North Carolina Fairytale Wedding Album Design for Eli Turner Studios
We have had the pleasure of working with Washington DC based wedding photographer Eli Turner for over 7 years on nearly 100 album designs! Eli is such a talent and truly a joy to work with. We feel so spoiled to get to work with his incredible images!
The album design we get to share with you today begins with 3 spreads of the couples' rehearsal dinner and then transitions to the wedding day at the stunning Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina. The gorgeous mansion, gardens and the bride's flowing cape made this wedding look like a fairytale come to life! Eli found the most picturesque locations on the property to shoot the portraits and the reception was such a grand celebration!
It is an honor to be Eli's album design company of choice and we are so excited to share this design with you! Here are a few of our favorite spreads:
The album design we get to share with you today begins with 3 spreads of the couples' rehearsal dinner and then transitions to the wedding day at the stunning Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina. The gorgeous mansion, gardens and the bride's flowing cape made this wedding look like a fairytale come to life! Eli found the most picturesque locations on the property to shoot the portraits and the reception was such a grand celebration!
It is an honor to be Eli's album design company of choice and we are so excited to share this design with you! Here are a few of our favorite spreads:
To see the design in full, click through the slideshow:
Thank you, Eli, for trusting us to be a part of your team!
Thank you, Eli, for trusting us to be a part of your team!
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Design by: Denise (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Design by: Denise (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Lakeside Detroit Wedding Album Design for Jean Smith Photography
Our company just celebrated a birthday last week. We've been designing albums for professional photographers since 2012. And Detroit wedding photographer Jean Smith has been with us since our inception. We have been so blessed to design close to 200 albums for her over the years and we couldn't be more smitten with her and her work! We've shared it so many times on our blog here and obviously can't get enough!
Jean does a great job curating her images and habitually sends us a "Favorites" folder with her best images -- many of them with both color and black and white options. She asks us to use all of the portraits in the Favorites folder in either color or black & white (whichever works best for the design). She also sends us a separate folder of images to pull from to fill in the gaps and make the story flow. This is a best practice that we recommend to all of our photographers. It ensures that your best images will be used as focal points to anchor the design. As a result, the initial design typically hits the mark and doesn't require the photographer to submit any change requests before sending it on to their clients.
This stunning design was approved and finalized in less than 2 weeks! We love helping photographers serve their clients well and get these projects over the finish line as efficiently as possible!
Jean is a masterful photographer who captures real moments with an editorial eye. Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this exceptional design:
Jean does a great job curating her images and habitually sends us a "Favorites" folder with her best images -- many of them with both color and black and white options. She asks us to use all of the portraits in the Favorites folder in either color or black & white (whichever works best for the design). She also sends us a separate folder of images to pull from to fill in the gaps and make the story flow. This is a best practice that we recommend to all of our photographers. It ensures that your best images will be used as focal points to anchor the design. As a result, the initial design typically hits the mark and doesn't require the photographer to submit any change requests before sending it on to their clients.
This stunning design was approved and finalized in less than 2 weeks! We love helping photographers serve their clients well and get these projects over the finish line as efficiently as possible!
Jean is a masterful photographer who captures real moments with an editorial eye. Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this exceptional design:
To see the design in full, click through the slideshow:
Thank you, Jean, for trusting us with your work and clients for so many years!
Thank you, Jean, for trusting us with your work and clients for so many years!
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Design by: Denise (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Design by: Denise (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Tips & Tricks For Photographing Your Albums
Hey guys! Melissa Jill here, owner of Align. We've talked in the past about the importance of sharing your passion for albums -- EVERYWHERE. You can't sell albums effectively and get them into the hands of all of your clients unless you are sharing your heart for this product and putting examples in front of them again and again. One of the most effective ways you can do this is through putting beautiful images of albums consistently out there on every channel that your clients might browse or interact with: your website, Instagram, Instagram Stories (Instagram Story highlights is one of our favorite places to showcase albums because you can flip through them in a video while you talk about them and really give your clients a good look at an album in action!!), etc.
So taking a moment to photograph each and every beautiful album that comes through your studio is SO valuable. Then you will have a slew of stunning examples to share! But photographing albums in a way that shows off their quality and value can be tricky. Today we are going to share some tips for photographing albums effectively!
There are a few different things to consider when approaching the task of photographing albums. First, as a photographer myself, I know your time is limited and valuable. Photographing albums, while worthwhile and beneficial, is not something that should take up a ton of your time. In an effort to demystify the process of photographing albums, I am excited to share a short video that Abby Grace was kind enough to create for us on her album photographing strategy. It is both simple and efficient.
We LOVE how Abby has systematized the process of photographing each of her client albums!
By way of review -- here is a list of Abby's 5 Steps to an Efficient Album Photo Shoot:
1 -- Set-up
Set up your tripod with camera pointed straight down at a 90 degree angle. This tripod works great!
