Wedding Photobook

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electron

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I'm looking for a company that does quality Wedding Photobooks with the following criteria:

Thick paper (200gsm and above or photo paper)
Lay-flat
No middle gutter/gap/line in the centre for images that spread across 2 pages
Caters to non-professional photographers

I can't seem to find any photobook companies that do all 4 and beginning to wonder if these 'simple' conditions of mine are too much to ask!
 
They check your website.

And if everyone could buy the product then the pros would stop buying - why as a pro do I want a product my clients could buy themselves? I need something that sets me apart.
 
and if everyone could go and buy an album then clients would be asking for discs of images to do it themselves.

It took me a year to even begin to be proficient in album design there is actually a lot of thought and trial and error in the beginning and it's honestly the one part of my whole business that I have considered outsourcing simply because I got so frustrated with it. I'm only now beginning to get a handle on it.

And the other factor with albums is that once you have a settled supplier you actually start to shoot with the finished album in mind. WIll it be landscape? Will it be portrait? Will it be square? How much room round my images do I need to leave so they don't interfere with the bleed area? Will they spread over two pages? and How many pages will this album have so do I want to shoot a few sequences to fill those pages?

That's before you go into quality in terms of the album, the design software used (quite a few manufacturers use their own so you need to learn it and be proficient with it) Then there is setting up print profiles in terms of colour space and embedded profiles. And then there is print and delivery time and customer service.

So that's why the relationship between photographer and album supplier is actually very crucial and why it's a bit of a closed shop.
 
ZoZo said:
They check your website.

And if everyone could buy the product then the pros would stop buying - why as a pro do I want a product my clients could buy themselves? I need something that sets me apart.
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That and we wouldn't really like the general buying public know how cheap Pro supplies can be :D

Can you imagine this...

"Just got my 200 holiday snaps back in this lovely Graphi album, makes me wonder why my Wedding photographer charged me 10x as much for the same album with fewer Wedding photos in it!!!"

:lol:

DD
 
I don't consider the albums to be cheap, Dave! But I know what you mean, the general public often don't understand the number of hours etc etc etc that goes into delivering the final product in an album, they'd just see the album price.
 
How helpful everyones replies are...... *rolls eyes*

Blurb are supposed to be good, I've never used them myself though.
I have to admit that I'm a bit of a cheapskate and use snapfish (even for a wedding gift, well, if you can call £80 cheap...) and I'm sure their leather bound books do all of the above.

Sorry I'm not more help.
 
ZoZo said:
They check your website.

And if everyone could buy the product then the pros would stop buying - why as a pro do I want a product my clients could buy themselves? I need something that sets me apart.
Click to expand...

The quality of your images should set you apart, it's like saying you shouldn't allow guests at a wedding to bring along any pro camera gear, as you need something that sets you apart.

It a specious argument (IMO), good quality pros (like yourself) should be above this, customers are paying for your skills in both shooting the event and managing the product.
 
MagicMynx said:
How helpful everyones replies are...... *rolls eyes*
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Sorry, is discussion not allowed on TP? :thinking:

Les, I know what you mean, and yes you're right to a point, but then when it comes to the album a lot of clients are more interested in the final product than the images in it - fact of life.

Anyway, I think we're getting our knuckles wrapped for having a discussion on a thread, so back on topic then :lol:
 
Les McLean said:
The quality of your images should set you apart, it's like saying you shouldn't allow guests at a wedding to bring along any pro camera gear, as you need something that sets you apart.

It a specious argument (IMO), good quality pros (like yourself) should be above this, customers are paying for your skills in both shooting the event and managing the product.
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no I don't think it is at all. Wanting to set yourself apart, and not wishing your clients to have access to your supplier price lists are not just common to photography, but to many industries.

I think customers do understand this, but at the same time I only wish to supply products they can't easily buy themselves.
 
Loxley may be worth a try. You have to register on their website but they were handing out price lists to anyone visiting the stand at Focus on Imaging regardless of profession
 
ZoZo said:
They check your website.

And if everyone could buy the product then the pros would stop buying - why as a pro do I want a product my clients could buy themselves? I need something that sets me apart.
Click to expand...

thanks for that :)
 
I noticed a couple of the photobook companies (Cewe, Bobbooks) have the same 'Page Dimensions' for a 30x30cm ie

596 x 302mm

Do I create a blank document 596x302mm 300dpi resolution in Photoshop and then mount my images on it and save the result as Jpeg? (File<New<Width 596mm Height 302mm Resolution 300 pixels/inch<OK)

Also, what does "Sizes are given in millimeters and include a 3 mm bleed for the inlay pages and a 10 mm for the cover" mean? Does it mean I dont have to add 3mm to the Page Dimensions?
 
mrgas said:
electron

Here's one i found. Has anyone tried this company?

http://www.photoproductions.com/
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yes, I have used photoproductions!! highly recommend!!
i am not a registered photographer. we used them for our 10th wedding anniversary album. my cousin took all the photos. I uploaded the order to their website. no need to be a pro-photographer, and its the same as the italian coffee-table albums that you can only get for weddings! - we were so happy that we also used photoproductions for our holiday in Florida with the kids!

Their customer service was also very good. so I will always use them from now on. i think that they are the only company that sells anyone.
 
People forget there are two distinct ends of the coffee table album market.

You've got the £30 design-it-yourself type books (Cewe, Blurb, Snapfish etc.) which to be fair are great for the price, although in my opinion aren't suitable for weddings etc. And any self respecting Pro shouldn't be offering them to clients.

At the other end you've got the professional photobook co.s like Graphi etc. I've been offering these books for approx three years, and although they're expensive clients do love them.
In ref to Photo Productions I actually started using them as a second supplier last year. Smaller range but quite a bit cheaper, quality is excellent and ordering / proofing is easy.
It's a combo that's working well so far: for the choosy clients that want leather and all sorts of extra options I go to Graphi, for the more straightforward ones I'm using PP.

Hope that helps!
 
Sim2000 set up a separate company selling direct to bride and grooms, not the best way to treat all your existing clients imo but I guess they realize that brides and grooms with a CD of wedding photos wanting an album is a growing market.

http://www.thephotobookcompany.co.uk/

Limited options compared to the books a professional photographer can buy from Sim2000 but if you dont have access to Sim2000 or other suppliers then this may be a good source for a Graphi type story book.
 
jessericephotog said:
It's a combo that's working well so far: for the choosy clients that want leather and all sorts of extra options I go to Graphi, for the more straightforward ones I'm using PP.

Hope that helps!
Click to expand...

interesting comparison, perhaps you could post some images of both options so those less experienced can see what you mean?
 
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