Folio Albums… The Standard Album

Whether you are new to the album side of the photography business, or whether you are looking to get a new sample album and feel spoilt for choices – this blog post is a result of the many queries we receive about our ‘standard album’.

Lately we have found that more and more of our customers want to know about the most popular album that we sell, and what would be a typical album, or typical order, for us to receive.

Since wedding season and trade-show season can sometimes run seamlessly together in terms of workflow, we wanted to put a little post together to show the most popular album orders that we see to provide a starting point for any orders you are wanting to place.

 

The Sample Album

The Sample Album orders that we receive do show a noticeable trend, and it is quite surprising how many photographers from the length and breadth of the country order samples with similar specifications.

 The Wedding Sample

 The Main Album:

  • 12×12
  • Art White paper
  • Contemporary Leather Jade cover [but Eco Leather Wedgwood is quickly becoming a contender for the crown]
  • 20 spreads
  • Studio Logo on the back, bottom, middle [debossing remains popular as our original cover text option, but engraving is quickly catching up]

 The Main Sample Album Packaging:

Most customers still have our standard packaging of the white cotton bag, and the cardboard presentation box. However, we are seeing a growing trend towards our newer upgrade packaging options:

  • 12×12 upgrade album bag in Summer Spray
  • 12×12 Bamboo Box with Studio Logo engraving

The Mini Copy Sample Album:

  • Art White paper
  • 20 spreads
  • Canvas Stone or Chalk [it’s quite ‘neck and neck’ at the moment]
  • Engraved Studio Logo back, bottom, centre
 The Mini Copy Packaging:
  • 6×6 upgrade album bag in Rosebud

 

The Portrait Sample

 The Main Album:

  • 10×10
  • Art White paper
  • Eco Leather Lipstick cover [with Colour Cotton Apple / Dusty Pink for children shoots second]
  • 20 spreads
  • Front cover text of family name
  • Studio Logo on the back, bottom, middle [engraving is gaining in popularity for adding a modern twist to portrait albums]

 The Main Sample Album Packaging:

Again, the standard packaging is still in the lead, however the upgrade option which is becoming a noticeable contender is:

  • 10×10 upgrade album bag in Rosebud [with Deckchair as a popular choice for children portrait books]

The Mini Copy Sample Album:

  • Art White paper
  • 20 spreads
  • Canvas Duck Egg
  • Engraved cover text of family name
  • Engraved Studio Logo back, bottom, centre
 The Mini Copy Packaging:
  • 6×6 upgrade album bag in Deckchair

 

The Boudoir Sample

 The Main Album:

  • 8×8
  • Art Cotton paper
  • Silk Aubergine, or Hot Pink cover
  • 18 spreads
  • Engraved Studio Logo on the back, bottom, middle

 The Main Sample Album Packaging:

The upgrade packaging options are quite popular for adding that ‘something extra’ to boudoir albums, our current trends show that the most popular designer bag for boudoir packages is:

  • 8×8 upgrade album bag in Rosebud

The Mini Copy Sample Album:

  • Art White paper
  • 20 spreads
  • Canvas Wine
  • Engraved Studio Logo back, bottom, centre
 The Mini Copy Packaging:
  • 6×6 upgrade album bag in Rosebud

Hopefully this has provided a starting point for looking at any new samples that you are wanting to order, or any packages that you were wanting to put together.

The Main Album orders that we see do have a very similar trend to the Sample Albums – after all, when you are selling the albums to your brides / couples / families, they are going to remember and love the album that you show to them. The covers do change a little more in Main Albums, naturally the colour scheme of the wedding can come into play, and we see a lot more personalised Photo-Cotton covers.

Parent albums can also show more diversity when they are ordered for clients. Whilst the Canvas covered 6×6 Mini Copies are our biggest duplicate seller, we do see a number of orders where the parents of the bride or groom want a main album of their own, with a bespoke design using images that they chose.

Hopefully this post will provide a sound-board for any album orders that you need to place, and will help you to navigate the minefield of what album specifications to go for with your first order.