Custom Fine Art Albums: The Process / Part Five

 

The initial design time can take anywhere from 4-7 hours. Sometimes, I have a vision for how I think this layout, styles, colors, fonts, and themes will all come together right away and sometimes it take me a while to discover and develop this.  I draw from their invites, wedding day details and overall style to create something custom.  I also never use templates.  Almost all photographers do use templates- although they rarely share this. It is much quicker on our end but I believe it is not personalized, and doesn't help the flow and feel of an album at all- in fact, it hinders it!  So while this takes dedicated time and focus, I LOVE it.

I love the quotes, verses and song lyrics that couples include- it brings out more about their unique love story.

 

Next, I put the design online for the couple to review and make changes. About half the time, I get an e-mail back saying something along the lines of, "We love it. Don't change a thing!" and then sometimes I am asked to make a few minor changes. I am happy to do because I want them to love every single detail for a lifetime. 

After they approve the final design, I set to work with my lab to get it printed. I work closely with them to ensure the quality is perfect. I love how the pages are thick (1/5"!), durable, hard and the designs are flush mounted to these pages- it creates such a modern, fresh, clean and luxurious look! There is almost no seam in the design, as you can see below.

The cover is genuine leather, and the box it comes in is incredible- all of this showcases the quality. You want the best for the most significant day of your life and I have researched for years to find the best company that works only with professional photographers.  My cost to print is high- but it is worth it for this finished product!

 The process of creating a custom designed and luxuriously-printed fine art album for my clients is a long- and joyful- one.  Once I finish selecting, retouching and editing their wedding day images, I send a link for them to view, access, share, and download their high res images. I also include the Album Design Form.  As I mentioned in the beginning of this series, this form asks them as a couple to select their images for their album, let me know which are their favorites and what verses or quotes they would like highlighted within the album. Then, I sit down to work.


 One of my favorite aspects about my job is handing off the album personally to my couples.  The looks on their faces are amazing- and I feel like it is the perfect finale to the long and wonderful process.

Custom Fine Art Albums: Danielle's Perspective / Part Four

 

I get to know my couples well. I try to document THEIR emotions, THEIR experiences, THEIR unique relational dynamic.  I love people and I love love so this is a joy for me.  I do this while maintaining my style of photography.  So the album should always be a continuation of that- and as I design, I too, relive the day- and recount all the sweet memories formed as two become one.  

Danielle & Brian: Married September 28th, 2013

I was giddy. Giddy about how great these two are together, about their wedding venues and details, about the fact that I was selected to capture it all for them.  Thankfully, they were giddy about each other and didn't notice quite how silly I was. Their wedding had such an elegant and sophisticated feel to is - with garden elements that made the whole date just perfect. I wanted their album to whisper these sentiments at each and every page.  It was a true joy to work with them and design their art album.  So, without further delay, here is the third and final bridal perspective:

Please share your experience in working with Kate- from first meeting to receiving your album. 

At the time of our first meeting, we instantly knew that we were going to choose Kate as our photographer.  Her passion and love for photography and sharing in our special day was evident from our first meeting all the way to the day we received our wedding album.  She was professional and personable in every email, phone call and meeting.  I looked forward to hearing from her with new suggestions and ideas for our engagement photos, our wedding day photos and our wedding album.  Kate made a huge effort to get to know us as a couple and made sure that our photos expressed who we are and what was most important to us.  We felt incredibly comfortable around Kate and she continuously made us smile throughout the entire process.   

 

What made you decide to get the custom-designed fine art album through Kate Wenzel Photography? 

Kate showed us the custom-designed fine art album in our first meeting.  It was absolutely beautiful - high quality and personalized for the couple, allowing you to have memories for a lifetime.  We decided to order an album because we knew that we wouldn't capture the memories of our special day in a photo album as well as Kate.  She created an album that we will look at for the rest of our lives, bringing us back to the happiest moment of our marriage.  We can't thank her enough for her dedication to every detail of our album and capturing each moment of our special day.  

Do you feel like your album was custom designed and reflects you as couple? 

Yes, we feel that our album reflects us as a couple.  Kate included details of our wedding day like our wedding vows and lyrics from our ceremony, along with the best photos that captured every emotion and event throughout our ceremony and reception.  The album Kate designed for us takes us back to our wedding day each time we open it.  She truly has a gift and we are incredibly happy we had Kate design our wedding album.

What is your favorite part of the album? 

Our favorite part of our album are the pages of our families and our wedding party.  It isn't common for both of our families to be together in the same state and we feel grateful that Kate was able to capture these moments so perfectly.  We love the candid photos of us laughing  with our family and friends and the heartfelt photos of us right before our ceremony.  

What three words would you use to describe your album?

Endless Memories & Happiness

What would you tell a couple who is contemplating getting the album? 

Definitely get the album.  We haven't regretted our decision once and the album has provided us with a way to re-live our wedding day over and over.  Kate brings your personalities and love for one another into the album, and the design is absolutely beautiful.  You will love it!  

