Entries Tagged as 'Photo Book Creation'

Be Your Own Publisher with Printed Photo Books

Creating, printing and distributing a photo book is a great way for a photographer to build their brand, bring their work to new audiences, grow their business and more. But getting a publishing company to foot the bill can be incredibly challenging if not downright impossible, especially for up-and-coming photographers that don’t have the necessary reputation to shoot for a book deal. But don’t give up your dreams of seeing your images in print! A professionally printed photo book is a great alternative.

Professional printers use only the best quality printers and printing equipment to produce the highest quality products. This is the biggest distinction between professional and consumer printers. Professional photographers know that the type of printer and ink used can greatly affect the final print, sometimes producing an image that isn’t exactly what they expected. Professional printing services make sure that what you send out for printing is exactly what you get back.

Another benefit of using a professional printing service is that you are in control of the process. You are in charge of design and layout so your vision isn’t compromised by a third party editor. Professional printing services have customer service representatives on-hand to guide you through their photo book design software so you get exactly what you were looking for in a photo book.

You can print as many copies or as few as you want of your photo book, so you don’t have to worry about being stuck with dozens of unsold photo books. You can print one or two and use them as your portfolio or print a dozen and sell them out of your studio. The choice is up to you.

Quality Counts for Professional Photographers

People choose to hire a professional photographer because they come with the whole package: the camera and lighting equipment, the creative talent and the expertise. These three factors and more add up to truly beautiful photos are that practically guaranteed to be better than anything your clients could have produced on their own. Clients expert a certain (and very high) level of professionalism and quality from professional photographers and you can’t afford to let them down. That’s why it is important to work with other service providers that understand the needs and expectations of a professional photographer.

If you are looking into printed photo books (whether as an add-on for clients, a new way to showcase your work, market your business and more) a professional printing service is the only way to go.

Professional printers understand that quality is critical. That why professional photo book printing services only use the best quality materials and printing equipment and procedures. The everyday photographer might not be aware, but the professional photographer knows that the tonality and color of an image can be dramatically altered by the type and quality of paper it is printed on, as well as the ink. Professional photo book printers do everything to guarantee that the images sent over by photographers are accurately reproduced.

Professional photo books are also stitched together, as opposed to a glued binding. This helps your photo book last longer and hold up against wear and tear. Photographers should never have to worry that their portfolio is about to fall apart while a potential client is flipping through!

If you are charging top dollar for your photography services, clients expect top dollar results. A professionally printed photo book is going to meet their expectations and support your reputation as a professional who cares about quality.

Printed Photo Books Display Your Commercial Photography

Many professional photographers earn their bread and butter by working as commercial photographers. They are the ones responsible for creating the images used in advertising campaigns, shooting magazine spreads, taking photos for menus and websites and more. If you’ve been working as a commercial photographer for some times, chances are you have a lot of work that is scattered in various magazines, on billboards, hanging in store windows and so forth. Creating a professionally printed photo book is a great way to organize and show off your work as a commercial photographer.

With professional photo books, you can create a portfolio of all your commercial photography. Since they are designed digitally, you can take larger images (like from a billboard or poster) and shrink them down to fit in the book. Now you can bring all you work with your wherever you go.

Having a professionally printed photo book also eliminates the clutter of carrying around a folder full of tear outs. You don’t have to worry about losing or ruining samples of your work. A professionally printed photo book is designed to last and only uses the highest quality materials and printing procedures.

Depending on how much experience you have as a commercial photographer, you can create several photo books, each one centering on a different theme. You can have a photo book full of all your photography that made its way into magazine and newspaper ads, a photo books that complies all of your work as a fashion photographer, and so forth. This way, you can bring the right portfolio when you are going to meet a prospective client. You can show them exactly what you have done that relates to their industry.

Choose a Professional Printing Service for Your Photo Book Production

If you’ve taken the time to sort through thousands of photos, edit the select few and design a photo book to be used for your photography studio; whether as a portfolio, value add-on for clients or marketing tool, why wouldn’t you go with a professional printing service to make the most of it? Using a professional printing service for your photo book production is the best option for any photographer who is serious about their work.

