Today's featured album design was our very FIRST design for New Jersey based wedding photographer Brenna Marie. I always think photographers who try out our service for the first time are brave. After all, they are taking a little bit of a risk trying out a new service and I'm sure they're not sure what they're going to get. But Brenna's step of faith paid off in this case because LOOK AT THIS ALBUM!! Brenna had this printed through Miller's Lab and she was so kind to send us some images. And talk about a smooth process -- this design from start to finish took NINE DAYS. As in, the design order was placed, revisions were done and final files were in her hands. All she had to do was send them off to Miller's! Incredible! 
 
Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this stunning design:

Click through the slideshow to see the design in full: 
 
 
 
Thank you, Brenna, for allowing us to work with your beautiful images!

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

We have had the pleasure of working with Ohio wedding photographer Jessica Vidmar for 4 years now. Jessica provides large albums for her clients with lots of images in them. This particular album we are featuring today has 40 spreads (80 pages) and features over 200 images! It goes without saying that larger album designs allow for more room to tell the story of the wedding day and do it justice! And we are here for it! 
 
If you are curious about best practices for how to manage your clients' expectations for album length, or how many spreads it will take to feature a set number of images, check out this blog post! 
 
This designed turned out so beautifully that we knew we had to highlight it here on the blog! Jessica was so kind to take some photos of the printed Album Epoca album and share them with us. Here are a few of her images along with some of our favorite spreads from this stunning design:

To see the design in full, click through the slideshow: 
 
 
 
Thank you, Jessica, for allowing us to work with your beautiful images!

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

We get questions all the time from photographers (especially those who are just starting to offer albums to their clients) about which album companies we recommend. Choosing an album company for printing and binding can be a daunting task. After all, there are more than 100 out there to choose from -- all with numerous album styles and options. It's completely overwhelming -- where does one even START!? 
 
There are two suggestions I have for finding a good album company to partner with: 
 
1 -- Ask other photographers who are further along in their journey who they would recommend. Chances are, they've got some experience with a number of companies and can tell you some pros and cons about each that might end up saving you valuable time and money. 
 
2 -- Do some research at trade shows. Trade shows like WPPI are a great place to touch, feel, and compare various products like albums. I believe I counted over 20 album companies represented on the WPPI trade show floor. Because albums are so tactile, it's helpful to be able to see and touch them in order to get a sense for their quality and whether or not they will appeal to you. 
 
When you are talking with other photographers or with representatives from various album companies at a trade show, there are two things I would be on the look-out for when it comes to album companies:

By and far, these are the top two things I look for in an album company. I want to offer my clients a good quality product that will stand the test of time, and I want a hassle-free experience when I place my album orders. Oftentimes you can assess the quality of an album by handling it at a trade show, but the only way I've found to get a sense of what kind of customer service I can expect from a company before using them is to talk with their current or past clients. That's where talking with other photographers who have tried out various companies comes into play. From my experience, photographers are usually more than happy to either rave about their favorite company, or out a company for sub-par service. 
 
Since I fall into the category of the aforementioned photographers, I'm happy to share with you the two companies that I have used for my albums: 
 
Align Legacy Books (Pictured Above) 
Queensberry  
 
 
Queensberry has amazing quality and customer service. But it comes with a price. And I'm a little biased about our books we offer here at Align, but I think it's telling that I also offer them to my high end photography clients and they LOVE them! They are more moderately priced than Queensberry, so more accessible to more of my clients. I love being able to offer two very different types of albums. Click here to see a full blog post featuring my Queensberry and Align Legacy Book Sample albums! You can even click through the full designs at that link! 
 
I think it's also helpful to see which album companies are most popular among Align clients. We've created a 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.

I hope you've found this helpful! If you are reading this post and have a favorite company, please share why you love them in the comments below!

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Blog post written by: Melissa Jill

We have a beautiful wedding album to share with you today! Virginia wedding photographer Tori Watson is a long-time client of ours. We've been working with her for over 8 years now!! And she does stunning work! She is also one of our beloved Client Advocates. That means she loves to share about Align and she loves to help other photographers succeed! Click here to watch a short video where she shares the best time-saving decision she has made for her business! 
 
Tori was so kind to photograph and the finished album printed by Madera Books and share these photos with us! The red leather with clear debossed text on the cover was such a fun choice! Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this gorgeous album:

SO beautiful! To see the design in full, click through the slideshow: 
 
 
 
Thank you, Tori, for allowing us to work with your beautiful images!

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

We are savoring every last design for Nashville-based Rebecca Denton who recently made the transition from focusing on weddings to specializing in food and brand photography! We are SO excited for her new direction but also selfishly sad that we won't be seeing more of her stunning wedding work. We have worked on over 50 designs for her over the course of her amazing career!  
 
Today's featured design really highlights Rebecca's beautiful images and her timeless editing style. This elegant wedding has us swooning over the bride's unique gown, the historic Nashville venue, and the candlelight ceremony. Each spread oozes sophistication and glamour! 
 
Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this beautiful design:

To see the design in full, click through the slideshow: 
 
 
 
Thank you, Rebecca, for allowing us to work with your beautiful images!

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Design by: Sarah (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Melissa Jill