Album vs. Book

[robbie3982]

Ok, I know I got married 7.5 months ago, but I''ve been a slacker (I had good reasons, I swear!) and haven''t ordered any type of album yet!

I emailed my photographer and got an updated price list. Last time we spoke she only had pricing for photo books and this is what we were planning on doing. Think shutterfly or mypublisher, but put together by a professional photographer/graphic artist. We could get one of these for about $200.

Now I see that she also has a flush mount leather album that we could get. It''s way more expensive (as in with her giving me a discount it would still be more than 3 times as much), but the pages are thick like the wedding album my parents have from their wedding. Oh yeah, and the fact that my wedding was used for her example album doesn''t make me want it any less either

The album would be 10x10 and the book would be 13x11.

Do you think I''ll regret it if I get a book instead of an album? What would you do?

 

[Courtneylub]

This thread helps me too! I was wondering the same thing! Those flush mount are like $1000!!! I may go with the $200 book and then have the pictures rotating on a digital picture frame forever. Or however long one of those will last.

 

[mia1181]

OH MY GOD! Are either of you in the Bay Area perhaps?

The photographer I want''s book is $1300!!!! And that''s with the client discount.

Is this what you are talking about?
http://www.iqphoto.com/albums.htm

Magazine style?

Personally I like the look of the book more because I think it is more interesting to look at. (Think scrapbook vs. photo album). But $1300 is a lot, so I am think of making my own here since my (potential) photographer gives me the picture files.
http://www.picaboo.com/photobooks/index.html

 

[robbie3982]

Ooh, good idea, Courtney, about the digital frame! We got one of those for the wedding and haven''t really used it yet.

Mia, I''m in the Pittsburgh area. The layout of the album and book would essentially be the same. The differences are:

-Book has larger pages (11x13 vs the album''s 10x10)
-Album has thick pages like a traditional wedding album
-Book cover would be like a hard cover novel with a jacket, album cover would be leather

 

[mia1181]

OIC, so the book is not going to have any special effects or a different look than the album, the album is just going to be better quality?

Hmmm.... in that case I would be leaning toward the album. It will be more durable and will have more of a presence.

BTW, if you get the album will you do it exactly the way she chose for her sample album? That would probably save you a lot of time picking the pictures!

 

[Courtneylub]

Date: 4/16/2008 12:28:15 PM
Author: robbie3982
Ooh, good idea, Courtney, about the digital frame! We got one of those for the wedding and haven''t really used it yet.

Mia, I''m in the Pittsburgh area. The layout of the album and book would essentially be the same. The differences are:

-Book has larger pages (11x13 vs the album''s 10x10)
-Album has thick pages like a traditional wedding album
-Book cover would be like a hard cover novel with a jacket, album cover would be leather

Yeah I even thought about getting a big one, 8 x 10 if they make those, and hang it on the wall like a flat screen. The cord would show, but I could put it over the fireplace or couch or something. We are in the digital age now!

 

[scm1012]

I am in Norcal and a good friend in the bay area bought a gorgeous leather bound album at a leather album outlet store. She was married in Italy and received 10x10 prints which is really uncommon in America....so she had to scour for albums and scored at an outlet. I am planning on doing the same thing.

 

[Elmorton]

I''m horrible...we went with the leather album (for 30 images it was something like $700 after all the applicable discounts)...

..but I don''t regret it for a second! Growing up, I probably dragged out my parents'' album once a month. I loved looking at it. Now I do the same with mine. A friend of mine has a book similar to what you described and it''s very nice because she has a LOT more images than I do, but it doesn''t really have that timeless feel - and the magazine like pages don''t seem really the same quality. I think it''s worth it to spend the extra $$$, but a few of my friends thought I was absolutely nuts for doing it. I mean, they''re right, there are better things to do with that kind of dough, but I''m happy with the choice we made.

 

[robbie3982]

Mia, I don't know that I would say that the album is better quality than the book necessarily. I mean, while they're essentially the same thing, the book is a very nice quality book and the album is a very nice quality album. So, I guess it's which feel I'd like more if that makes sense. I haven't actually seen the sample album in person, just pictures so I don't even know which pictures are in it.

Courtney, we're planning on hanging a blown up version of one of our wedding pics above the fireplace. It would've been so much cooler if it was a digital frame that changed!

Scm, the outlet store idea is great, but it wouldn't really work for me since I'm not working with prints. I could print out actual pictures since I purchased the rights to reprint, but I really want the kind that are actually printed on the page like a magazine.

Elmorton, that's the exact reason I'm unsure about just going with the book. I LOVED looking at my parents album when I was little and I love looking at my wedding pics now even though they're mostly just on the computer. We made photo books for our parents using snapfish and they came out great, but I am worried about how something like that will hold up after being looked at repeatedly over the years. I don't want to have to keep our future kids from touching it because I'm afraid that they'll ruin it. Maybe I'm underestimating the durability of the book though?

I think I might just have to go see both options in person. DH will not be happy if I decide I want the album. Despite being really photogenic, he's not into pictures at all. I don't think he's even looked at all of the shots from the wedding

! And he definitely didn't understand my obsessive need to check the internet (to the tune of about $1/min) while on the honeymoon to see if anyone had sent us any shots yet. LOL.

ETA: It's not helping that my mom told me she thinks her album was a waste of money because she never looks at it. Probably has a lot to do with the fact that she didn't like her pics. I LOVE mine though.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Our wedding was 6 months ago and we haven''t made this decision, either. My issue is that I can''t seem to sort out what photos I want and I am still at the stage where I want to enjoy looking at our photos and reminiscing--not hate them because I can''t decide which one to use on which page, haha.

We originally thought we''d go with the book because it was the cheaper option, but have since changed our minds. I started to worry about how pages of the book aren''t protected and was worried they''d get damaged over time. If the page is damaged, there is really nothing you can do. And it''s not like we''re going to have the book on our coffee table for people to look at all the time, but still--the odds of me spilling something all over it or ripping a page aren''t all that slim! While I like the idea of a book, I''m starting to feel that it''s a newer trend and might not hold up as well. I think we''re going to go with a classic leather bound album even if it is more expensive and holds fewer photos.

 

[AceP]

because this is the one element of your wedding that actually endures over time, i''m not cutting corners here. that doesn''t mean i''m spending $2500 on something silly and excessive, but as far as i''m concerned, when it comes to fine photography, nothing beats a large image matted on a black or white background. the overlapped images don''t really appeal to us. so we''re going with a traditional, leather-bound album that we know will stand the test of time. we''re probably going to do blurb books for our parents, though. and i plan to make a less formal scrapbook to fold in some of the photos that don''t make the album, as well as other elements -- like our invitations, program, etc.

 

[laine]

I would do the cheaper book, you can usually do more options that just an 8 by 10 on each page. You can do several photos together, like 4 of you getting dressed, and sometimes you can have faded versions as backgrounds. You can do more photos without it looking as busy as a traditional album might. Then, because you have the rights to the photos, you can print 8x10s, get a fancy wedding album (I'd look for a vintage one), put n the photos, and that way have the album too, for way cheaper!

ETA: Just realized the flushmount is different than my parents album, which is what I was picturing (one of those leather albums with an 8 by 10 mounted on each page in some sort of fancy wedding album mount system). It sounds like the flushmount is more like the printed book, just higher quality. In that case, since they are so similar, I'd definitely go with cheaper version, and still do an album of prints like I said above (like my parents album).