Tips from the Pros

Shooting with Album Design in Mind

Guest post from Esther + Nathan Ziegler of Ziegler Photography:

We can divide the time we have been wedding photographers into two distinct time periods. Turns out, the dividing line is the day we decided offering albums as part of our photography collection.

 

Bride and groom natural light photo by Ziegler Photography

 

Before we were a full-service photography business and offered high-end heirloom products, we gave our clients the oh-so-sought-after digitals, and lots of them! We were content to only offer digital files for such a long time because our clients thought that was all they wanted.

 

 Bride and groom photo by Ziegler Photography

 

Bride and groom photo by Ziegler Photography

 

Turns out, part of being a professional photographer is educating your client about the importance of a wedding album and reminding them that they should be walking away from their experience with a classic heirloom that can be treasured and passed down from generation to generation.

 

First look wedding photo album spread by Ziegler Photography

We can remember the tension we experienced like it was yesterday. We 100% felt that we needed to start offering albums, but we also felt completely intimidated by the whole process. How will this change our workflow? Would we be good at designing an album? How would this change our pricing? What company should we choose? SO. MANY. QUESTIONS (and doubts!).

Wedding photo album spread by Ziegler Photography

Bride and bouquet photos in wedding photo album spread

 

Now, all of our wedding collections include an heirloom photo album, and all our our product-related fears have faded away. If you are a wedding photographer and have never viewed one of your weddings in an album, you need to do it. Cross that line. Put all that hard work you do into something beautiful and tangible.

 

First dance wedding photo album spread by Ziegler Photography

I can say with confidence that if you are a good wedding photographer, you’re a good album designer. You just don’t know it yet. Your artistic point of view will shine through and take over, just as it does when you’re capturing wedding day bliss.  

 

Wedding day detail spread in wedding photo album

 

The only thing you need to do differently is to shoot with album design in mind. This is accomplished best when you have two photographers. We are a husband and wife team, which we feel gives us a unique ability to be two lead shooters.

 

We have photographed over 100 wedding days together and with that experience, we can communicate what the other person needs with just a look. If we encounter an unexpected situation, we have the ability to anticipate what the other person will get. We know our work inside-out.

 

Bride and groom photo by Ziegler Photography

 

Bride and groom photo by Ziegler Photography

 

Here are the typical shots that we expect from each other during a ceremony:

 

Wedding ceremony shot list for Nathan, part of husband and wife photography team

Wedding ceremony photos in wedding photo album spread

 

Wedding ceremony photos from both angles, in wedding photo album spread by Ziegler Photography

 

Wedding ceremony shot list for Esther, part of husband and wife photography team

 

Ceremony photo spread in wedding photo album

Bride and groom photos by Ziegler Photography

Outside of the ceremony, we can separate when the bride and groom separate. We don’t miss a moment. The bride and groom experience a lot of their wedding day apart from each other and photographing their unique perspectives is important to us.

 

 

Groomsmen wedding photo album spread by Ziegler Photography

 

Bride and bridesmaids getting ready wedding photo album spread by Ziegler Photography

 

When you take all of your individual shots from a wedding and design it into a visually appealing story it takes those same images and adds so much value to your work.

 

So if you’re thinking about making a change in the new year and offering high-end photo albums to your wedding clients, I can promise you: you will not regret it! 

 

 

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