Today we're so lucky to get to share images and insight from Elizabeth Gelineau, a talented wedding and portrait photographer. We love working with Elizabeth and with her beautiful images! 
 
Elizabeth shared some of her thoughts about how to get the most out of working with Align. We were fascinated to get a photographer's perspective on this, and thought that this insight would be valuable for other photographers! Here's what Elizabeth had to say:

Headshots by Deborah Michelle Photography 
 

Since my first order with Align, I have chosen the option for "Hands Off" design service. This option is so wonderful because my album designer will handle all the emailing with the client in regards to proofing. When I submit my order, I ask to receive an initial proof of the album. I usually make a couple of changes and then give my designer the go-ahead to send the proof to my client. Once the proof goes to the client, I don't have to do anything until the album is approved! This service saves me so much time that I can't afford to not use it!!! Best of all, my clients receive revisions quickly, which means we usually get to the approval point within just a few weeks.  
 
I prepare my clients for the album design process from the initial consultation, making it clear that I am working with a designer for my albums. I talk about this as I go through one of my sample albums at the consultation. From the beginning, I explain that the wedding album is designed to tell the overall story of their wedding day, highlighting the most special details, moments and portraits. Because my couples see the end product right at the beginning of the process, they know what to expect later. Additionally, I send an email to my clients reminding them of how the album design process works prior to giving Align the go-ahead to send the proof to them. That way they know to be on the lookout for an email from my designer regarding album proofing. 
 
One of my favorite aspects of working with Align is the ability to request a specific designer. Andrea was the designer I was matched with on my first couple of wedding album orders. She and I worked so well together that I started requesting her with each new order. I know that all the Align designers are fabulous, but there is something special about being able to work with the same person over and over. Andrea has learned my preferences during the time we've worked together, and we are now getting to a point where I don't always make changes to the initial proof because she knows what I like. I've also gotten better at narrowing down images to send in for the initial design. On my first few orders I was sending in the maximum of 300 images, but now that I'm used to the process, I send in between 150 and 200 images for her to use for the pre-design.  
 
I highly recommend being very specific with your designer about things that you do and do not like, because it helps them design something that you'll love! Preferences that I've communicated to my designer include: 

• I love at least one spread to be all black and white if possible.
• I love when the first spread in an album contains either all details, one full-bleed photo of the bride and groom, or a portrait of the bride and groom along with a photo that gives a sense of place.
• I love for at least one spread in the album to be a full-bleed photo of just the bride and groom whenever possible (I don't have a shot from every wedding that lends itself to this).
• I typically like for there to be only one spread of family formal portraits.

If you've been hesitant to give up control over certain aspects in your business, consider outsourcing from the perspective of how it can help your business grow, rather than from the perspective of losing control. Album design was the first aspect of my business that I outsourced, and it has been one of the best decisions I've ever made for my business!

 

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Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, Elizabeth! We know that photographers who are considering working with Align or just starting out using our services will find your insight and experience so helpful! 
 
The following are Elizabeth's photographs of one of her recent albums designed by Align and printed through RedTree Albums. Elizabeth prints all of her wedding albums through RedTree because she loves the quality of their gorgeous books. For portrait sessions and parent albums, she uses the photo books from Miller Professional Imaging. P.S. Both of these album printing & binding companies are included on Align's list of Top 10 Most Popular Album Companies. 
 
Check out these beautiful photos of one of Elizabeth's finished albums!

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

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Design by: Andrea (View More) // Design style: Simple (View More) // Blog post written by: Alaine

We're such fans of today's feature album design! This wedding was photographed at Nauticus Marina in Cap Cod by the amazing Deborah Zoe Photography, and it's full of romantic touches and New England seaside charm! Deb uses this album as a studio sample to show off her clean and elegant design style, which allows her beautiful images to speak for themselves!  
 
