Dan pulled out his old camera.  I’m pretty sure this camera came along with him when we moved in together in 2000.  He picked it up, turned it on, and snapped a photo.  The batteries still worked.  Film may be a little grainy after all these years but I’m guessing images will still turn out.  Just so simple.

At the same time, my daughter recently made the statement that we don’t have any baby photos of her.  We do have some on the walls and more than we can count on my computer.  We have fallen really behind though on keeping a printed photo album like we did for years and years.  Mackenzie will be four in less than a month.  I last updated my printed album when she was about 3 months old.  This is something that I definitely believe it and will get back to… this winter.

I just found it very interesting because there is a little part of me that misses film.  I do love the ease and instant gratification of digital though.  This isn’t meant to be a which is better post actually.  Just a reality check to remember to make prints.

Clients buy digital packages a lot these days.  I strongly encourage clients to at least do the little upgrade to include printed proofs in their package.  In fact, I sell the printed proofs just slightly over cost because I really really want everyone to have them.  So whether it be personal shots taken with your iphone, or professional photographs, I encourage you to make some prints, even 4×6 for an old fashioned album or photo box.

There is just something about sitting down and flipping through a book…

Here is a personal photo of the beach at Manzanita, Oregon, on a foggy morning.

As a photographer, books are an important aspect to what I do.  I can not stand that I am a year behind on my personal photo album.  I want to feel my photos and have them in a book, not just on my computer.  I am usually adamant about having true photographs in your book, and not inkjet printing.  This new fine art book has finally shown me that an inkjet print, can be beautiful too.

This new book is coffee table style, with lay-flat pages.  There are a plentiful selection of cover options.  The one I just designed is green sea silk.  The pages are made of an indulgent textured felt paper.  The printing is beyond my expectations, and rich.  With the paper, it is completely different looking than a traditional photograph, but still retains true color.  The books come in sizes from 3×3 to 10×10.

These fine art books would make a great addition to any portrait collection, and brides could use them for a little pocket version of their large wedding album, or to give to their bridal party.

I just thought after yesterday’s post a few wedding album layouts seemed like a good follow-up.

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I also just ordered a goodie box from Wild Magnolia Design. At first I thought, “well I’ve already found a green album maker” but the two companies make such completely different books I think offering them both will work well. The Wild Magnolia albums are printed on eco-friendly cotton paper, have peace silk or hemp hard covers, and are mounted similar in style to a traditional flushmount.

Speaking of flushmount albums, I still plan to offer a leather bound photographic printed flushmount album too, as well as coffee table books. While these are not very green, I have given this lots of thought and done some research. I have found a company that gets all their materials locally, manufactures in the US, and is responsible with their environmental practices. An album is something you order once and lasts many lifetimes. Considering this longevity, I feel it is a sustainable choice as well.

What I need to find now is a coffee table book maker (for casual albums and guestbooks) that uses recycled paper, and natural materials for covers!

One is the Sustainable Group in Seattle. They sells green office paper products. Everything is locally made of recycled material, and is reusable. Plus they feel good to touch! I can not wait to get my new cd cases and folders. You can get these locally in Portland at The Office (in the Alberta neighborhood).

The other company makes wedding albums. All of their lines are from 50% recycled paper, and shipped in recyclable packages. Each book is handcrafted in the USA. It gets better. They offer a line of books that are 100% from consumer recycled materials, and the entire bookmaking process is done with green-e certified windpower. A portion of the sales proceeds is used to purchase carbon offsets and plant trees.

I just opened an account, and think I will start offering a special green wedding photography package featuring one of their earth friendly albums. More info to come.

The book is 10×10 and has lay flat hinged pages. The image spreads are panoramic and the pages are extremely thick paper. It is a magazine or press printed book. My favorite part is the cover. I ordered a canvas custom photo cover, which gives an awesome textured feel.

Email me if you would like to see these and my other albums in person.

I also have a magazine album on the way for a client, with a custom designed cover.  I will post photos of that once it arrives.  For more information on wedding albums, see my previous post.

The red album is the linear, in a hard cover linen, 5×5 size.  I used pictures from Liz and Mike’s wedding at the Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver, Washington.  The black is leather in 8×8.  This one features Cassie and Adam’s wedding at St. Matthews Catholic Church in Hillsboro, Oregon.

How do you determine your needs?

