i included images of a few of my favorite spreads, but i think it goes without saying that a picture of an album doesn’t do the experience of holding a bound, archival, show-it-to-your-grandkids, keepsake justice. seeing it all come together in a flawless presentation you can actually sit down and look at makes the pictures speak that much louder. i know not everyone chooses to get an album, and that’s ok, but they’re so exquisite, it makes me extra happy when people do!

(if you’re interested in an album but aren’t sure about pricing options or what style of book you might want, please get in touch! there are a range of options and something to suit everyone!)

We got our album yesterday!!!! YEAH!!!! We love it so much and we’re keeping it for the rest of our lives…and beyond! The pages are so nice Gwyn, and of course the pictures are amazing. It’s perfect. We’re afraid to touch it, so we’re leaving it in the box for now. We don’t want to hurt it. Thanks Gwyn, I appreciate you and all the hard work you put into all our photos They’re exquisite! Love, Christy

annnnddd…here’s one of my favorite ring shots ever, from seth & jessica’s wedding.

you can see in this picture how lovely the printing is…it is detailed and vibrant…the best i’ve seen in a press-printed album yet…and i’ve ordered from several vendors…and been happy with them!
my other favorite thing about this book is how completely wonderful the texture on this paper is.  it reminds me of high-end watercolor paper.

a spread from their ride in the back of a vintage bentley.  :-D

past (or future!) clients…send me an email if you’re interested in one of these books.  they’re AMAZING quality, and they’re more affordable than you’d think!

this is just to let past clients, current clients, and possible future clients know that in 2 weeks i am going to be forced to raise my album prices  due to increased cost from my album supplier.  i will honour the current prices for 2 more weeks, so if you KNOW you want an album, you may either order a design i’ve already shown you, or pay a deposit on a design in order to lock in the current prices.

please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions!

and because this is a photography blog, here’s a picture:

fast forward to today…my good friend matthew emailed me because his wife becky’s laptop is a mac. he knows i know more about macs and photo editing software than he does. matthew also loves google and all its (well, really “his”) minions, but unfortunately, picasa doesn’t work on macs. (which, incidentally, is false information. it DOES work on macs, but only the newer intel macs.

so i flexed my fingers and began googling. and i hit the jackpot!

i’m posting this here because i do semi-regularly get questions from other photographers, friends or clients about cameras, lenses, photo-processing…and i thought this might help someone else.

first i guess i’ll mention the software i use, the price, how i use it, and then the FREE alternative.

adobe photoshop lightroom (LR): $299 (less if you qualify for an educational discount!)  i shoot in RAW format, which is sort of like film in that i have a negative that needs to be processed before it’s in any sort of usable state.  i import all of my photos into this extremely powerful program, use the library mode to decide which are keepers and which aren’t, and then i do exposure and colour adjustments in the develop mode.  probably THE main reason i love LR so much is that it is geared toward batch processing…i can do individual tweaks, or i can apply the same change to 500 images with one click.  there are entire books written about this program, so i’m going to just leave you with the free alternative.  blue marine

adobe photoshop (PS):  $699 (less if you qualify for an educational discount!)  this is the gold standard for digital image manipulation.  again, books upon books have been written, and there’s basically no limit to what can be done w this program.  i use it mostly for retouching and sharpening…giving images that extra bit o’ love.  this blog post lists several free alteratives, which platform they work on (mac vs windows), and what their strengths are.

i’ve heard good things about iphoto and picasa, which are both included/free.  i am a mac girl, so i started off using iphoto, and immediately fell in deep, deep hatred.  now, when i get a new computer, the first thing i do is delete it.  that said…i have different priorities and do different things w/ my photos than an average user, and it IS pretty intuitive and well-organised (except for saving 17 versions of a photo if you make 1 measly little change thereby eating up hard drive space.)

in digital photography, the software used is a huge part of the overall process.  working on an image after you release the shutter can take it from “eh” to “wow!”, and having the right tools makes that a much more pleasurable process.  the really good tools cost a lot of money, so if you’re just an enthusiast w/o a trump-budget, hopefully these free programs will enrich your photographic experience!

if anyone has any geek-side-of-photography related questions…leave ‘em in the comments, and i’ll either answer them there, or write another post.

i love albums.  i think they’re fantastic, and i have an album company whose materials make me drool.  i’ve got a few samples that i show to every couple i meet with…and they drool, too.

but that’s as far as i go with trying to sell albums.  why?  because they are a LOT of work.  i have been designing every single layout from a blank page in photoshop.  and that takes a loooooong time.  and even though i want people to have these beautiful albums, the dozens of hours it takes me to create them never quite leaves my mind, and i can’t bring myself to be as enthused as i think i should.

i think that is all about to change.

i just purchased software called photojunction…it is album design software, and i think it’s going to change my life.  i prefer really clean, geometric album layouts.  i’ve seen people use flourishes and overlays…i’ve seen it done well, and i’ve seen it done REALLY POORLY.  the great thing about PJ is that i can create layouts that i love, and i can SAVE them…so next time i have a group of photos that i think will fit together in a similar fashion…half the work is already done for me!

today i finished sara & rob’s amazing gloucester wedding, and i immediately started designing their album.  what used to take me, oh, about 3 months of morning till night slaving (shhhh, i know that’s hyperbole), only took me a few hours.

do you hear that?  oh, it’s just a choir of angels singing the hallelujah chorus…don’t mind them.

check out these first few layouts:

there were a couple things that weren’t immediately intuitive (you know, because ALL software USUALLY is…), and it was frustrating that i couldn’t import ONE file at a time…(though it did say that i could…it just didn’t work.)

anyway, a new day has dawned, and i am very excited!

i’m excited to announce that you may now purchase prints with your hand-dandy plastic (or paypal.)

========
also, for clients whose events i haven’t photographed yet…if you’re interested in having a gift registry set-up, please contact me!  it’s an option which would allow your friends and relatives to give you gifts toward your photos (or albums, or digital negatives.)

It’s not really possible to take photos of a print and do it any justice, but at the request of a portrait client (who has an amazing, beautiful, and artistic idea…I’ll be posting photos once it’s been executed, but I’m REALLY excited about it!) I snapped a couple shots.

the quality and texture of prints on canvas is incredible! and they come gallery wrapped so they’re ready to hang. canvases are certainly not budget items, but they make your photos works of art, that I guarantee will cause visitors to your home to say, “wow!”

(past clients, email me if you’re interested in purchasing a canvas.)