How many images should I choose?

This is going to mainly depend on your pictures, and your budget. To get started, I recommend going through all your pictures and picking your favorites, then look at your budget, and cut down (or not) accordingly.

Most weddings will be between 4 and 8 dozen images; less than 30 and you are really only getting the bare bones of your story. The more people were at your event, the more hours of ceremony and reception there were, the more images are usually needed to do your story justice.

For most of the albums we offer, a good design will average between 1-3 images per page; higher than that is possible but only works well in certain circumstances. If you are wanting to put 4 dozen images in a 10 page book, I will work with you to see if that is going to be appropriate — or look like a stamp collection.

The most popular sets are 100 images, 84 images, and 48 images.

Can you work from film negatives?

Yes, although if it is possible, I recommend getting your film scanned locally, rather than risking them to the mail. If I scan your film, there will be an additional $3/image charge for the scans and cleanup; you will receive high-resolution files for every image scanned.

Can I have you use my Fedex/UPS account for shipping?

Yes.

Do you ship outside the U.S.?

Yes. I will need your shipping address to estimate shipping cost; any customs charges will be your responsibility but I will attempt to predict them in my shipping estimate.

Do you do books for non-traditional families/events?

Oh course! With great joy. Pagan handfastings, mixed-faith couples, same-sex couples, poly families, Civil War Re-enactor betrothals, whatever your celebration, I just want to help you remember it fondly. (And Hello to those of you visiting from Poly-Friendly Professionals, Offbeat Mama, Offbeat Bride, So You’re EnGAYged and GayWeddings.com!)

I want to do a boudoir album for my sweetie, but I’m concerned about privacy….

1. No album design will ever be made public without your permission, and album proofs are password protected.
2. If you are *very* concerned about privacy, both the Bordered Album and the Matted Album have the option of using giclee prints instead of chemical photographic prints, and the giclees are produced in my studio, by me alone … so with that option, the only person that will ever see the images other than you (and whoever you show your book to) is me. And while I usually keep album design files on file for backup purposes, I am happy to not do this if you would prefer.

Are these scrapbooks?

No.  All my book and albums are designed in Photoshop, professionally printed and bound at trade-only bookbinders. (Me plus scissors and glue is a REALLY BAD IDEA. :) ) I do offer a wide range of DIY assistance services for scrapbookers/makers/crafters and am happy to make recommendations for really excellent, archival and lovely scrapbook bases.

How do I pick the right images for my wedding album?

At the most basic level, just pick your favorite images, the ones you know you’re going to want to look at again and again. But there are a few things to think about that will help us construct the best story:

1. What were the most important moments of the day for you? For example: “the kiss”, dancing with your parents, a flowergirl dropping her basket of petals, lighting a unity candle, your best friend helping you get ready, your grandmother weeping with joy, your uncle’s toast, the best man getting thrown into a fountain…

2. Formal portraits. These can range from none to lots; it really depends on your personal style. Think about whether for a particular grouping you would rather have that image in your album, or in a frame on your desk/coffeetable/refrigerator? Also, if you are getting a fairly small (in dimension) album and have a group shot with lots and lots of people, it may be best to get a larger print of it instead where you can actually see peoples faces! Also, in most situations, you want to strive for balance between the families/friends coming together — even if only one of you is doing the work of picking images for the album, do you really want to have your mother-in-law ask at Christmas why their family isn’t in the book?

3. Classic ceremony shots: this is, again, a personal style question; I personally like to see a lot of the ceremony, because I remember at my own wedding how much time we had put into its important details — and how much of a blur it slipped by in! — but I don’t think you are required to put in images of every single couple in the wedding party recessing, especially if you have a fun group shot of the wedding party. And your day may be different — for one of my favorite albums, the couple picked only one shot of the ceremony, because what was really important to them was all the people at the reception who had traveled from far away to be with them.

4. Atmosphere – photos of the details and setting really help bring back your day in all its richness and add a lot of depth to the album. Plus, if you spent half your budget on the flowers or three days assembling the invitations, don’t you want to see them again?

5. Similars - in general, when you have images that are a lot alike, you can just pick one — for example, a far away AND a zoomed in shot of the wedding couple listening to the officiant, or two different shots of a bride applying makeup, is usually repetitive. The exception is usually when there is a significant sequence – for example, three dancing shots progressing from the beginning to a twirl to a dramatic dip.

6. Quality - if some of the images you are choosing aren’t coming from a professional photographer, size can be an issue (see also “what is high-resolution”). While it certainly is possible to include a shot from your aunt’s cameraphone in your album, it will undoubtedly be small. If it isn’t at least 800×600 pixels (and that’s going to be really small in your album), don’t send it. Also, if the image is significantly blurry, blown out, strangely colored or dark, I may not be able to make it printable or I may have to charge a retouching fee. (I will always get your approval before doing retouching.) I will be doing some basic post-processing work on all the images.

If you really don’t like the picture, it probably shouldn’t be in your album. Admittedly, sometimes there just isn’t a good picture of someone really important that needs to go in there — let me know in cases like this if you want me to get a little more artistic on an image to try and “save” it.

What does “high resolution” mean?

In short: a high resolution file is big enough to make a nice print from, and is usually the file straight from the camera. Low-resolution files are great for the web.

For instance, to make a nice 8×10 print, ideally you want a file that is 2000×3000 pixels; in JPG form that’s usually at least 1 MB. In terms of how they market cameras, in general a file from 2 or 3 megapixel camera (2000 pixels on the longest side) will be happiest printed 8×10 inches or less. More megapixels (resolution) usually translates into both higher quality and larger possible prints, though the quality of the lens plays a role as well; I’d rather work with a 4 megapixel image from an SLR than an 8 megapixel image from a point and shoot camera with a small sensor and plastic lens, all else being equal.

I only have proofs from my wedding, not the negatives or hi-res files…OR…. I have this box full of prints…

That could be a problem. In order to do your album, I not only need a way to reproduce the images, I need you to actually have a license from your photographer to use them; this is usually explicitly stated (albeit in fine print, sometimes) when they give you negatives or originals, but if you do not have those, I will need verification that you have the right to use the images in this way. In most cases (antique restoration, photographer has gone out of business, negatives were lost, etc), I can work with you to find a solution, but I am not going to violate copyright law.

For all those family snapshots you don’t have the negatives for? Scan them at 300 dpi (Me for $2/print, or you with a flatbed scanner; The Practical Archivist has a wealth of information on how to organize and scan your family photos) and we can work from the scans HOWEVER I will not be able to make the pictures much bigger than the original prints.  And yes, I can do restoration.

What’s a giclee?

Giclee prints are archival pigment prints, created with professional quality inkjets with pigmented inks; they are more archival than traditional chemical photographic prints, and can be created on a variety of surfaces, including a fine art paper surface, photo luster style surface, canvas, etc. All of A La Carte’s giclee prints are created in-house, not sent to a lab. You can opt for giclee prints for Bordered Albums, Matted albums, or any print (collage, wall portrait, etc.) products.

Is my album going to show up your website?

Not without your permission. In order for an album to go up, I need not only permission from my client, but also the photographers — you probably have a license to personal use of your images, which getting an album made definitely falls under, but it does not follow that your photographer is granting me a commercial right to display the images.