How important are photo albums? :)

A wedding album is your legacy. After your wedding is over, your flowers are dead, your cake is long gone, and your wedding day is a lot of amazing memories, your photos are the only thing that you have to cherish. Your wedding photos are something in life that become priceless. Do not think that you can just get the files and do an album later. In 10 years shooting weddings, I have never yet had a couple come back after their wedding to buy an album, which is sad. An album is so special, and will outlast you. You don't need technology to open an album. Without technology, your didgital photos are nothing more than a memory. Print your photos!!! 

Most couple these days have gone from wanting digital files, to also printing albums.

Owning an album is really personal choice. At the end of the day it is nice to have a gorgeous hand crafted record of your day in print. Over time an album will increase in sentimental value and can be handed down through generations. It is a record of a significant event in your life. Some argue albums are never looked at but I can tell you over time you will laugh and treasure those special moments. So I give my clients the option.

Wedding Photo albums are important if you want to have your images easy to access and look at at any time, and by anyone. Traditional albums are not so important, but modern photo books are a great option that allows you to make a large, special one for yourselves as well as smaller ones for your parents, as a lovely momento of the day. Photo books are cheaper to create and print, so more economical as well.

If you are not after an album that's up to you. With today's technology and safe storage of photographic image files, you can always make one later on. There is absolutely no reason why you can't stagger your wedding photography purchases, and spread out your expenses as well. 

Why not ask your photographer about what is possible, within your budget and get an idea of how you can display your wedding day memories in the way that suits you best.

I personally love the photo album as it can be created to tell a story of the day with your beautiful images, something you can look at over years to come.

I believe they are very important, it is something you can hold, share with loved ones and pass down to your children. Having Images on digital devices can be very unreliable and Albums are something to be treasured and enjoyed :) 

A wedding album is an important book to have - if it's in your budget!  Once the wedding attire is packed away and the party is over.. the photographs are one of the few things left to remember the day.  Digitals are great to have!  But the album will be the special book passed through generations with all the memories enclosed.  Often couples have the digitals and they stay on their computer.  They always plan to print this or that, or create their own book - but it rarely happens. 

I think if your budget fits having an album then definitely invest in one.   All my packages include digital files.  Most of my packages include an album.  It always just comes down to budget for my couples booking in.. those who can afford an album invest in one.  Those who are on a stricter budget opt for a digital file package knowing they can always add an album later on. 

Get what you love.  I hope this has been helpful for you!

Super interesting question and you'll find a lot of varied opinions on this one! 

Digital technology changes so quickly. I received my wedding photos on a CD only five years ago, and now most computers don't even come with disc drives! 

Prints will never be obsolete technology. 20 years from now, you'll be able to sit down with your family and show them your wedding album. You can't guarantee the same for digital files.

Of course, I think digital files are also really important at this point in time. They're wonderful for sharing with friends and family all over the world instantly. I always include digital files while the album is optional, so you can use those files to make as many of your own prints as you like anyway. But I love albums. There's nothing like seeing your beautiful photos printed out in a way that lets you actually physically hold them.

It's a personal choice- some people love to look at books, some people love to look at screens. I think images can be easily forgotten when they reside on a digital device. Yes at first you'll look at them constantly; you'll share them on social media, text them to loved ones, email them to those who were too far away to join you in celebration. But after a few years, they often end up lost amongst the hundreds and thousands of other images we accrue on a daily basis. Like the books in your bookcase, your album is faithfully waiting there, ready at a moments' notice to be shared now, and well into the future. Imagine the scenario in maybe ten years' time. You're talking to your 8 year old daughter about your wedding day and about her great Aunt Mavis (ok we don't all have a Great Aunt Mavis but go along with me on this one ;-p ) you take her to the bookcase, pull out your wedding album and show her the pictures. Immediate. It took you literally less than a minute to find your wedding album and now you'll spend probably the next half hour at least showing your children your precious photographs. Now imagine the same scenario if your photographs were never printed into an album. After the first ten minutes hunting through computer hard drives, your son exclaims boredom and heads off to watch TV. Your daughter however, she patiently waits because she really wants to see those photographs. But after another half hour of you now stressfully searching through thousands of images wondering why you weren't more organised ten years prior, your daughter realises her favourite show is about to begin and leaves to join her brother in front on the TV. Three hours later and you're still sitting there hunting for those precious photographs and your husband delares its now 11pm and he's heading to bed.  This is probably when you give up looking. Or maybe you find them?! But the kids were in bed two hours ago... maybe you'll have time tomorrow to show them- if they're still interested by then. I may be over exagerating, but I have had clients contact me even 10months after their wedding because they've misplaced their USB stick. I even had a client contact me two years after their wedding because their computer hard drive died and they lost all their photographs including their wedding pix. Yep- they ended up making an album with me (although I did first give them their photographs on a new USB stick free of charge and recommended they save it to at least two different hard drives ;-p ) A wedding album really is an investment. Its not really for you in the 'now', its for you (and your family) in the future. It doesn't have to be ultra fancy, ultra expensive or even made with your photographer (although as artists we do like to be involved in the process). But I think you'll find we all agree that your photographs should be printed, and definitely reside within an album. In ten years' time you'll be so glad you did. And in 70 years' time, your children and your grandchildren will be glad you did too ;-)  

I personally love having a printed wedding photo album and occasionally pick our album up and flick through the photos with visitors, family or just by  myself. The photos in an album seem have a more tangible and lingering quality to them that stays with you longer than photos on a digital album (although both are recommended). An album can be created by you and your partner or your photographer.

That totally depends on what your requirements are. Many of my customers love the idea of sitting down and going over their album, many times.

Albums are also the best way to preserve your images. You may have your photos transferred to USB, or, some other storage option. What is going to happen to those images now? Will you have the time to arrange the photos to go into an album? Will you go to the trouble and get the photos printed? Possibly not.

Get your photographer to put an album together,  your photos are there for all to see.