2 -- Lighting
Make sure you are in an area with plenty of natural light! Create a make-shift reflector. Use 3 white foam poster boards taped together to make a 3/4 reflector. This helps to lessen those pesky shadows.
3 -- Background
Place a cheap, flimsy white poster board directly underneath the camera and lay the album on top of it for a clean backdrop.
4 -- Frame
Put your camera on "live preview" mode to make sure everything is lined up evenly and completely flat. This will minimize the post-production cropping/editing.
5 -- Shoot
Once everything is nailed into focus, turn the camera to manual focus to take the first photo. Without moving the camera at all, turn the page and take the next photo. Move through the entire album this way. Since everything is composed exactly the same way, you can batch the images and apply edits to the entire batch. Everything is super automated and easy with this system, which makes it possible for you to shoot 3-4 albums within 20 minutes!
You can see just how clean and lovely the outcome of this process is by visiting some of Abby's finished work that we've featured here on our blog in the past!
So taking a moment to photograph each and every beautiful album that comes through your studio is SO valuable. Then you will have a slew of stunning examples to share! But photographing albums in a way that shows off their quality and value can be tricky. Today we are going to share some tips for photographing albums effectively!
There are a few different things to consider when approaching the task of photographing albums. First, as a photographer myself, I know your time is limited and valuable. Photographing albums, while worthwhile and beneficial, is not something that should take up a ton of your time. In an effort to demystify the process of photographing albums, I am excited to share a short video that Abby Grace was kind enough to create for us on her album photographing strategy. It is both simple and efficient.
We LOVE how Abby has systematized the process of photographing each of her client albums!
By way of review -- here is a list of Abby's 5 Steps to an Efficient Album Photo Shoot:
1 -- Set-up
Set up your tripod with camera pointed straight down at a 90 degree angle. This tripod works great!
2 -- Lighting
Make sure you are in an area with plenty of natural light! Create a make-shift reflector. Use 3 white foam poster boards taped together to make a 3/4 reflector. This helps to lessen those pesky shadows.
3 -- Background
Place a cheap, flimsy white poster board directly underneath the camera and lay the album on top of it for a clean backdrop.
4 -- Frame
Put your camera on "live preview" mode to make sure everything is lined up evenly and completely flat. This will minimize the post-production cropping/editing.
5 -- Shoot
Once everything is nailed into focus, turn the camera to manual focus to take the first photo. Without moving the camera at all, turn the page and take the next photo. Move through the entire album this way. Since everything is composed exactly the same way, you can batch the images and apply edits to the entire batch. Everything is super automated and easy with this system, which makes it possible for you to shoot 3-4 albums within 20 minutes!
You can see just how clean and lovely the outcome of this process is by visiting some of Abby's finished work that we've featured here on our blog in the past!
above image by Abby Grace Photography
above image by Abby Grace Photography
While the above method is super-efficient and simple, there are also other ways to creatively style your albums that can really show off their unique features and personalities. Here are just a few that we love:
1 -- Use a textured background to add depth and character to the image. An album placed upon something that has its own shadows and light can really enhance the beauty and simplicity of the album. Some great materials to utilize are wood, tulle or textured fabric.
While the above method is super-efficient and simple, there are also other ways to creatively style your albums that can really show off their unique features and personalities. Here are just a few that we love:
1 -- Use a textured background to add depth and character to the image. An album placed upon something that has its own shadows and light can really enhance the beauty and simplicity of the album. Some great materials to utilize are wood, tulle or textured fabric.
above image by Melissa Jill Photography
2 -- Try posing the album! Photograph the details at different angles. Take some shots of the album standing up, where the pages are showcased. Take some close ups of the cover, and the fine details of various pages. Get creative with perspectives! Sometimes just showing portions of the spreads along with a textured background creates a lot of interest.
2 -- Try posing the album! Photograph the details at different angles. Take some shots of the album standing up, where the pages are showcased. Take some close ups of the cover, and the fine details of various pages. Get creative with perspectives! Sometimes just showing portions of the spreads along with a textured background creates a lot of interest.
above image by Brittany Thomas Photography
3 -- Add props to make it more interesting. Try setting up the album within the box it came in, along with some tissue paper and ribbon. Some other ideas would be to use cover fabric swatches, flowers, leaves, pine cones, etc to style the image. Using an actual detail from the wedding is also a way to help tell the story held within its pages.
3 -- Add props to make it more interesting. Try setting up the album within the box it came in, along with some tissue paper and ribbon. Some other ideas would be to use cover fabric swatches, flowers, leaves, pine cones, etc to style the image. Using an actual detail from the wedding is also a way to help tell the story held within its pages.
above image by Caroline Logan Photography
4 -- Photograph the album fulfilling its purpose. Which means, take pictures of someone sitting down with the album and pouring over the pages. You can add texture with a blanket or some kind of fabric within the shot. This not only adds depth and dimension to the image but also personalizes it and invites the viewer to imagine themselves cozied up with their very own album, soaking in the memories they will treasure for life!
