Rhiannon’s “Talking About Weddings”

I was looking at wedding forums yesterday and happened upon a discussion about wedding albums. The bride was asking what the difference was between a Coffee Table Book and a Magazine Style Album. From what people said in their replies to the bride’s question, I realized there is a lot of confusion out there about wedding albums. So I’ll quickly go over different styles and some tips on choosing the right kind of album for you.

Wedding Album Styles

Traditional Ones

• Binder A Binder album is the kind you most likely have hundreds of. It can have any kind of cover, but inside it’s typically a three ring binder with plastic sheets with various sizes of plastic pockets to insert your pictures.

• Bound or Matted These albums are bound, like a book (no three ring binders) and have matting around the pictures (not plastic). The photographs may or may not be mounted to the album pages (but all are “framed” by matting). If the pictures aren’t mounted, the album has “slip in mats”. The look is the same, but the price might be different (slip in matting usually being cheaper). This style is still popular with traditional brides and parents, but most contemporary photographers aren’t working with this style as much these days.

  Modern/Contemporary Ones

• Flush Mount This is more of a term than an album style; I’ll try to explain. Flush albums have smooth, “flush” pages. No plastic, no matting, etc. Unfortunately this term “flush mount” is used to describe many different albums and styles. If you are considering a photographer who has a “Flush Mount Album” for much less than another photographer, you will need to visually compare what each photographer is calling a “Flush Mount Album”. A “Flush Mount Album” could be a bound album that the photographer “glues” your pictures in. So if the album is an 8X10 album, each page holds one 8×10 picture that your photographer sticks in. There is no matting and it’s bound so it’s “flush”. A “Flush Mount Album” could also be much “fancier” where the images are printed directly onto the album’s pages (so no “gluing” the pictures in).
• Coffee Table or Art Books These albums are the second, “fancier” kind of “Flush Mount Albums”. They have a variety of cover styles (from leather to metal to horse hair!) and are bound (either hard or soft spine). Their appearance resembles that of a book, hence the name. The image layouts inside are digitally designed (design styles vary greatly among photographers). Here’s a sample of our album design.

• Magazine Style This style is very similar to Coffee Table Books and Art Books, with the main difference being the pages, binding and cover are thinner (so it’s more like a magazine). Please note: Many photographers call all “Flush Mount Albums” “Magazine Style”.

  These aren’t the only types of albums or names given to wedding albums, but these are the most popular styles and most common names used. To see some samples from the company we use click here.

  Which Style is Best for You?

  First, find at least three photographers whose work you love and look over their album styles. You will find that you are drawn to one style over another (hopefully you and your fiance agree on styles). Next, consider pricing. Ask the photographer(s) (with the style of albums you like) how much they cost. If they are out of your price range ask about smaller sizes, similar and less expensive materials/styles. Ask if you can purchase an album six months or a year after your wedding (when you will have more money).

  You might also consider getting a couple of albums. Many couples are getting both contemporary and traditional albums, because they love both styles!

  

  This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 24th, 2006 at 1:11 pm and is filed under General Information, Photography, Wedding Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.