TRADITIONAL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PACKAGE v's DIY PHOTO ALBUM

A popular topic amongst brides in wedding forums is often between brides choosing a traditional wedding photography package where the wedding photo album is inclusive and provided by their photographer v's the brides wanting to go DIY (do it yourself) with their wedding photo album. The wedding photography industry has become so competitive that the resulting choices and combinations of wedding album packages and photography prices tend to vary in extremes. It is possible to find reasonable cheap wedding photography nowadays. Some wedding photographers include a wedding album package in their price list whilst others do not necessarily include wedding albums giving the couple the option to DIY their own wedding album and portraits

Even with this large diversity of choice, there remains largely false a perception held by many wedding couples to be, that wedding photographers are overcharging for their services and that the prices of a full blown wedding photo packages that include a wedding photo album are too high. In fairness to professional wedding photographers, it must be said that photographic production costs and general overheads of running a photography studio, not to mention the direct costs associated with providing a complete wedding photography package and professional grade album, can also be relatively high. All things considered, most wedding photography businesses make very modest returns when compared to other businesses. The cost of a wedding photo album is often perceived as exorbitant; just one of those additional costs that can be cut down within the wedding budget. This may be partially due to the fact that wedding couples are are now a little more informed about having DIY ( Do It Yourself ) options available to print and produce their own wedding albums and photo books.

Changes in the wedding photography market, advances in camera technology and cheaper printing options have changed market attitudes. These changes have resulted in an increase in couples opting for DIY. Some wedding couples still regard professional photography as an important priority but try to cut costs on the wedding photo album. Whilst on the other hand there are the couples that try and do away with the professional photographer altogether. The former scenario just described is becoming very popular, whilst the latter has increased somewhat in popularity but could be argued to be somewhat unwise.

With all these changes in the wedding photography industry it understandable that many wedding photographers have responded to demand trends. These wedding photographers have adapted their business model and are now selling the wedding photography originals, be they negatives (negs) or hi resolution digital images. Wedding couples looking to purchase the originals usually do so for one of two reasons. Firstly they may wish to reproduce their own photographic images or prints. Many couples believe that they can cut their wedding photography costs by purchasing negatives or hi resolution digital images and taking the steps required to complete what would have traditionally been the wedding package by printing the wall prints, reprint photographs and wedding album. Secondly the wedding couple may wish to purchase the originals simply for the peace of mind of knowing that the wedding photography originals will always be safe.

Purchasing the negatives or hi resolution digital images for the purposes of producing a DIY wedding photo album or reprints in order to cut costs can work well for some couples. As with everything, there are the pros and the cons. Once upon a time the practice of a wedding photographer selling the original negs (negatives) or hi resolution digital images to wedding couple would have been viewed by most middle to top end professional wedding photographers as a characteristic of the 'backyarder' operating at the bottom end wedding photography market. Although traditionalist wedding photographers would still hold these views, there is a new trend emerging as many professional wedding studios are adapting to demand by incorporating new options and alternatives with wedding photography packages, to cater for a changing market.

If you do go down the DIY path by making up an album yourself, remember that simply possessing your wedding photography images, be they the negatives or hi resolution digital images does not necessarily solve everything. Once the photographer or photography studio sells those negatives or hi resolution digital images, you need to know how to use them. If you simply want to print your wedding photos at a retail photographic outlet, this will not be great issue to you. However if your intentions are to produce albums, prints, enlargements close to a professional result as possible by using those originals to their fullest potential, you also need at the very least to have a grasp and knowledge of professional processing and printing options at your disposal. In the case of digital photo printing there is an article on this site. First and foremost you need to consider whether you want a professional album, just like or similar to the ones found on the price list of a professional photo package. Sourcing a professional album could be one of your greatest hurdles, as many of the manufacturers will only sell to professionals.

The viability of the do it yourself wedding photography option (DIY) will vary with the needs of each individual couple. For example, it may or may not be viable for a wedding couple to make their own photo album depending on their requirements for the size and amount of reprints and re-orders that they require. Other important considerations would include the abilities of each couple to competently finish the project to it's completion. All these considerations should be determined beforehand if possible. So if you are considering deciding between DIY or a traditional wedding photography package, you need to give careful consideration and conduct a little research to see which one would best suit you. Going for a complete photo and album package with your photographer can represent good value for money as, in most cases, there is a great deal of post production work that wedding photography studios undertake when producing the wedding album and photo reprints that is never seen. Professional photographers and studios use professional photo laboratories for processing or imaging. Professional photographers send printing orders out to the photo lab, scrutinize color balances making sure that the images or photographs on a particular page are balanced to one another and send the reject pictures back to the photo lab if required. Sometimes an image requires custom printing or digital manipulation to rectify imperfections; in such cases a professional would know what is required and would instruct the photo lab to custom print the image accordingly. Professional wedding photographers posses the skills to aid you in the album order process when you are choosing your proofs. They know what their intentions were when they were shooting those small detail shots that help personalize your day and how they should be placed on your album page. In some cases (certainly not in all cases) a properly trained professional photographer will have a good sense of color balance that would aid not only to evaluate the finished printing but also in the coordination of photographs on pages or layouts.

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TRADITIONAL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PACKAGE Vs DIY WEDDING PHOTO ALBUM

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