why are PHOTO ALBUMS so expensive?

Yada, ask your photographer how much it will cost to receive your photos on disc. My photographer is including our digital pics and I'll have a book printed myself. Shutterfly.com offers the service. I'm sure there's plenty others I just haven't looked into it yet. I would absolutely not pay $500 for an album.

If you have high resolution digital copies of the wedding pics then you can make your own on Shutterfly. My mom clipped a magazine article about website photo books and Shutterfly was the overall winner. It said that a 20 page 8 1/2 by 11 inch hardcover book was about $42

I think it depends on the type of album and the editing time involved. I hate the new flush mount albums so mine may cost more because I want a classic mounted album. It also depends on what material the actual album is made out of.

Ok Libragurl. Translation on aisle 5 please! LOL What is this flush mount vs classic mount?

Classic mount are actual printed photos that are mounted in an album. Flush mount are sometimes called storybook albums and it's like each page is a digital photo itself.

Lol.....thanks konichiwa....sorry lady lee!

Ohhhhhhh ok gotcha! I guess I hadn't really thought that much about it. I saw a coffee table photo album at a recent bridal show and it was FABULOUS! It was a 12x12 leather bound album. "Story book" but I thought it was very nice. It just comes down to preference I guess.

If you can get a digital release, you can use a site like blurb.com, and get a professional quality book made for like $60. That's what I'm doing!

Yes, I really like them also! When I spoke with my photog about them he told me that with the storybook album it would include more pictures but I'd have less say about the over book. He said you pic 70-100 pics and then the album company uses computer software to place the images. How many they use is kinda decided by the program. Some pics will actually be larger on the pages and may get 'cut' down the middle by the seam. You will get 1-2 editing copies that you can ask them to change certain things but it's over all less interactive.

Yes, I get the photos on a cd and get a digital release. That is why I am interested in these other sites. I will check out shutterfly and blurb.com. Any others?

My comment above was aimed at ladylee and libra, not analy's comment about blurb! =)

Kodak.com also offers this. And so do company's like Walgreens.com

The article my mom clipped also mentioned 2 other sites, cvsphotocenter.com was for value (had less options but was inexpensive at $25 for 20 pg 8x11) and ourhubbub.com won for most versitile (this was because it gave you the most creative control, but could also mean it will take longer to create. Is about $45 for 8x11)

Great topic! i can't wait to check out some of these other sites

Picaboo.com looks really cool too. They have a special offer right now where u get a free book when you order one.

Am not really big on having a fancy photoalbum, so I'm going the DIY route.

You can try www.mypublisher.com and a bride on here (Sachelle?) suggested www.hotprints.com The albums are small, but you can get 1 free each month.

If you're computer design savvy, you can go with Adobe InDesign (used for magazine layouts) or Photoshop.

Places like blurb and mypublisher do create good "albums". But their quality can't compare to the types that professional photographers offer.

I've seen the blurb albums, and although they look nice, their pages are too thin and too easy to tear. I also doubt how long those books will last. The high end albums that the professionals deliver will last you a lifetime. The ones you get from online websites will most likely not survive 10-20 years.

Oh..you can also ask around other photographers to quote for album making. Most places will be more than happy to design an album for you if you have the pictures.

So if you look around, maybe you can find some other photographer that will charge you less than your photographer..

But the "you get what you pay for" still occasionally applies. I have seen some "professional albums" that are pretty sad looking, so make sure you see a sample of an actual album to make sure the quality and look is the kind you want.

I guess it invole some photo design,i.e. put 2 or more photos in 1 photo. It take time to post process.

They are pricey, but i agree that you usually get what you pay for. if a book is impoortant to yo i would highly siggest going through a professional. a lot of times they will let you have a book made alittle later down the line as well. so that maybe you dont want to pay for it right up front, but maybe 6 months later, once you have gotten over the wedding expenses, you can have it made then. if its not that important to you, then i would have it made by some of the other sites.