Album Page

Man, I've really been designing a lot of albums lately. As I have, I find I'm moving toward extra design elements, rather than just black or white backgrounds. I'd like to know what you all think about this page of Reception shots. Thanks.

Also, photographers have been asking me about Canon or Nikon and the D3. I'm personally holding out to see what happens with the "noise" in the D3. I have not used one yet and I'm certainly not holding my breath either. Canon makes rockin' cameras and glass. If the D3 doesn't blow me away, I'm switching next year. It seems that Nikon is not really interesting in keeping their pros happy. You'd think they'd want to hold on to the few they have left. (sense the bitterness?...) OK There's my answer.

Comments

[David Medina]

You are going to be so blown away by the D3 that you will thank God you stuck out.

I was a Canon User who switch to Nikon. Why? Because Nikon makes cameras that feel and respond like real cameras. The only Nikon mistake was not making their own sensor chip.

While Canon is an excellent camera my experience as a Canon salesman that I was for over 10 years is that until 2000 Canon cameras were under appreciated and now are over appreciated. Good marketing no doubt because the Canon quality was always there.

But now, there is the D3. An amazing camera that blows the noise issue out. You will see ISO 6400 images that are as good as ISO 400 images. Just talk to Vincent Versace or Joe Mcnally.

[Jeff Schaefer]

IMHO, tilting photos with drop shadows and a cheesy textured background = 'Scrapbooky'.

[Joe Photo]

Hey David, I really appreciate your insight from the inside. Thanks for reading my blog. I'm hoping the D3 delivers for me all that you claim it will. Then, Nikon can start working on it's marketing to Pro Wedding photographers - no doubt another mistake for them to overcome.

[Joe Photo]

Hey Jeff, thanks for your comment. I'd love to see any ideas you incorporate into your album designs. Perhaps you could post a link or shoot me an email. Thanks.

[Christopher Record]

Hey Joe. As a long-time Nikon user I can understand some of your bitterness. But with the D3 and D300 it seems like a time when Nikon has come back strong with a great product. I haven't used them yet but I've heard great things from pros I respect. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a D3.

[chipgillespie]

While I don't completely agree with David Medina, I don't completely disagree either. To me, black and white negative space and a smaller stroke frame enhance and showcase the image itself which, if I understand correctly, is the goal of our humble profession.

Question for you: How many spreads do you generally build and how many images make it in to the album? From the pages I've seen that you've posted, you prefer a minimal number of images-per-page (which I totally agree with). But are you building 25-30 spread books so that you can tell the complete story? Thanks for reading.

peace.

[Damion Hamilton]

Although I'm a strict Canon user, I came across this article and samples from the D3 from ISO 200 thru ISO 25,600...yes 25,600!
I'm am very impressed! Check it out for yourself.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-8745-9153

[Emily DeWan]

I like the background you've used for the design, though I'm not a fan of thick white borders in albums. I wonder if using backgrounds like this throughout an album would be overkill.

[NIck]

Joe,

I felt pretty much like you -- after talking with John Mireles last spring I almost went out and bought a 5D. I also checked out a friend's IDmkIII, and it seemed pretty nice. But I decided to wait to see what Nikon would do -- it had to be soon.

From what I see, Nikon has done everything right with the D3 -- it addresses all of the weaknesses of the D2X and more. Nikon also addressed the software side with multiple vendors offering RAW support before the cameras come out. They are taking care of pros with preferred orders for NPS members. And the new lenses are sweet. On paper it exceeds my expectations, and from what I have seen it will be a revolutionary camera. But I'll let you know, mine should arrive in the next few days :-)

Nick

ps -- I really like the album layout. The only thing that scares me is that it might become dated. You know, like when you see something and you think, "that is so 90s." It's a fine line to walk, but I try to favor timelessness over the cutting edge. No matter what, though, things will be dated. You should see my friends' wedding photos from the 80s!

[Joe Photo]

Thanks Christopher. I hope it's great, or I'm going to come looking for you...

[Joe Photo]

Hey Chip, That album has 54 sides and I used 107 images on those sides:)

[Joe Photo]

Hey Chip, That album has 54 sides and I used 107 images on those sides:)

[Joe Photo]

Damion, Thanks for the link and your comment. Rock on!

[Joe Photo]

Hi Emily, Thanks for your opinion. I can clearly see that everyone has their own thoughts regarding style. I appreciate your perspective.

[Joe Photo]

Nick, you rule. I can't wait to see what you do with that camera. As far as the dated look goes, I hear what you're saying. I'm in the place of wanting to do something different with my designs. That's just where I'm at now. We all constantly evolve and develop our "look". I'm embracing the change and loving it. Blessings -Joe

[Tammy M.]

I received your Show and Tell 2 DVD in the mail this week, made some time to watch it yesterday and I loved it. I didn't realize you were a JPG shooter. Since I started shooting digital I have always shot RAW, but it seems like I am drowning in Gigabytes. I was tinkering with the idea to shoot jpg now that I know my camera better. I tried it last night and although I was very nervous (why? couldn't tell ya) all the pictures turned out great and I did a good job with all the camera adjustments. Thanks for sharing your gifts and generous personality.

[Justin Keitch]

Hi Joe,

I stumbled upon your site from Becker's blog.

I quite like where you are going with your album design, although I would change a few things. I would remove the inner black border and reduce the amount of drop shadow that you right now. I think you will get a more natural feel.

[Joe Photo]

Yeah Tammy! JPGs are freeing. Congratulations and thanks for purchasing Show & Tell 2. -Joe

[Joe Photo]

Hey Justin, great ideas! Thanks for taking the time to comment.