Consider how many hours of wedding day photography you will need. Do you want the entire day captured from the very beginning of your day or would you prefer not being photographed until the final moments before your ceremony?  I generally recommend having a photographer for at least 30 minutes of your getting ready to capture shots of your veil and shoes going on, and the anticipation in your face.  It’s really fun to have the story told starting with you in your sweats with no makeup, and the groom hanging out with his groomsmen nervously waiting, but some brides are more comfortable waiting until they are closer to ready.

When do you want to do posed pictures? About 45 minutes should be set aside for formals with your bridal party and family either before or immediately after your ceremony. You’ll also want to dedicate some time for photos of just the two of you. These are best done away from everyone else.

Consider what you want in the end. Do you want the high resolution images on dvd?  I find most clients really want a digital archive of their wedding so the image dvd and personal use copyright is included with all packages.  Is online image proofing important to you, or do you prefer printed 4×6 proof?  Do you want professional enlargements made of a select number of images?  Do you want albums?  If so, consider the different types.

Think about portrait photography sessions. Engagement sessions are a great way to get used to being in front of the camera and working with me.  The images can be used for guest books, or as a large framed print with a matted area for people to sign, or even for your wedding invitations.

Other options are bridal portraits, rehearsal dinner coverage, or a trash-the-dress/ day-after session.  Boudoir sessions are a great idea to use as a wedding day gift for the groom and can be done as discreetly as you like.

If you have questions, or need help sorting through all the details, just let me know. We can meet for a complimentary pre-wedding consultation and together design your photography package.

Send me an email me with your details and I’ll give you a quote within 24 hours. If you are having an intimate wedding or something a little offbeat, be sure to let me know so I can work this into your photography package.

I think a very important part of the selection process in choosing a wedding photographer is getting together in person, and seeing how you get along.

Once, several years ago, I arranged to meet some friends at a bar in Seattle. I didn’t have any ideas of where to go so I found someplace online through their website. We got there, and we were practically alone in the place. My one friend kept picking on me for the choice. He finally asked why I decided on this place. I told him, “their website looked great.”

I am a bit of a computer geek. I make a lot of choices based on information I find online, and spend more hours in front of my monitor then I do behind my camera. (Mostly processing pictures and working on my photography business but still.) I strongly believe though sometimes you have to put down the laptop and the cell phone and interact in person, on occasion at least. Choosing a wedding photographer is one of those occasions.

Usually I meet with brides and grooms at a local coffee house. I bring some work, listen to the details of your wedding plans, and show you samples of my photography. It’s a very casual meeting. You can ask all the questions you want. There is no commitment.

You can see my images on my website. I can email you my rates. You can tell me what you want in a package through an online chat. We can get a small sense of who each other is. In person, we can get a feel for if we would feel comfortable working together.

There are lots of websites that give brides advice on choosing a wedding photographer, and lists of questions to ask. While doing some research, I stumbled upon this quote on the Knot. “Don’t underestimate the importance of liking, if not bonding, with your photographer.”

This is so true! We spend a lot of time together on your wedding day, during engagement or trash the dress sessions, and selecting photos for your wedding album. With my style being wedding photojournalism, I do try to blend in to the background to observe your day, but it is still incredibly important that our personalities click.

Back to my original question. Am I the best wedding photographer for you? Maybe.

(If you think I might be, send me an email and we’ll setup a date to get together.)

I get a lot of questions from brides about the differences between album types. There are coffee table (also known as magazine style) albums and flush mount albums. For starters, flush mount albums are typically only sold to photographers. Flush mounts have thick pages. They are printed on photographic paper and then mounted. Covers can be leather, fabric, have custom images, and come in a variety of sizes.

Magazine style wedding albums are printed with a press, instead of being a photograph, and they are on paper. There are endless options for covers, such as dust jackets, custom images, leather, or fabric. The company I work with offers a third style, a hinged album. This is a combination. It’s thinner than a flush mount but with thicker pages than a magazine style. It is press printed.

It amazes me how many different designs can be done with albums. I just designed one of each type. For my wedding client, I created a perfect bound album, which is a magazine style album. This one is a hard cover with a custom photograph on both sides, and is almost 60 pages.

For my samples, I designed a flush mount and a hinged album. I did lots of research on programs to use to design, found some strongly recommended but in the end used Photoshop. I started out with some base templates and played around with each page until I got the look I wanted. It will be about a month before I have the books.