There are so many photographic products, it is sometimes difficult to decide what to use your images for. And while I didn’t plan to cover everything here, I did want to highlight some popular items and discuss the advantage of a bigger (or smaller) one.
Indulge me. 🙂
Photo Prints: Still the most popular choice to show and share your portrait/wedding images. Yes, even more popular than digital files (which many photographers do not offer anyway). There are sizes ranging from mini-wallets (about 1.5×2.5 inches) to wall murals (6×10 feet and larger). But the most common middle size is still the 8×10 and the most common “wall size” is 24×30 or 24×36… at least at TLC.
How big you go depends on how you’re going to use it. A 24×36″ canvas print sitting on your desk isn’t very practical, but an 8×10 on a large wall is quite nearly worth ignoring (almost as if you’d decided that the picture really wasn’t useful to you, so you had it printed small – sad). And honestly, now we have the ability to show you print “clusters”, which incorporate three or more images arranged in such a way that are both attractive and functional. Ask us about print clusters to see what I mean.
But back to size for a moment. If you have a family portrait done, do you want to see faces in the picture you hang on the wall? If you do, then you need a portrait print that is sized for the wall and room where the picture will be. An 8×10″ is out… period. An 11×14″ is okay for 2-3 people, and a 16×20″ is a minimum size for 4-5 people. You may want to go larger still if the photo contains a lot of surrounding area. And anything more than six people should be printed on a 20×24″ or larger.
We won’t pressure you, of course… we don’t do that. But with our display software, we can show you the difference between an 11×14″ print and a 20×24″ on our projection wall. Ask to see it.
Albums: There is nothing quite like the feeling of opening your wedding or portrait album and having all those emotions of the day come rushing back. Whether you’re getting an album for a gift or for yourself, there’s no question that there are tons of options for these books. In addition to the traditional styles of leather covers, there are also multi-covering type of books, fabrics in a variety of colors, and much more. Now we are giving you the opportunity to decide what kind of paper to use inside the book (such as linen or art paper). And in addition to the traditional-type album, there are also coffee-table books which combine a thinner footprint with the high-end beauty of a big album.
The “traditional” size of an album is 10×10″. Square seems to be the norm for most people. But we are also offering 11×14″ albums for not much more. Most people aren’t thinking about getting a large book from their portrait session. But if you can’t put prints on your wall, or you want something to keep close at hand when you’re out of the house, a carry album (4×6″) or small portrait album (8×8″) is the “right size” for most people.
We offer a variety of album styles, including coffee table books (which are the most popular type of album we have available). In addition to eight fabric colors and styles, there is also a photo cover available, and you can get that in a photo canvas that wraps around the entire book cover… it’s beautiful. Sizes from 4×6″ and up are available, and most of our albums are laid out by Diana for that custom-look you want from your images.
Albums are available for sittings, weddings, and more.
Ask about a free consultation to discuss not only your print and album choices, but also to review what you expect from your session and what we can do for you.