Do I need a really need a wedding album for my photos?

Post Created: 21.01.2021 - Posted in Advice

There’s a very simple answer to this question… Yes. But we’re not just here to tell you what to do. We’ll explain why a wedding album is so important. Plus, we’ll tell you how to go about getting your album printed.

Wedding photo albums, or photo albums in general, are a long-lasting tradition in most families. Most of us can dig out the album of our childhood photos. Yes, nowadays most images are created digitally and can therefore are stored that way. But album businesses are still going strong and for good reason.

Reasons to get a wedding album

Flipping through an album is far more enjoyable than endlessly tapping next on your laptop. There’s a simple joy to it. That cozy, warm feeling of home that just can’t be achieved whilst holding a cold, hard piece of tech.

Not only this but an album can be shared with anyone. No USB ports or online drives necessary. This means that the entire family can enjoy your photos. Even your gran. And they can be gifted. Sure, you could send a USB stick with a bow around it but that doesn’t hold a candle to an exquisite, well-made photo album. They’ll become treasured heirlooms, looked over by your children and your children’s children in years to come.

Good quality albums stand the test of time. Think of some of those old albums floating around in the attic. How many years ago were they made? And they’re still holding up. We assume digital photographs will be around forever but technology moves on. And it moves on fast. You wouldn’t want to risk your images being left behind as technology advances. Saved as a file that can no longer be opened.

Hard copies of images are just another way to preserve them. Every important image should be saved in multiple places and printed as a hard copy. Files can be corrupted but that album can’t be. There’s always a chance that albums can be damaged but having them adds one more layer of security to your images. The more places you have the images. The more copies that exist. The less likely you are of ever permanently losing them. And when it comes to your wedding photos the last thing you want to do is lose them.

But what album should I get?

A lot of wedding photographers will offer an album option for sharing photos. A digital copy is pretty much a given at this point. Every image they take will normally be given over in some digital format. Once they’ve handed you your images it’s completely up to you what to do with them. However, it’s important to remember that that the photographer often retains copyright. The photographer also has copies that they can use in whatever way they want to. An online portfolio or in-store prints to show clients for example. But the copies you are given are completely yours, bu. You can post them. Share them. And print them as much as you like. Just make sure you ask permission for anything that they may frown upon. This gives you complete freedom when it comes to an album.

How do I get the album from my wedding photographers?

Getting an album straight from your professional photographer is one of the easier options. They have access to the raw files which means the images can be printed in the absolute highest quality. It also gives a lot of choices when it comes to the size of the image. Raw files can be printed almost any size and will certainly be able to be printed for any size of the album. This means that the quality of the prints themselves will be the highest quality available and will look exactly as they do digitally. The only issues here may be the quality of the actual album itself.

Most wedding photographers. Especially freelance ones. Aren’t going to have access to a proper album-making set-up. This can also limit the number of design options available. Things such as color, font, and cover material may only have a few options each. Which could land you with an album full of great images but with a rather standard looking exterior. Make sure to look into what albums have been created by the photographer before you ask for the album. This will avoid you being disappointed by the outcome.

Many photographers will also outsource their albums to other companies. If the photographer you’ve hired offers this then it may be ideal. It’s essentially the best of both worlds. You get the finest quality images possible as well as a wider array of customization options for your wedding album.

What other options do I have?

The other option is taking the digital copies and finding somewhere to create your wedding album separately. There are pros and cons to this too. A huge issue could be image quality. Depending on how the images have been sent to the album manufacturer. Any image a photographer sends to you will be of good enough quality to be printed. There’s no doubt about that. But it’s the transfer to the album maker that can cause problems.

Many online companies offer photo album making services at extremely tempting prices. Don’t get excited though. These companies often ask for a digital copy of the images. Uploaded to their site. This upload can often drastically reduce the quality of an image. Especially large files such as your high-quality wedding photos. This means that the outcome will be an album full of blurry, pixelated images. Not worth your money and certainly not something that will become a treasured heirloom. If you’re going this route we recommend you use a private, well-reviewed album maker. Someone with lots of experience and a strong portfolio. They do not need to be a world-renowned, established business. Just someone with a strong range of products they can show you. How they ask for the images can already be a giveaway.

How can I tell if they are good at their job?

If they are asking for a link to the digital copies that don’t require any sort of upload or decrease in file size then that’s a good start. They clearly care for the quality of the photos and you can be sure the album will contain high-quality, clear prints. Using a private album maker rather than straight from your photographer can open up a far wider variety of customization options to make your album truly your own. Different fonts, colors, and materials will make the album ooze with personality before you’ve even opened the pages.

There you are, the ins and outs of getting an album for your wedding photos. Now you’ll have no difficulty answering the question, “Do I need a wedding album for my photos?”.