HOW TO DESIGN AN ALBUM

Louisa & Jono

By 2exposures

Book Preview

The new digital medias enable us to design today products of our own imagination and to make them real. Few years ago, software developments and slow broadband made the online publishing world only available to professionals. The choice for quality was therefore limited and the cost high. Fast broadband is delivered almost everywhere now and offers flourish on the net.
Therefore you can produce your own albums for whatever purpose needed and it is made fast.
In this new chapter I am going to explain how I do it. I would like to point out that I am not a designer by trade, I am a photographer. And I LOVE books. I read a lot and buy a lot of them, especially when I find something beautiful and clever in form and contents. It helps me to find aspirations and inspirations in my photographic approach and the way I want to present it.

I am delighted to offer you a preview of our first official public Blurb coffee table book. Like many people recently Louisa and Jono were excited about what Blurb offers, and to share it with us all. I have programmed the book presentation in a way that the first 15 pages can be watched or read by all. If you want to see more, you unfortunately have to buy it - sorry ! But I could have actually allowed the system to show it all through. But I do not personally feel like it is appropriate to show and share it fully with a whole world out there. For some sort of privacy reason and ethics I will carry on doing it this way unless I am being asked to.

I am always encouraging my clients to do their own online wedding album if they are actually excited, capable and available. Needless to say that the new programs available sound like easy to handle, and obviously it is not. I mean it can be easy if you have an eye or an idea, and skills.
Too many people rush into the project using templates, without working the images and without any narrative structure. They produce therefore an object which effectively looks like a book, but the content remains dull, inert. That is the reason why I do not wish to include any album with my options as everybody is different and has a different taste. To make one of those online album takes time and dedication if you wish to tell a beautiful story.

- First, you need to have good materials, good pictures. Not only few striking creative shots but many good ones and eventually some amazing ones. If only few pictures are good you will feel like the whole project is uneven. That takes us back to previous chapters where I explain the way I photograph a wedding. Consistency, story telling aptitudes, creative mind and invisible proximity are some key factors to produce quality. You have to know your subject, you have to be able to read body language, you have to know about the couple and their families, etc...All those elements will make you feel more secure, rounder while photographing and it will show in the result. You can apply this philosophy to cooking, same idea. You can only create something really great if your ingredients are good. You can still cook something decent with lower quality but you will have to fake it with spices. Same principle here. I love food, I love great food, my clients too and that's why we get on well together. Beware of effects and tricks while working on your book. The more effects you will find in a publication the weaker it is. If your pictures are good they do not need effects either from Photoshop or the layout tricks. Effects = bad materials trying to hide.

- I always make my albums personal, tailor made. I never use templates. We are all different, my clients are unique. I get to know their private life for a brief moment and they pay good money to trust an experienced professional freelance like me. I have to respect them. I have to get involved with them and perform and produce the best I can. I use different fonts, different chronologies. I always advise them what would be the right amount of pages needed. I have no interest in forcing them to have more in order to make more profit. If I have to fill up endless amount of pages and have to compromise quality for quantity, that would affect my reputation and reduce their pleasure.

- I usually make my own selection (2/3) and ask the couple to provide me theirs (1/3) and we compromise. The reality is that if you let people do their own whole selection, you might have to wait for a year before having the order, if they do. Proposing the album as a separate order from the wedding duty is for me the best way to produced an album with my clients as it is a completely different job than shooting. To make it work requires the two parts to be involved at the same time, at the same pace. Together we are stronger as we say, and it is definitely true. I really enjoy this togetherness with my clients. I offer them my time and experience, and they always come with new ideas and interests I have to respond creatively.

- Once we have agreed on a final selection, I gather all the materials and work all the pictures one by one. Whether you are dealing with scans from film or digital materials, you HAVE TO work on your pictures to create an harmony. Unfortunately today too many people think it only requires to drag the materials straight from your hard drive onto the template. I say good luck to those people who will waste their time and money in producing very poor albums. Basically, you need to have a certain "lab"(for me) or designer's experience to understand the computer interface at its best. One simple problem occurs with the screen of your computer. With all computers the light comes from within towards us, it is a diffused light. When you make a print or produce a book the light is direct (natural) on hard surface. That's the opposite. Therefore you have to calibrate your images thinking the other way around.
You have to calibrate the lightning, the contrast, the colour balance and simply retouch your pictures. Retouching didn't come with Photoshop, it has long existed...Even 10 years ago when still bromide prints would be still available, profesionnal labs would retouch or "spot" the prints with inks and very thin brushes. To make it brief, to correct all the images takes quite some time. And for better quality it is recommended to work with high resolution files.

- I always try to keep the text as minimal as possible. Remember that it is a photo album you are working on, not a novel. Too much text kills the image. Also, if you are the photographer, you choose to express yourself with pictures, that is your job, your passion, your talent. With good images no words are needed, just the emotion perspires. I personally only mention the first names, the locations and the date in the introduction page. Then, pictures speak for themselves.

- While working on my images I am also thinking mentally the narrative, that is something organic. Then let it rest for few days... I am about to start the layout now and I pay special attention to my clients' selection in connection with mine and try to put all of theirs. I can also advise them on few ones which I think are better to express their wish. It will take me a good day to finalize the layout. And I let it rest once more. Before coming back to it I will question myself a lot and think better possible narrative ways. The last review of my layout will be focused on correcting the text, proportions, front and back cover and the general narrative with possible changes on the size of few pictures. After having checked it all at least 3 times I send the order.

- To use Blurb requires to be a member and it is free. Their program is very clever and easy to use. The quality of the product is perfect. Their technology is ingenious. The delivery and production turnover more than satisfactory. The online ordering is friendly. Profile pages are very instructive and helpful. Well, it all sounds great, you should all sign in then. But remember all I said before.

Time spent on Louisa and Jono's album (considering my knowledge and experience)
. my selection / 1h
. awaiting for your clients' selection / variable
. retouching, calibrating of the final selection / 8h to 10h( 150 pictures high resolution)
. working the layout online / 8h to 10h
. Profiles, downloading order, delivery / 3h

Total labour / 20h to 24h
From client's order to delivery / 3 weeks

I am as excited as them to see the result !