Our culture is obsessed with taking pictures these days, everything from key life moments to something as mundane as eating breakfast seems to get captured. While most of these pictures are destined for the digital world, there is something special about physical photos. A photo album might seem outdated today, but these physical wedding photos make reliving your special day so much easier. Wedding photo albums are something that will be cherished for years to come, so here are our wedding photographers tips on how to create the perfect one.
1. Put Photos in Chronological Order
Regular photo albums are thrown together in random order, but for a wedding album take the time to organize them by the order of events. When the photos follow the chronological events of the day it makes it so much easier to remember the day and relive it. By placing them in order you’re retelling the story of your wedding.
While our Toronto wedding photographers capture a lot of shots on the big day, it’s perfectly okay to add some photos of the days leading up. Including special key moments such as the proposal, engagement photos, rehearsal dinner, and more make it more special and detailed. Another great reason to put the wedding photos in chronological order is that it will make friends and family who couldn’t make it feel as if they’re experiencing it as it really unfolded.
2. Use Different Sizes and Arrangements
If you take a look at your parents’ wedding album, chances are all of the photos are the same size. This was typical of the time. These days having the same sizes and layout arrangements are too boring and limiting. By switching up the sizes and arrangements you can call attention to the most important moments.
Key photos such as walking down the aisle or the first kiss deserve their own pages. Let those special moments stand on their own. Bridal party shots or reception shots can be posts together on pages in mixed sizes to interest. Don’t be afraid to play around with the layout to get the best one!
3. Remember to Consider Spread
Regular books are read one page at a time, but wedding albums are different. Each page turn presents an entirely new spread over two pages. When looking at a wedding album people take in the two pages open before them as a whole. So when you’re arranging it remember to consider the two pages as one.
A good way to have a nice looking spread it to keep the style or content consistent. So don’t have one page of the spread be a color photo and the other side’s photos in black and white for example. You want the album to flow smoothly!
4. Limit Captions
Captions are great; they help explain the context or record key information. In a wedding album, they can be distracting though, taking away from the beautiful photos. A picture is worth a thousand words, and wedding photos are worth a million. So resist the temptation to clutter it up with captions. We promise you’ll remember most of the information from the image alone.
There are exceptions when captions are nice or necessary though. If there’s a photo of the bride and groom laughing during a toast maybe include the line that brought it on. Large group shots may also benefit from a caption listing everyone in the image.
5. Include Everyone
Our wedding photographers will take a lot of beautiful photos, and many clients struggle to narrow down their favorites. Luckily these days everything can be kept digitally. The wedding album is for the best of the best! A good way to help narrow down the photos is to make sure everyone important is featured in at least one photo.
This tip is especially helpful if you plan on sharing the wedding album with family or friends. Some clients give out copies to close family or members of the bridal party. Including everyone is also a nice way to recognize the important role they played in celebrating your happy day.
