Photographer album vs. Shutterfly

Very true MNA. Thanks! I already asked family if they wanted one and they don't. I was actually surprised. My mom said "what would I do with it??" HaHa! You are right the kids may want to see it down the road. I thought Shutterfly was better quality.

Most of my family lost their attachments to photographs and albums after a bunch of us lost them either in Katrina or the last flood here (we're scattered in southern Louisiana and along the gulf coast). Most of my family would rather have the memories than something that could potentially be lost in another flood

So true windowschick! Good advice!

Why bother with it if you aren't going to look at it?

You might as well just book bind $800. HaHa!

I only use Shutterfly books for things like vacation photos when I can deal with the sub-par quality.

However, for Wedding Photos, Absolutely Not!! With the amount spent on a quality photographer, your best photos deserve to be displayed well! There are sites out there that allow you to make more professional quality books but they're not cheap and I would not really recommend it unless you have a very strong sense of design. Quirky captions in comic sans and brightly colored randomly shaped frames are not cute.

Can you ask your photographer if they have other options to get a less expensive book by limiting the number of pages or doing fewer upgrades?

ETA: If you really say you will never look at the album and don't want to save it for future generations, why waste your money on it? Just frame the prints you like and hang them on your wall and make sure you back-up all your photos in case you want to do a book later in life if you change your mind.

Do Shutterfly. The book that the photographer is offering is usually some prepackaged retail product that comes with the website that is hosting their services, so technically the photog is not custom making the book for you.

Tisgr8ness- my photographer is in business for himself and does all the editing. The album has either a metal like binding or leather. He brought some to the meeting I had with him and they are really cool. If I do it I know his will be worth it. I'd be curious to know how often brides who have been married 2,3,4+ years look at their wedding album. I think a lot of posters are right about the album being for children and grandchildren not really for me.

$800.00 is not bad for a nice professional album. Shutterfly and other consumer grade retailers are cheaper for a reason. One time investment, and this is the product of your investment in your photographer. I often wonder why many spend much more on a ring and balk at the price of the album (which is a once in a lifetime purchase).

Plus, I've seen the odds play out. Those who don't have one done and plan to do themselves, many never get it done.

I think this is all personal preference. I got a pricey professional album for my first wedding. It's leather bound, wrapped in cloth, and sealed in a box. I probably looked at it 4 times in 15 years.

I think the heavy-duty album is if you want your ancestors to have a record of you and DH after you're gone.

This time I will get a professional photographer and use Shutterfly so I have an album my kids and I can look through often without worrying about messing it up. And if we do or it needs an update, I can always make a new one when better technology comes out, which it will.

Tisgr8ness - that's not necessarily true. I customize albums I make. We don't just drop photos into a layout and call it a day.

Erin - If you like your photographer's albums and can afford it, I'd recommend going that route. If you'd rather make your own album, I recommend using a professional quality lab, not Shutterfly or Snapfish. Those websites can produce okay albums for every day photos, but they don't showcase wedding photos as they deserve. NationsPhotoLab.com is a great website with amazing albums, thick pages, and professional quality, and albums start at $99.

Just a different voice than most here. I got married the first time and literally over 9 years looked at my picture book once. My parents, until very recently when I decided to scan the pictures, have had their wedding album buried for 20 years in the bottom of a chest. I'm going to use Shutterfly or a website like it and do my own.

Another website option is mypublisher.com. They have regular photo book options as well as premium album options. The premium ones are pricey but if you sign up for emails, they have sales at least once a month.

We used Shutterfly to make two albums for our moms who were itching for pictures to the wedding to which they weren't invited. Haha. They wanted something now that they can show off to their friends. I am anxious to get them back next week to see how (bad) the quality is. When we have money down the road, we will get a better album created. Maybe as like a 5 or 10 year anniversary for ourselves.

I really liked what Spazzy said about the pages over time. The Shutterfly album may look good out of the box, but not for a lifetime. Something I didn't even think about.

I do think there is something to be said about 2nd Time's comment. That he/she can not spend a fortune, have something to look through often and easily upgrade when needed. Just another route entirely and one I hadn't thought of.

EW- how in God's name you don't have five stars yet is beyond me. ETA: Wow. Looks like you got that fifth star today. With as many post threads you start on a daily basis, I knew it had to be coming soon.

I'm so happy I found this thread. As far as I know, our photographer doesn't offer an album (although I will ask her when we get our photos). I will definitely be checking out Artifact Uprising and Nations Photo Lab. I wonder which one is better quality?! Anyone know?

Thanks ladies! Really great suggestions! Do these sites also print photos? I am going to own all the rights and would rather have them printed somewhere depending on how much my photographer charges.

Depends on what kind of person you are. If you pull albums down regularly to leaf through them, sure, get a fancy one. If your photo albums haven't been taken down in years, that's a really expensive space-filler you're buying, there.

We went for a canvas of 1 photo instead. At least if it's hanging on the wall it'll get looked at!

EW's fifth star. LOL LOL.

So, we made some books for our parents off shutterfly because we doubt they'll mind.

However, we ordered our album from our photographer, and it turned out so lovely. I'm so happy we decided to do that because the difference in quality is insane. Although, I'll add shutterfly is good for just little stuff, that isn't, you know the WEDDING.

I made one from shutterfly for my mom of my college grad photos. Loved it. Was super easy.

I spurged on the photographer, but he and I are both graphic designers with photo backgrounds. Even our pro said we probably wouldnt need him to make an album.

Thank you so much for all the awesome suggestions. Since I own the rights I can always upgrade later. I have no idea what a star even means. Getting a 5th one means nothing to me except that I may be on here too much. LOL! Thanks Ladies!

Sweetheart do what's in your budget, creating your own album is a great option.