Deb is a fine art wedding & portrait photographer who prides herself on telling stories with her images. For some words of wisdom from a photographer who sells albums well, read her guest post entitled Deborah Zoe on Educating Clients on the Importance of Albums. 
 
Now onto today's beautiful design! Here are photos Deb sent us of this KISS Books album with a Ardesia leather cover:

To see some other designs we've made for Deborah, click here! 
 
To view the full album design in its entirety, click through the slideshow below: 
 

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Design by: Andrea (View More) // Design style: Simple (View More) // Blog post written by: Alaine

We're never going to get tired of designing wedding albums, but we have to admit that we get a little bit excited when we get to branch out and design other kinds of albums! It's SO much fun to work with images from engagement sessions, senior portraits, pet portraits, styled shoots, newborn photos, boudoir sessions, family portraits, bar/bat mitzvahs, guest books, and more! Our Simple Design Style (which has an average of 2-3 images/spread) is a great fit for portrait albums.  
 
So you can imagine how thrilled we were when Kate Mannella asked us to design a Simple Style album for this adorable Cincinnati engagement session! Kate is a talented Ohio-based wedding photographer who is a dream to work with, and she made the process even sweeter by sharing photos of the finished KISS Books album with us! 
 
Here's a peek at this stunning engagement album:

To view the whole album design, you can click through the slideshow below:  
 

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Design by: Kari (View More) // Design style: Simple (View More) // Blog post written by: Alaine

The beautiful album design we're sharing today is full of charm, beauty, and so much love. It features top-notch photography by Tasha Brady, a film photographer based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Whenever we work with Tasha, she requests our Simple Design Style which typically has a maximum of 4 images per spread (it's perfect for portrait albums!). However she communicates to us that the 4 image limit isn't mandatory. So as you flip through this design, you'll see some beautiful spreads with 5 images on them and then the fun reception spreads are a definite departure from our Simple Style. And we love customizing this design style for Tasha! So if you're struggling to decide which album design style you should choose on your Align order form, just remember that you're welcome to communicate any special requests to your designer. We're a small team -- you're not locked into a corporate-generated checkbox! 
 
Here are some of our favorite spreads from this design:

To flip through the whole design, click through the slideshow below: 
 

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

We talk all the time about how outsourcing your album designs allows you to serve your clients even when YOU are unavailable (on vacation, in the middle of your busy season, etc.). But what about when the designer you outsource to is unavailable as well? Align Album Design has you covered! Our small team currently has 5 designers. That's intimate enough to provide personalized service to every client and communicate amongst each other about each client's design preferences. But it's large enough that there's always a designer available whenever a new order is placed or revisions come in! 
 
Our guaranteed 4 business day turnaround time isn't affected by an individual designer's personal time off. For example, I (Denise) took an unplugged vacation last week. There were still 4 other designers available to take on new designs that came in while I was gone. As for my in-progress orders, my fellow designer Andrea took care of all the revisions or final file deliveries that came in for me (Thanks Andrea)! 
 
Another example is that Virgina-based photographer and educator Katelyn James typically works with Kari as her album designer. However Kari took maternity leave earlier this summer as she welcomed her new baby boy into the world (Congrats Kari!). When Katelyn placed a new order for the below album design during that time, we immediately asked if she preferred to wait for Kari or if she'd rather work with someone immediately available. Katelyn was completely understanding and okay with having a different designer for that particular order. Due to Kari's amazing note taking, I was able to design the following album for Katelyn using all of the same design style preferences that Kari always follows for Katelyn's orders. The design was designed, revised, AND approved within a few weeks! Behold the power of teamwork! 
 
And today we're featuring that album design on this blog! We absolutely adore Katelyn's photographs from this wedding, especially of the gorgeous Big Spring Farm venue, of an adorable bride & groom, and of so many lovely details and florals. Here are some of our favorite spreads from this picturesque wedding's album design:

To see some of the past designs we've created for Katelyn, check out her Client Advocate profile.  
 
And to view today's album design in its entirety, click through the slideshow below: 
 

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