is over? The one that keeps you up at night because you are so excited about all the details and the beautiful light and how perfectly you feel you captured the love from beginning to end? That's the one! After all, you want to capture more of these types of sessions, right?

2 - Tell a story.
As a wedding photographer, rarely do I have a wedding where I love my photography from each portion of the day. From getting ready to portraits to the ceremony and the reception... pick a wedding (or portrait session) where you love the photos throughout the entire day so that you can tell a compelling story through the design.

3 - Feature clients who are relatable.
The goal is for your potential client to actually SEE themselves in your images. You want them to be able to imagine themselves in the pictures and to vividly create their own wedding experience in their minds as they flip through the pages. So feature a wedding in which the details and the couple might be relatable to the clients you ideally want to attract.

4 - Include a popular venue.
Consider picking a wedding or portrait shoot that showcases a popular venue in your local area. If a client you are meeting with is getting married at said venue or is considering it, think of how persuasive it would be to see the location showcased in such a visually appealing way! And even the clients who are NOT getting married there will probably be familiar enough with the venue to subconsciously feel a sense of connection to it.

5 - Show emotion.
Choose a session from which the portraits are emotionally moving. Appealing to the emotional side of your clients increases the chances they will be drawn into the album and be moved to include one in their package.

Hopefully as you read through these thoughts, the perfect wedding or portrait session came to mind for your next sample album. I hope you're excited to move forward and get that sample made!

To see a wedding I recently chose to feature in my own sample album, click here!

Also, to help even further with your sample album needs, we've created this Resource List for the Top 10 Most Popular Album Companies used by Align clients, along with testimonials from photographers who use each of them. Also included on the list is a general idea of what each company charges for a standard 10x10 album. You can download it for FREE today by clicking here and signing up for an account with Align -- no order necessary! Or if you already have an existing Align account and want a copy of this resource guide, you're welcome to email us for a copy.




5 elements to consider when choosing which wedding to feature in your studio sample album


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