A professionally printed photo book is made using the best printing procedures, techniques and supplies available. Commercial printing services keep their prices down by using lower-quality inks, paper, printers and binding options. While there is nothing wrong with using a commercial printing service, a professional photographer should be willing to invest in a professionally designed and printed photo book.

A professionally printed photo book is going to reprint your images with much greater attention to detail than a commercial printing service. The colors are going to be exact, the shadows the way you expect them to be. If you are using a photo book as your portfolio, it’s critical that the images be an accurate representation of your work and skill level.

Professionally printed photo book also have stitched binding, as opposed to the usual glued binding of a commercially printed photo book. This means that the professional photo book is going to stand up to use and time much better than a commercial photo book. There is no fear of pages falling out while a potential client is thumbing through a much used professionally printed photo book.

A professionally printed photo book speaks to your dedication to quality and photography in general. If you take the time to produce such quality work for yourself, imagine what you can do for a client!

Photo Books – Print on Demand

One of the great and incredibly unique things about a professional printed photo book is that, once you understand the basic design process, you are in control of the printing process and can print on demand. If a client suddenly decides they want a hard copy of their favorite photos from their wedding or family portrait shoot, you can create and deliver a photo book to them in a reasonable amount of time. But a professionally printed photo book is a big step up from an envelope stuffed with pictures.

A professionally printed photo book is a much more creative way to print on demand. Not only is the quality of the images much better than that of a commercial printing service, you also get to present you clients with a beautifully bound book of those images. You can include text, reshape and resize the images and layout the book exactly the way they (or you) want it to look.

Professional printing services often have fantastic customer service representatives, so you know that when you call with a question regarding your photo book you are going to get a real answer. If you need to make design changes, more often than not it is a simple fix if the book hasn’t already been sent to print. A professional printing service wants to make your job easier, so you can give the best product to your clients.

You can also use professional printing services for yourself, not just clients. Printed photo books make great portfolios that focus on one theme or style of photography. The quick turn-around for printing time and careful design are sure to impress anyone. You’ll also be able to order additional copies of your photo book at any time, making it a great tool for selling your work in a gallery or out of your studio.

Things to Look for When Choosing a Photo Books Printer

If you’ve decided to create a professionally printed photo book for your photography business, whether as an addition of your portfolio, a price guide for clients or as an add-on to your studio packages, you need to make sure you are using the best printing services available. At the end of the day, it is your name associated with that photo book, so it needs to be something you are willing to stand behind. Choosing a professional printer over a commercial printer is the first step.

There are several things to take into consideration when choosing among the professional printers. These factors include price, quality, ease of use, processing and delivery time and customer service. If you’re making the photo book for yourself, there isn’t a huge rush on the processing and delivering time, so maybe that factor isn’t as important as price. But if the photo book is for a client, they are going to want it sooner rather than later, so maybe that has a greater impact on the company you choose.

One of the most important things when it comes to designing a photo book is how easy it is to put together. Most photo book services have some kind of software you get from them that allows you to custom design your photo book. Is that software compatible with your computer? Is it easy to understand and use? Or is the software complicated and not very user-friendly. You don’t want to have to struggle with a design program to build your photo book.

You’ll also want to work with a company that keeps a clear line of communication open between you and them. If you have a question about the status of your photo book, they should be able to answer it. If you reach out to them for help, does someone get back to you in a timely matter? A professional printing company should have customer service representatives available to help you as needed.

The benefits of using a professionally printed photo book center on a better product. Professional printers have the equipment and experience to make your photo book look great. But not all printers are the same, and it’s important to understand what makes one different from another before beginning the process.

Professional Photographers Deserve Professional Printers

The do-it-yourself photo book was a radical concept when first introduced. Suddenly, amateur photographers, even those who could barely manage a point-and-shoot camera, could turn their pictures into something much more professional looking for a much lower cost. Photo books gave the everyman the chance to enhance their family photo album, bringing it to a level usually reserved for only the most avid photo-bugs.

