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There are lots of choices for your album; this page should help you in making those choices. You can review the page layout styles available to you. In your initial meeting, you probably already saw actual samples and came up with a rough idea of which styles you like the best and what percentage of each of those layouts that you would like in your album. You can also upgrade the page count of your album. You will need to tell us which images to include in your album and what layouts appeal to you. We will also guide you on how best to communicate all of this to us. So, shall we begin?
If you would like to have a poem, event invitation, announcement, wedding vows, love note, menu, or other document or item included, please let us know. We can scan or photograph items or just include text to be produced in your album design.
For most of the weddings and events that we photograph, we create a bookmark; we recommend including the front and back on back-to-back pages (i.e., an even page number and the next page, such as pages 2 and 3 if you want to see the front of the bookmark as soon as you open the album.
| Layout | Description | Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Reportage | Contemporary, clean layout on black backgrounds with no fading of images; pictures laid out with multiple sizes, accomodating the most images per page | As the most photojournalistic style, we love, for events shot predominantly capturing spontaneous moments, having at least 50% of an album in Reportage style; great for bookmark images; though we aren't fans of it, for those who do like mixing color with black and white, sepia, or blue tones in a single picture, it can be done for some of your images |
| Design | Soft blended backgrounds with multiple image sequences; more contemporary than Studio | Goes well with Reportage layouts; for pictures in this layout, consider including at least some with a black and white background image and a foreground color image |
| Studio | Water color effects soften your images for an elegant, stylized presentation | Dreamy first-kiss and romantic images look good in Studio style; excellent for superimposing text (e.g., wedding vows); if you like this layout, particularly well suited for albums with more portraits than candids, consider creating an album that is entirely in this layout or perhaps 80% Studio and 20% Director |
| Director | Most intricate design including variety of effects, gradients, and torn pages; horizontal images typically laid out as double page spreads | If you like this layout, we recommend considering an album that is no more than 40% Director and the rest Studio; good choice for superimposing text; we recommend specifying detailed layout choices as some layouts that may appeal today may possibly prove to be less appealing over the years as tastes change |
| Panorama | Similar to Reportage but with white backgrounds and space around images, a simple but elegant contemporary layout with no graphical effects | We recommend choosing this somewhat neutral layout for 0-10% of your images, possibly for images bridging from one section of your album to another |
| Family | This simple, classic layout recalls pulling family images out of an old drawer and is good for a family reunion album | This is the choice for a more traditional looking album; we don't find this layout to blend very well with the others, though it can accomodate the most images (we recommend Reportage for those who wish to incorporate the most images with a contemporary look); if you like this layout, we recommend picking it for all of your images |
You are probably on this page after having contracted for a certain number of pages in your album.
Use your layout goal from the previous section along with the table to the right to determine the number
of pages that you have to work with for each layout.
For example, let's say that you have contracted for a 30-page album and want to have approximately 75% Reportage and 25% Design layouts. According to the table, you can pick .75*(45 to 55) = 34-41 images for Reportage treatment, and .25*(39) = 9 or 10 images with Design layout. Remember to include each side of a bookmark as an image; if you feel you can't afford the space in your album, you can always just insert an actual bookmark into the album and use it - as a bookmark!
What if you find that you have more images that just must be in your album than this calculation allows? Your contract should have specified a cost for upgrading your album. Common page size upgrades can be selected and paid for, inclusive of state sales tax, here with a credit card. Don't hesitate to contact us for other upgrades (including to a larger album size) and/or to upgrade but pay by check or calling in your credit card details.
| Paper | Description | Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Offset (Textured) | Advanced color offset printing gives an elegant look with slightly muted colors; printed on a heavy stock linen | This is our favorite choice and our usual recommendation; offset printing results in pictures that are slightly less sharp than photographic printing, usually more flattering for portraits |
| Offset (Smooth) | Offset printing onto smooth paper stock | Choose this if you want your album to look like a fine-art magazine or if you typically pick matte over glossy finish for photographs and don't want a linen texture |
| Photographic | Traditional photographic paper is a Kodak professional Endura paper that gives a classic semi-gloss look to your images; the development process in combination with the stay-flat process can add a slight discoloration to the seam (pink for light colored images, whitish-blue for darker ones) | This is a good choice if you like the traditional feel of looking at photographs in a book; we highly recommend choosing to have the pages laminated |
| Metallic | Kodak professional Endura metallic paper has a high-contrast glossy, metallic appearance with vibrant colors on a bright background; seam discoloration also possible; GraphiStudio always laminates these | Choose metallic if you want images that "pop"; we recommend it for smaller albums, particularly for modeling portfolios or commercial photography |
If you wish to add more heft to your album, at no additional charge you can choose to have thick pages; a substrate is bound in between the pages with no impact on longevity. We recommend this for albums of up to 40 pages. Otherwise, the album pages are thin and flexible, which you may prefer and which we recommend for larger albums.
All paper choices are created to last for generations - photographic for 80 years in typical home use (and possibly 200 years when stored closed), and digital offset for even longer. All paper is archival and acid-free. GraphiStudio has a patented binding system to allow your album to open flat.
For parent and guest books, thick substrated pages are not available. Books 8"x8" and larger are available in photographic paper (non-metallic). All parent and guest books are available with smooth or textured offset paper except for soft cover pocket books, available in smooth only.
GraphiStudio will need from us an ordering of the images. It's your album, and you can put the pictures in whatever order you would like. If you could prefix each picture with your sequence number, that would be great. When you open your album, you will see on the left a GraphiStudio logo and on your right a Vibrant Memories Photography logo and credits. Your images begin next with pages 1 and 2, with 1 on the back of the Vibrant Memories page and 2 facing it. Your list, along with design preferences, may look something like this:
01-engagement 1234 02-engagement 2678 ... 46-reception 9341 Note: 36 images in Reportage layout, 10 in Design; designer's choice, but for monochromatic effects, use sepia and not b+w
The more information that you can provide about your preferences, the more likely you will be delighted with
the design. (You will get a .pdf file to review the design before it is produced.)
It's not necessary, but you are welcome to annotate some images with a layout style
that you would prefer for those images.
We recommend that you consider following the links in the table above to look at specific layout choice codes, such as the example to the right (Design 619). We are not looking for detailed design (e.g., "Design 619 - use 2678 as image 1, 5680 as image 2, 5600 as image 3"), but rather any more general input - "I love Design codes like 619 but don't like ones like 614"). Your final list, including any additional design input, as well as cover choice, may look like this:
The more information that you can provide, the more likely that we'll get your album right on the first try!01-brideGrPortrait 7501 (Reportage) 02-engagement 2678 (Design - maybe along with the next two in a layout like 619) 03-familyPortrait 5680 04-engagement 5600 (black and white) 05-engagement 5200 ... 45-ceremony 6412 46-reception 9341 (Reportage) Note: 75% Reportage, 25% Design; for Reportage, never mix color treatments within one picture; you may override, but given a choice, please use black backgrounds; avoid any layouts like Designer code 614 - I don't like tiny inset images Paper: Offset textured Cover: Silver Metallic with satin finish, "Bob and Mary" on first line, "October 15, 2007" on the second, brideGrPortrait 7518 image
You can easily return to your wedding or portrait gallery. Or come back to our home page. Congratulations, again, on your new Graphi album!
Created 30 August 2007
