Each guest was given a 4x5 photo that identified their table. A matching 8x10 photo was with the centerpiece to tell them they were in the right place.

Table 15

Table 2

Table 5

Table 11

Table 16

We also used images from the same session, without the numbers, to create a one-of-a-kind Guestbook for them. It was a big hit at the wedding!

Guestbook on the gift table

Guests enjoyed leaving notes for the bride and groom around the photographs

Each spread had a different layout, but always plenty of room for notes!

Congratulations Dani and Tim! I am so glad I was able to work on this project with you, and attend your beautiful wedding!

We love doing things out of the ordinary, so if you’ve got a great idea, or if you like this one, give us a call today! 585-678-1905

Left: 10x10 Photographic Album, Right: 8x8 Press Printed Album

My History With Books

I am no stranger to book design. I was never much of a scrapbooker, but I have loved building digital layouts since middle school. The largest book project I ever worked on was the 226 page full color book for the Corn Hill Arts Festival last year. I love the physical feel of a book, and seeing a story take shape as you turn the pages.

My background in photojournalism helps here as I shift to designing custom wedding albums. There is an art to selecting and organizing photographs so that they tell the story. It is much more than choosing the “best” image and writing a caption underneath it. The “right” images won’t need a caption. Similarly, a single photograph on its own may be “weak”, but as part of a sequence can become very strong.

Photographic Albums & Press Printed Albums both lay flat

Shooting for the Album

I’ve heard some photographers say they “shoot for the album.” What they are saying, is that as they photograph a wedding, they are looking for the images that will tell the story. They are pre-visualizing the final album, and know when something is missing. I agree with this philosophy as you should always begin with the end in mind. Shooting for the sake of shooting, is documentary. But shooting with the intention of telling a story, is a much more noble goal. It is easy to make one good image. But 40, 60, 100? Making them work together is the key.

Story Telling by Design

My graphic design style is clean and classic. I like elegant lines and big images. I don’t like cheesy backgrounds and overlaid images. The photograph should be strong enough to stand on its own, if you need to cover it up with other photos or graphics, then it is not worth putting it in the album. Clean and classic stands the test of time. With ripped edges, overly photoshopped images, digital collages, and other cheesy elements, you risk the timelessness of your wedding day. Clean design will let you look back in fifty years and feel like the day was yesterday.

This Album is Different

When my sister-in-law got married last year, it was truly an honor to be in the wedding party. Kerry and Jake had a beautiful Fall wedding in upstate New York. Since both John (my husband) and I have photography degrees, and we were both in the wedding and could not photograph it, Kerry sent us a list of potential photographers she was considering. We helped her narrow it down to Crystal Herry of Syracuse. Crystal was great, and didn’t mind me shooting some candids when I had the chance. As a belated wedding gift to the couple, I designed their album using Crystal’s images.

Rounded corners protect pages from accidental peeling and scratching

Photographic and Press Printed Albums

Pages lay flat when the book is fully opened, so nothing is lost to the gutter

What to Look for in an Album

I have been researching print companies for over a year. There are hundreds upon hundreds of options out there, but what I consider to be the most important qualities in a wedding album are these:

Archival Materials: You want a product you can hand down through generations of family, without fading images

Sturdy Build: You want to be able to handle and show off your album, not hide it away for fear of hurting it

Realistic Color: Color is hard to reproduce, especially on digital presses, so good color management is key

Pages that lay flat: Losing an important part of an image to the gutter is just not acceptable these days

The albums I have here, satisfy all of these needs. I have adopted two lines of product which I distinguish as the Photographic Album and  the Press Printed Album.

With a gutter only 1mm wide, images look great throughout the book

Photographic Albums

The pages of this album are printed on Kodak photographic paper and flush mounted on archival board. Rounded edges are a great feature that help protect the pages and keep them lasting longer. The gutter is approximately 1mm wide, which allows images to cross the whole spread without a distracting gap. Cover options include many color and texture variations on leather and cloth, as well as an image wrap. Shown above is the two tone leather with a cameo image.

Press Printed Albums

Great for parent albums, portrait sessions or event books, these books are press printed on 110lb paper, and still feature the lay-flat binding. They are handsomely made with cloth or leather covers, or the optional image wrap. The one shown is an 8×8 replica of the larger album. I also like these books for guestbooks… watch for a future post with more on that!

There is nothing like a beautiful, personal, hand made album sitting on your coffee table

So there you have it, my history with books, my design and printing preferences, and oh, did I mention I LOVE designing albums? If you’ve got a question about a past or future event that you might like an album for, give me a call! I can be reached at 585-678-1905 and I answer the phone most hours of the day. I’d be glad to discuss options and show you some printed samples. I truly believe that there is nothing like a beautiful, personal, hand made album sitting on your coffee table.

Beautiful boxes to protect your memories, free!

Sturdy, hand-bound albums last for generations

Mirror parent books are economical and great for sharing

One thing I have noticed about Moments, is that they tend to speak louder when in black and white. I love color too, but in quiet moments, color can be distracting. For instance, in the image below left, the wall is purple. The purple wall draws your eye to it, rather than to this bride’s face. The other thing about the two moments below, is that they are what I call “Created” Moments. These are images in which I told the bride and groom where to stand, then stepped back and allowed it to be a moment. It is still a moment, but it is a moment that would not have occurred without my involvement.

The second type of moment is a captured moment. This is where patience, experience and good reaction skills come into play. I often hear of photographers interrupting perfectly good moments to create a staged moment. This is something I try very hard to avoid! Whenever possible, I like to let the moments happen, and just be nearby to capture them. The very best moments cannot be staged.

At weddings, there is often more than one moment occuring at once. In this case, there was a moment behind the moment as this mother watched her daughter and husband dance.

There are also guests having moments, as they enjoy the love and warmth that surrounds a newly wedded couple. These candids are just as great to catch, and abound during cocktail hour and throughout the evening.

Finally, although I said earlier that most moments speak louder in black and white, this is not always the case. The beauty of upstate New York sometimes begs for color images. This is a created moment that became a captured moment, as the couple enjoyed a few minutes at this scenic overlook on Canandaigua Lake.

I strive to capture moments, as they are fleeting and unrepeatable. The result is personally very rewarding, and is what keeps me going week after week.

I want to say thank you to Erin Perrotta, who I second shot this wedding with, and to Sarah and Jimmy for being such an amazing couple! Congratulations, and here’s to many more happy moments!

Congratulations Emory and Judy on your first 50 years together!

Here are a few images made at Julia and Tim’s bright, sunny wedding. For more, check out the gallery on facebook.

We also photographed the annual 5k Race, which has grown this year to nearly 250 runners! Congratulations to Jack Sutliffe and all of the Celebrate Commemorate committee for another year of a job well done!