Custom Fine Art Albums: Alisha's Perspective / Part Three

 

I have worked for other photographers and studios before opening KWP in 2009. In this prior experience, I learned that most photographers don't allow their couples to select the images within their album. This never made sense to me. They are the ones who will open it up year after year and remember their day all over again.  I ask my clients to fill out a detailed form- telling me what images they would like, which ones are their top five favorites, what verses and quotes they would like featured and more.  This helps me make the album just right for them! 

Alisha & Anthony: Married June 7th, 2013

Within a few moments of meeting these two, you can't help but love them.  I loved their modern feel to their wedding while still implementing classy and classic elements throughout their day.  They had such a fun wedding- and I think that this album highlights that vibe- in addition to celebrating their love. Here is the interview with Alisha:

Please share your experience in working with Kate- from first meeting to receiving your album.

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When we first met with Kate, I knew that I wanted her to be our photographer right away. First, her photos are absolutely gorgeous, and she was professional, yet personable. She wanted to get to know both my husband and I, along with our son. She wanted to know more about our wedding design, colors, etc., so she could design our album to go right along side our wedding colors. Kate was willing to work with us, and was very kind. She has children so she knows how to handle young ones and get some beautiful photos of our son at our engagement session and our wedding. Kate is a wonderful person and she definitely has the knack and the creative eye for photography. My husband and I are so much more than pleased with our photos and our album. Our album is so beautiful and is custom-designed to fit our wedding, and our personalities. It's gorgeous.

 

What made you decide to get the custom-designed fine art album through Kate Wenzel Photography? 

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When we first met with Kate, we talked about the different wedding packages, and Kate brought one of her albums for us to look through. Right away my husband and I knew we wanted the album. It's unique, amazing quality, and you can tell that she puts a lot of time and effort into each page of the album. The price and the quality is definitely worth it. We knew we had to have it, and I'm so glad that we chose to get it. I show it off all of the time.

Do you feel like your album was custom designed and reflects you as couple?

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Our album perfectly reflects my husband and I as a couple. It's modern, yet traditional in some aspects. It's bold, and bright, and matches our color palette from our wedding perfectly. We were able to choose most of the photos put into the album and then Kate added a few of her favorites or photos that she thought would add to the page nicely. She showed us the "rough draft" and it was perfect! I didn't want her to make any changes. That's how you know she's great at what she does. She has gotten to know us, and she kind of knows what we want and what we like :)

What is your favorite part of the album? 

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ALL OF IT. From the black case that the album sits in, to the glossy thick pages, to the last page with the quote that makes me tear up every time. I love it all so much. The colors are gorgeous, and the photos are absolutely beautiful. I am in love with EVERYTHING about out album.

What words would you use to describe your album? 

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beautiful, unique, personal

What would you tell a couple who is contemplating getting the album?

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GET THE ALBUM. You won't regret it.

Custom Fine Art Albums: Teresa's Perspective / Part Two

 

I love designing albums. Just like weddings, no two albums are the same because no two couples are the same. This makes it a very personal, creative and rewarding process for me- because I work to tailor it to the couples personalities, style, wedding themes and more.  For me, designing, printing and delivering an album to the couples is the perfect finale of this wonderful process.

 Teresa & Brandon- Married September 21st, 2013

These two were a dream to work with- beautiful, smart and easy-going with a gorgeous location and perfect details- it was a dream wedding for me.

I asked Teresa to answer a few questions because her story is one many can relate to. They didn't plan on an album- but their minds were changed shortly after their wedding. Here is more of their story.

Please share your experience in working with Kate- from first meeting to receiving your album. 

We spent a lot of time looking for the 'right' photographer for us, and we could not have been happier with our experience with Kate- it was definitely one of the highlights of the whole wedding planning process.  Unlike other photographers we met, we felt Kate always prioritized our interests first and truly made the most of every interaction from our first conversation to the delivery of our album.  It's hard to narrow down all the reasons we love Kate, she made our wedding party and family feel at ease and we will cherish the images from our wedding forever.  If there is one thing we liked the most- it was that she was totally present and in control in moments when she needed to be, and yet she really knew when/how to blend into the surroundings and let our special moments be ours.  

What made you decide to get the custom-designed fine art album through Kate Wenzel Photography? 

We actually were on the fence about purchasing a fine art album simply because of the cost.  We ended up creating our own photo albums through Shutterfly and gave them as Christmas gifts to our parents.  While our parents loved them, we were disappointed in the printing quality and limited/canned design options.  That's what made us decide the investment in the fine art album would be worth it.

Do you feel like your album was custom designed and reflects you as couple?

Yes- this is one of the things that makes it so special- it is truly unique to Brandon and I.  It perfectly chronicles our day and includes passages from our ceremony.  

What is your favorite part of the album? 

