We live in a complete digital world right now. It's both a blessing and a curse. Since I was young, I've always been online. Ask my friends in high school, I was voted the Facebook queen every year for those superlative awards. It's really been great to me in advertising and getting my name out there, but lately I've been trying to sit back a little and embrace life in the real world.
Being able to deliver my photos to clients within a few weeks of their wedding is my favourite thing in the world. I hear about couples waiting months to get their photos back, and that doesn't even make sense to me in this era. Especially with PASS too; the moment I'm done, they have them. No waiting for a CD or USB to come in the mail.
The thing I've noticed in the era of digital photos, is that they often never turn into something tangible! Ever since I started taking over from my mom being the photographer in the family, our family photo albums have stopped. Everything is on the computer and never gets looked at again. The way we share and use photos online is satisfying, but it won't stand the test of time. Every few years, and by that usually it's at least five, my mom forces me to go through my computer and put in a couple hundred dollar print order.
When you want to relive your wedding day, you're not going to walk around with your laptop and go through a Facebook gallery. When your grandchildren want to see pictures of you at your wedding, they don't pull out a dusty hard drive to view them on an old outdated computer. Because who says that hard drive will even work on the computers that are out in 2073.
Computer photos won't let you open it at ease after a fight and make you fall in love all over again. You're investing so much in your photography itself. Those photos deserve to be preserved in a medium that is easily accessible and does your photos justice. It's a big decision and investment, so get the most out of it.
I completely understand that a quality wedding album, like that most professional photographers offer, is QUITE the investment, often being at least $1,000. But I can tell you that it is nothing like it anywhere else. I have made books through Blurb myself before, and although I love them for holiday snapshots, it's not what I want holding my wedding photos. Companies with lifetime manufacture warranty often only accept orders from professional photographers and can't compare to anything that you can order on the consumer level.
Keep in mind these albums are such an investment simply because they are worth that much in their quality as opposed to photographers ridiculously marking them up for profit. I price my albums because I want every couple to be able to have one, not for profit. I know it's easier said than done, but I try to tell my couples not to consider this as part of their wedding budget. It's not part of your wedding day, it's a family heirloom.
Even if it seems like investing in an album is still something you can't do right now. consider saving up so that you can come back and invest later. Even if your wedding day has come and gone, it's always something that you can come back to.
Here's a little taste of that these gorgeous heirloom pieces look like. Here's a couple shots from a recent sample of mine. If you're a wedding photographer and have never looked at KISS Books, I HIGHLY recommend doing so now.
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