While there is nothing wrong with everyone being able to turn their honeymoon photos into a coffee table book, professional photographers understand that the printing of images is almost as important as the image itself.

Many commercial photo book printing services keep their costs down by using less expensive paper, inks and printing methods. While this may not matter for the average user, a professional photographer should have their images printed by a company that understands the expectations of a serious photographer. The weight, finish and type of paper can greatly affect the colors and shadows of a photograph. This means that while the printed image may be close, it is not quite what the photographer was expecting to get. The same can be said for the quality of ink and printing machines used.

Average printing procedures produce average prints, and clients do not come to a professional for average. They come to you because you have the skills to do something they can’t. They want the shots that only someone with your talent and knowledge can produce. A professional photo book demonstrates to your clients that you take every aspect of photography into account. You wouldn’t show up to a wedding with a disposable camera, so why print your images in a less-than-perfect photo book.

Companies that produce professionally printed photo books often use stitched binding, as opposed to glued. Stitched binding is much more durable and holds up to heavy use, so pages are less likely to fall out over time. These companies don’t sacrifice quality for cost, so while they are more expensive than a commercial printing service, you can be guaranteed of the outcome. Professional printing companies produce photo books that are deserving displays for your work.

Put Yourself Ahead of Others With Printed Photo Books

When you are looking for the opportunity to grow your photography business, one of the things that you are going to want to make sure of is that you are doing all that you can to create a solid and lasting impression of the work that you do.

With printed photo books, you’re going to find that you are able to focus on showcasing your best work in a way that ensures that your work stands out more than it would with a conventional portfolio.

With printed photo books, you’re going to find that you are able to:

  • Focus on the theme of your work – and to choose a theme that “fits” for the gallery, client or customer
  • Include other relevant information – sometimes, you’ll find that it’s important to tell the story behind the picture as well
  • Create the focal point that you want your prospects to see
  • Whether you are looking to get your work shown in a new gallery or you are focused on booking another professional shoot, you will find that printed photo books make it so that you are able to make the best first impression, and to be sure that you are able to get a foot in the door so that you’re that much closer to achieving your goals.

    Add Color into Your Photo Books

    There are always new trends in photography, fads that come in and out. One thing that remains true is that black and white photography is timeless, but adding color, especially into a photo book that you are using as a marketing piece, adds that wow factor, making images pop.

    Some may say that selective coloring is a fad gone by, but there is something I love about a black and white image, with just a hint of color, whether it is a bridal bouquet, or a tree in the background of a black and white subject. It just adds interest and pizzazz.

    When designing a photo book, remember to keep a balance of images, black and whites and color shots of your best images arranged in a way that shows your potential client that you are the photographer they want. Showing your creativity with a few shots that include the latest fads, isn’t a bad idea, that shows people you are up with the times. However, be cautious not to over do it. The key is moderation, and creativity balanced with traditionalism.

    Of course you don’t want to get caught up in the current fad, as some clients don’t want that sort of thing because it “dates” their photos, they like the idea of classic, timeless photographs capturing their greatest memories.

    Photo Book Layout Ideas

    If you are doing your photo book layout design on your own and are wondering where to begin, you’ll want to consider the following three layout ideas that will help to make your images pop.

    Two Page Spread
    A two page spread is a great way to showcase great landscapes, mountain ranges or even a happy couple standing on the beach soon after their wedding. When dramatic moments need to be frozen in time and celebrated for what they are; when your images need to speak for themselves, give them the attention they deserve.

    Photo Montage
    Maybe you’ll use smaller versions of all of the included photos on the cover of your photo book; maybe you’ll use a montage at the beginning and end of the book. Maybe you’ll use three smaller images along with a larger photo on the page. Grouping related photos can be a way of unifying them; it can also be an effective way of adding more images to the layout.

    Photo book layout is largely based on your preference, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a reason why an image comes before or after another. Be sure that you’re thinking of the story when you decide on a photo book layout.