Four Things An Album Design Company Can Offer You That Design Software Cannot
above photo by Shannon Moffit
Anyone who has braved stepping into the world of album design can attest to the fact that it is nothing short of...intense! While there are different ways to navigate this noble endeavor, the truth is, the terrain can be a bit rocky. With such a wide variety of design programs and software these days, it can be easy for us to think we can do it all on our own. Design software can certainly arm professional photographers with tools to help in the process, but going this route still requires a lot of time, patience and dedication to the work of design! So, what can an album design company offer to you, the educated photographer, that design software cannot? Read on!
1 -- Precious Time.
This is perhaps the MOST valuable thing a design company can offer that software cannot. The time it takes picking images, deciding on design details, proofing, revising and finalizing is time you can be placing into other things that help grow your business. By hiring a design team, you give yourself the gift of using your time and attention to pour into your strengths. If you're interested in outsourcing more than just the design aspect, Align even offers a hands-off service where we become your in-house designer and handle the communication with your client too! You'll be saving even more time if you don't need to be the one clarifying revision requests, telling your client when the album is updated, reminding your client to approve the design, etc.
Abby Grace, one of our amazing client advocates, will tell you all about how outsourcing her album workflow has been of great benefit to her business!
2 -- Outside Perspective.
Many photographers and/or brides can get hung up on the individual photos (hairs out of place, emotional attachment to certain moments, etc) and it can dominate and slow down the initial design process. An outside designer, with a different perspective, can whip up a design and focus on the story of the day rather than the individual pictures in a way that varies from those closer to the images. Swaps can always be made in the revision rounds after you see how the story is told.
3 -- Helpful & Timely Communication.
There is nothing like one-on-one communication when you are facing issues that need to be resolved. And, let's face it, there WILL be issues that need to be resolved when it comes to offering albums. The intentional customer service of a design company can walk with you through the hurdles in ways that software cannot. Take revisions, for example. If your client has tons of revision requests, you don't have to fear! Here at Align, we've probably seen worse and we won't even bat an eye at something that might overwhelm you. As long as your client can explain spread-by-spread what they want, we don't have a cap on how many changes can be made per revision round (the exception is if the bride wants something that varies greatly from the photographer's original order form and we need to start over). In addition to the help you gain with revisions by hiring a design company, you also can be confident that we will stay on top of the work when you cannot. Clients often come back with revision requests at inconvenient times (i.e., the peak of your busy season). So, when you might be tempted to procrastinate or get distracted by other tasks, we are here with set deadlines to keep things streamlined and focused.
4 -- Peace of Mind!
By outsourcing, you leave the hard work in the hands of those who have mastered the art of designing albums. We are experienced professionals who LOVE design work! This is what we are great at! You can hand over the task, leave the stress behind and have complete faith in our ability to create a product both you and your client will love! As an album design team, we've had the privilege of helping hundreds of photographers through the process. We can even provide advice on non-design elements within your album workflow like picking an album printing company, pricing, sales techniques, and more!
While outsourcing the design work might not be right for every photographer, it is certainly something to thoughtfully consider in terms of your business growth and strategy. After all, there are only a certain number of hours in the day and no one can be amazing at ALL THE THINGS, ALL THE TIME! If you are considering offering albums but don't want to tackle the design beast all on your own, Align is on your side!
Anyone who has braved stepping into the world of album design can attest to the fact that it is nothing short of...intense! While there are different ways to navigate this noble endeavor, the truth is, the terrain can be a bit rocky. With such a wide variety of design programs and software these days, it can be easy for us to think we can do it all on our own. Design software can certainly arm professional photographers with tools to help in the process, but going this route still requires a lot of time, patience and dedication to the work of design! So, what can an album design company offer to you, the educated photographer, that design software cannot? Read on!
1 -- Precious Time.
This is perhaps the MOST valuable thing a design company can offer that software cannot. The time it takes picking images, deciding on design details, proofing, revising and finalizing is time you can be placing into other things that help grow your business. By hiring a design team, you give yourself the gift of using your time and attention to pour into your strengths. If you're interested in outsourcing more than just the design aspect, Align even offers a hands-off service where we become your in-house designer and handle the communication with your client too! You'll be saving even more time if you don't need to be the one clarifying revision requests, telling your client when the album is updated, reminding your client to approve the design, etc.
Abby Grace, one of our amazing client advocates, will tell you all about how outsourcing her album workflow has been of great benefit to her business!
2 -- Outside Perspective.
Many photographers and/or brides can get hung up on the individual photos (hairs out of place, emotional attachment to certain moments, etc) and it can dominate and slow down the initial design process. An outside designer, with a different perspective, can whip up a design and focus on the story of the day rather than the individual pictures in a way that varies from those closer to the images. Swaps can always be made in the revision rounds after you see how the story is told.
3 -- Helpful & Timely Communication.
There is nothing like one-on-one communication when you are facing issues that need to be resolved. And, let's face it, there WILL be issues that need to be resolved when it comes to offering albums. The intentional customer service of a design company can walk with you through the hurdles in ways that software cannot. Take revisions, for example. If your client has tons of revision requests, you don't have to fear! Here at Align, we've probably seen worse and we won't even bat an eye at something that might overwhelm you. As long as your client can explain spread-by-spread what they want, we don't have a cap on how many changes can be made per revision round (the exception is if the bride wants something that varies greatly from the photographer's original order form and we need to start over). In addition to the help you gain with revisions by hiring a design company, you also can be confident that we will stay on top of the work when you cannot. Clients often come back with revision requests at inconvenient times (i.e., the peak of your busy season). So, when you might be tempted to procrastinate or get distracted by other tasks, we are here with set deadlines to keep things streamlined and focused.
4 -- Peace of Mind!
By outsourcing, you leave the hard work in the hands of those who have mastered the art of designing albums. We are experienced professionals who LOVE design work! This is what we are great at! You can hand over the task, leave the stress behind and have complete faith in our ability to create a product both you and your client will love! As an album design team, we've had the privilege of helping hundreds of photographers through the process. We can even provide advice on non-design elements within your album workflow like picking an album printing company, pricing, sales techniques, and more!
While outsourcing the design work might not be right for every photographer, it is certainly something to thoughtfully consider in terms of your business growth and strategy. After all, there are only a certain number of hours in the day and no one can be amazing at ALL THE THINGS, ALL THE TIME! If you are considering offering albums but don't want to tackle the design beast all on your own, Align is on your side!
We hope you've found these tips 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. We'd love to be a part of creating beautiful heirloom albums for your studio and clients!
----------> 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. We'd love to be a part of creating beautiful heirloom albums for your studio and clients!
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Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
Blog post written by: Melissa Jill
