Every week I get numerous enquiries from couples about wedding albums from Weddings that I've never had any connection with. Sometimes these are from people who got married aboard and didn't have the option for an album, sometimes its from people who had family or friends photograph the wedding and need to look elsewhere for an album and sometimes its from people who paid another photographer to photograph the wedding but they were too expensive or advised the couple to look elsewhere for an album.
Wedding albums / Storybooks unfortunately are very expensive to order even from trade suppliers and require immense work to create. The process from design to handover usually requires between 8-12 hours of time to complete, sometimes longer. The internet has many companies from around the world who will do this for you. I have no personal objection to anyone getting albums designed elsewhere and welcome clients wishing this option. However the albums I do offer are very competitively priced and it may come as a shock to many people that I offer the albums with album packages at below cost price. In simple terms this means they cost more money to produce than I actually charge people. I consider this important for myself and the business, if your kind enough to provide me with the work then I'll be kind enough to bare some of the cost of the album if you wish to order 1 from me. I do provide some rules for albums, such as you've only got a year to submit your choices, If album makers discontinue a certain line then its not possible to order any longer or if a supplier increases massive price hikes I may have to switch to a different album but I consider these simple common sense terms that keep things fair between us both.
To see details of how to create albums yourself, or to see real world prices of album design please read on.
One of the more popular companies offering album design (Note this is just design and doesn't include the album itself) is Modern Album design (http://www.modernalbumdesigns.com/prices.html)
They will design you a 30 page album with 70 images for £220.00
Then once they have produced your layouts, they will upload them to the album supplier for £11.57, or provide you with the images to do it yourself.
The next step is finding a reputable and professional lab to produce the images. A good place for brides to look is http://www.weddingalbumboutique.com/pricelist.php#eloquence
The 10x10Inch Acrylic fronted album is a beautiful album which you will love and treasure and also my most popular album. The price for the 10x10 Acrylic is £365 (Postage may be extra so please check T&C's)
Obviously you can shop around, you'll find other companies offering the same services, sometimes cheaper sometimes more expensive and I've only shown these companies for illustration as I respect the service and business practises and would personally recommend both companies.
Now the nasty bit.... The cost for album design and then print and bind of your album comes to a whopping £596.57 hence the reason photographers often charge so much for albums, they are expensive, they are difficult and time consuming to create and often requires in depth knowledge of Photoshop/In-design
10x10 Acrylic that I offer is £200 which includes up to 70 images, All design work and changes, Acrylic Album, Acrylic Deluxe Presentation box and matching USB memory stick if you ask for it.
Why the difference in price then ? Why is it cheaper for you to do it than for me to source it from the internet ? How can you offer it for £200 yet its £596.57 ?
In answer to the questions, I offer albums for Wedding clients (That means people who booked me for a wedding not as some people have tried arguing that although they used a different photographer they would be a wedding client.. Yes people have actually said this) at a reduced rate, and the lab gives me discount based on the volume I order. Although it does actually cost more than the £200 I charge its a loss I accept in return for photographing the day.
In cases where I haven't photographed the wedding, or had any part in the photography the price is £499 (£299 more than I charge wedding clients) as I have to cover my costs and make a small profit.
If your thinking of sourcing an album yourself, my best advice is to shop around. You may find it a little cheaper however cheaper isn't always the best and I've only used sources above where the quality is excellent. There's many ways to cut corners to lower the price but it may also affect the quality of the end product.
The most popular album option I offer is the 25x25cm Acrylic Fronted album in Acrylic luxery presentation case which is available for £200 on all packages.
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