So the best day of your life has come and gone, and you've got a fantastic selection of photos from your brilliant photographer, but that's only half the work done, now you need to decide the best way to show them ... whoa ... lets you backtrack a bit. The first thing to remember is the importance of looking at the printing options available to your photographer before you book them. Be wary of photographers who only offer disk images, as this may indicate their inexperience. However, you should also be wary of photographers offering a complete package, including days of shooting, printing and printing, after all that you really want to be pressured to pay for prints and books before you look at the pictures?
Ideally, you should be looking for a photographer who has a lot of options open to you for printing after you've seen the images, and one who's ready to be flexible to your needs. If you are considering making a bound book, you should have a range of sizes and specifications available to fit all budgets and be able to show you samples of what you can expect to receive. Good old-fashioned photographic print Okay, maybe they've been around for aeons, but you can't beat a well-made photographic print for its unrivaled quality and sharpness. A good photographer should be happy to arrange for prints to be made for you, and it's normal to offer incremental discounts for any larger quantity ordered, don't forget that parents and grandparents will all want some to frame! Check with your photographer that the prints will be made on high-quality archival photographic paper, and cheap alternatives may fade in as few months. Bound Books – Modern alternative coffee table books are the fashionable equivalent of the traditional photo album, the images are printed directly on the page in a stylish layout and, if done well, can give you a long-lasting and classy record of your wedding day.
Softback or hardback, landscape or square, leather embossed or full color printed cover, size, paper type, design layout, dust jackets, protective boxes, the list of options is endless! Don't assume that the only bound book options available are those offered by your photographer, if you don't like their options, look around online and suggest alternatives to them, they may be able to accommodate your wishes.
Your photographer should be able to advise who your book is designed, printed and bound by. The layout design styles can vary greatly and are really down to personal taste, my best advice is to ask for proof before the book is sent to print, so there won't be any surprises. If you have a selection of specific images that you particularly like, be sure to ask your photographer to include them in the book layout. Also, ask how long it will take for a book to be produced, as the process may take some time, especially if it is hand bound or made abroad.
You can pay as little or as much as you want for a bound book, but a degree of caution should be exercised at both ends of the scale. Some online 'do it yourself' options reduce costs by using cheap papers, basic layouts and unpredictable color results. At the more professional end of the scale, it's easy to get carried away with a baffling array of options that could end up breaking the bank! I know what you're thinking ... 'My photographer gave me the disk images, surely it would be a lot cheaper for me to do this on my own? 'I'm not going to deny that the range of printing outlets on the high street and the web is vast, but considering that you spent so much time and money on finding the perfect photographer to capture your day, don't fall to the last hurdle and just upload a few to facebook or have the whole lot pushed through your nearest pharmacy machine. Professional photographic printing is an art in itself, and a professional photographer should either have his own printing studio or have a qualified printing company or bookseller that he already uses and trusts. You will notice a significant difference in quality compared to your run of the mill processors.
If your photographer has provided you with a disk of images, there are two things you need to consider before printing them. Make sure that the images are high enough to print to the size you need, often the image that looks fine on the computer or on the TV screen can be pixelated once it is printed because of the low resolution of the file. In order to produce a 5 "x 7" print, the file should be at least 1500 x 2100 pixels, or it should be at least 2400 x 3000 pixels to print a file of 8 "x 10." The second consideration is whether your photographer has given you permission to print from the disk, they should provide you with a license to use the document stipulating this.
If you have spent all your money on the wedding of the century and your money is limited, you could discuss with your photographer the possibility of delaying your printing or book order. Most professional photographers will keep all of your wedding photos on file for years, maybe even indefinitely, and would be more than happy to wait for your order. Try not to leave it too long, though the best thing about having wedding photos in whatever form you choose is to be able to pick them up and muse your most special memories whenever the mood takes you!
