Hey photographers, it's Align founder and pro-photographer Melissa Jill here! Let's talk about something I believe every photographer should include as a part of their service and offerings -- parent albums! 
 
Parent albums are duplicate or slightly-altered copies of the main album you've already created for the bride & groom. While they usually have the same design on the inside pages, the size of the album is typically smaller and more light-weight than the bride and groom's album. If you are NOT currently offering parent albums as a core part of your photography packages, I would encourage you to do so!  
 
I feel strongly about offering parent albums for a few good reasons that can be separated into how they benefit not only your client, but also YOU!  
 
BENEFITS FOR THE CLIENT:

• Regardless of who is paying for the wedding photography, parent albums are in high demand. It just makes sense to offer them since so many clients want them. Parent albums are such an easy YES for clients because they serve as the ideal memento to look back on and relive the celebration they just poured so much time and valuable resources into.
 

• They are the perfect "thank you" gift from the bride and groom to honor how their parents have supported them throughout the process of getting married! 
   
  
• And if the parents are the ones paying for the photography, they often want a keepsake for themselves to be able to cherish all of their memories from the event!
 

BENEFITS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS:

• Offering parent albums boosts your bottom line and adds value to your services. Within my own photography business, I find that out of the couples who purchase albums, about 1/2 of them will also include parent albums for a fairly painless price point of $300 - $500. To set the price for your own clients, I suggest you mark up the amount you're paying your album printing & binding company by 200-300%. Note that this is lower than the pricing I suggest for the original copy of the album.
 

• The design work is already done! My parent albums have the exact same design as the bride & groom's original album which keeps things uncomplicated and simple. And for those of you who have clients who desire a little more customization in terms of altering the original design for parent albums... check out our blog post on the parent album design/revision strategies we've used here at Align to help photographers painlessly create multiple album designs for the same wedding! 
  
 

• You get additional exposure and marketing of your amazing work. The parents will be showing off their high quality parent album to their circle of friends -- people who may not be exposed to the bride & groom's copy!
 

Pretty straightforward and hard to argue, right?  
 
Offering parent albums as part of your ever-evolving photography service is a no brainer and an instant win-win. Your clients will be thrilled to have the option to purchase something so beautiful and significant for their loved ones, the value of your service will increase with the additional product, and there's very little effort needed to bring in some extra income! 
 
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And exciting news! If you're a photographer who wants to start offering albums without investing hours of guesswork and trial and error -- we have a solution for you! Check out the Album Start-Up Kit and start maximizing your profit today! 

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Blog post written by: Melissa Jill