How could I pick just one thing?!?! We were impressed with the ease of the whole process and the finished product was above and beyond our expectations.  We loved our wedding photos, but Kate's design enhanced the quality of the photos; it was like looking at the images from our wedding for the first time all over again!

What three words would you use to describe your album? 

Beautiful, Thoughtful, Cherished 

 

What would you tell a couple who is contemplating getting the album?

The cost almost deterred us from getting the most beautiful and thoughtful wedding album.  I would tell couples to make the purchase of the album a priority and factor the cost into their wedding budget, that way they don't even have to question it- they will not regret it!!

Are Wedding Albums Worth It? Part One of the Series...

Weddings are expensive.  I was a bride before I was a professional photographer- and I remember all too well the reality of costs that came up and the amount of time, effort and restraint that was needed to stay within budget.  Thankfully, I knew what was important to me even at 22 years old. Photography. I knew that that is what we would have 5, 10, 20 and 50 years later.  The dress, the food, the music, the flowers- while important aspects, didn't matter so much. What mattered was making the lifetime commitment- and capturing the incredible emotions that come along with that.

I didn't have a huge budget- it was less than half of what the 'average' American wedding was in 2007.  But, because I knew what I valued, I was able to get the best photography for us- and utilize over 30% of our budget for it.  To make it all work, we had to get creative. We were modest with the flowers- buying them wholesale and then having a talented friend put them together. We didn't have a DJ- we put together a great playlist, rented wonderful speakers and had a charismatic relative MC when needed. We did many other things like this- and the day was wonderful.  Our love was celebrated and captured.

It is no surprise, however, with the costs of everything that is included in wedding planning, that albums sometimes get pushed to the side.  Even in with my love for photography, I nearly made that same choice.  But am I glad I didn't, so glad. We look at our album very often- we talk about our day and remember the most special moments, and the ones that were unknowingly captured; quiet, beautiful moments that are not always remembered.  It is modern, high quality and designed with our day, our style, our personalities in mind. But what I didn't expect, is how much my three-year-old loves to look at it. He talks about it, begs to page through and asks a million questions. I wondered why. Why would a three year boy who is all about trucks, dinosaurs and exploring love this?  Because it's where his life began. It is the story of his mommy and daddy's love. This, my friends, is priceless.

  Even as I attempted to take pictures for this post, my little guy was right there asking questions and loving looking at our 'special wedding book'. :)

I am going to be doing a five part series on this very topic- interviewing three 2013 brides- all with different stories on how they came to make the decision and what factors led them to that, as well as providing insight into what makes this album significant and worth it to them as a couple. I will also be showcasing more on the process for creating an album.

Before we dive into that, however, I wanted to share a portion of an article from a March 2014 Article in the Huffington Post.  Kathleen Trenske writes,

"Today, a lot of couples think just getting the disc of images is "good enough". Here's the problem with that thinking; it's not true. Not by a long shot.

Your memories are worth more than that. And your wedding images? They are worth TONS more than that. These aren't snapshots from a vacation. They aren't pictures from your iPhone. You cared enough about these moments to hire a professional to photograph them. Follow that through by having a professional print them. Have that professional print the pictures you put into frames and have them design you a high-quality wedding album that you will cherish for decades.

If you purchase an album through your photographer, you can see a sample in person. You can touch and feel it and make sure it is worth every penny.

I know that albums are expensive. That's for good reason. They are custom-designed books, usually hand-stitched and hand assembled and made just for you.

But of all the things you spend money on for your wedding, your wedding photographs are the ONLY thing that will increase in value over time. As the years pass, you'll be more and more glad that you have them. Especially, if you can experience looking through them by flipping through a gorgeous custom-designed album instead of sitting in front of your computer and clicking "next" with your mouse.

So, figure out a way to make it happen. Figure out a way to afford that album. Forgo a centerpiece. Cut back on your guest list. Opt out of the vintage car you'll drive in for all of 20 minutes.

Don't just do it for you. Do it for your children. Do it for your grandchildren. Because when they root around in your attic in 2075, they will have no idea what do with a USB key anymore than they would with a laser disc player."

Stay tuned for Part Two tomorrow! :) 

 

A Landmark Center Family Session: The Leer's!

 

The job of a photographer is to create an environment where beautiful moments can happen and then to capture them. These moments should be natural, real, and showcase the feelings of all those involved.  After Saturday's session, the love felt between these four was undeniable- and adorable in every way.  The rainy, grey day didn't impact the joy these two little boys exude and the sweet love they share with their parents.  We meandered through the Landmark Center in St. Paul before venturing out to Rice Park.  I loved watching (and documenting) the relationship between these two brothers.  With two little boys of my own, I felt right at home. 

Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of photographing this family add two more to their lives- during these five sessions including maternity, newborn, and one year old shoots, I can honestly say they are dear to me- and incredibly fun to photograph!  Check out the last session HERE.  And now, a look into our time together- complete with smiles, giggles, baby kisses and a bow tie!