4 -- Photograph the album fulfilling its purpose. Which means, take pictures of someone sitting down with the album and pouring over the pages. You can add texture with a blanket or some kind of fabric within the shot. This not only adds depth and dimension to the image but also personalizes it and invites the viewer to imagine themselves cozied up with their very own album, soaking in the memories they will treasure for life!
above image by Melissa Jill Photography
5 -- Use blank space and the rule of thirds. The album doesn't need to be centered perfectly and doesn't need much more than it's own beautiful face! Try holding the album up against a white wall where you include the hands of a nearby willing person as props! This creates a very clean and simple image, where the album is the star of the show.
5 -- Use blank space and the rule of thirds. The album doesn't need to be centered perfectly and doesn't need much more than it's own beautiful face! Try holding the album up against a white wall where you include the hands of a nearby willing person as props! This creates a very clean and simple image, where the album is the star of the show.
above image by Melissa Jill Photography
Photographing albums doesn't have to be an overwhelming or time consuming task. In fact, with a little bit of intention and creative thought, it can be kind of fun! Plus, the benefits of featuring a gorgeous album in a truly appealing way can be huge! Just like sharing sample albums with our clients during an initial client meeting, consistently sharing each clients' album through visually stunning images can be so helpful for getting clients to value them as much as we do!
Photographing albums doesn't have to be an overwhelming or time consuming task. In fact, with a little bit of intention and creative thought, it can be kind of fun! Plus, the benefits of featuring a gorgeous album in a truly appealing way can be huge! Just like sharing sample albums with our clients during an initial client meeting, consistently sharing each clients' album through visually stunning images can be so helpful for getting clients to value them as much as we do!
If you found this post helpful and would like to receive tips like these straight to your inbox, click here to sign up!
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Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Massive Multicultural Multi-day Wedding Album Design for Tori Kelner
The album design we are sharing with you today is EPIC on all accounts. It covers 4 events over 3 days: a Haldi, a Welcome party, an American wedding and an Indian wedding. AND IT IS GORGEOUS!! We can't get over the fashion, the emotion, the details and the artistry contained in these pages!
We are sooooo blessed to work with New Jersey Wedding photographer Tori Kelner. Her work is incredible and she is such a joy to work with! We've had the pleasure of designing over 50 albums for Tori in the past 7 years that we've been working with her and it's been so fun to see her eye and style evolve year after year.
Tori enjoys working with Shannon as her preferred designer, as Shannon has worked hard to understand Tori's preferences. This design ended up being 47 spreads (94 pages) and was approved after just one round of revision requests from Tori's client!
Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this epic design:
We are sooooo blessed to work with New Jersey Wedding photographer Tori Kelner. Her work is incredible and she is such a joy to work with! We've had the pleasure of designing over 50 albums for Tori in the past 7 years that we've been working with her and it's been so fun to see her eye and style evolve year after year.
Tori enjoys working with Shannon as her preferred designer, as Shannon has worked hard to understand Tori's preferences. This design ended up being 47 spreads (94 pages) and was approved after just one round of revision requests from Tori's client!
Here are a few of our favorite spreads from this epic design:
To see the design in full (highly recommended!) click through the slideshow:
Thank you, Tori, for trusting us to be a part of your team!
Thank you, Tori, for trusting us to be a part of your team!
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Design by: Shannon (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Design by: Shannon (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Pretty Pennsylvania Wedding Album Design for Brianna Wilbur Photography
Lancaster Pennsylvania wedding photographer Brianna Wilbur has some of the most gorgeous work! But that's not all! She is also super-kind and allll in on everything she does! She has been a joy to work with for the past two years.
Brianna prefers minimal white space in her designs. She likes to make sure the best images are featured LARGE in the design, and we are always on board for that as well! Whenever we design for Brianna, we work hard to group photos by spread that are shot in the same location with cohesive editing and color story. You'll see below how impactful this is and how stunning the design turns out as a result!
Brianna uses our Hands-off Service to streamline the proofing process. As a result, we are able to communicate directly with her clients throughout the revision process and grab any replacement images directly from the full online gallery.
It was tough to narrow down our favorite spreads from this one because they were all SO GOOD! But here are a few of our favorites:
Brianna prefers minimal white space in her designs. She likes to make sure the best images are featured LARGE in the design, and we are always on board for that as well! Whenever we design for Brianna, we work hard to group photos by spread that are shot in the same location with cohesive editing and color story. You'll see below how impactful this is and how stunning the design turns out as a result!
Brianna uses our Hands-off Service to streamline the proofing process. As a result, we are able to communicate directly with her clients throughout the revision process and grab any replacement images directly from the full online gallery.
It was tough to narrow down our favorite spreads from this one because they were all SO GOOD! But here are a few of our favorites:
To see the design in full, click through the slideshow:
Thank you, Brianna, for trusting us to be a part of your team!
Thank you, Brianna, for trusting us to be a part of your team!
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Design by: Sarah (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Design by: Sarah (View More) // Design style: Classic (View More) // Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
