After you’ve put together a sample album, you’ll need beautiful images to showcase that album and create a buzz around your products. Since we live in a digital age, the majority of our marketing is online (until we have a face-to-face meeting with our clients). So even though we are looking to provide our clients with tangible heirlooms, the easiest way to let them know about your albums is if you are promoting them online on your website and through your social channels.
If you haven’t started your journey of offering albums getting a sample album is a great start. Check out my free resource, 6 Things You Can Do Right Now To Start Selling Albums for guidance on how to get started.
YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFULLY CURATED SAMPLE ALBUM - YOU’RE GOING TO NEED BEAUTIFULLY STYLED PHOTOS TO MATCH
No doubt you put a lot of time and effort into designing the perfect sample album that showcases your style of photography and your overall brand, making it equally important to have photos that highlight all that hard work and craftsmanship. You can use images of your sample album in all sorts of promotional and advertising materials, sharing them on instagram, on your website, in your pricing or product guides and in your online store. Regardless of platform you’ll want to highlight the unique features of your sample album and enhance the online viewing experience for your clients so they can imagine themselves holding one of your albums and skimming through its beauty.
So for this blog post, I’ve put together 5 tips for taking beautiful photos of your sample albums to ensure you put your best foot forward when marketing your products. You’ll be able to apply these tips the next time you go to photograph one of your gorgeous albums and you’ll end up with a ton of stunning content that you can use throughout all of your marketing materials and channels (efficient, right?) So let’s get started!
1. SET UP YOUR LIGHT SOURCE
The first thing you want to set up is your light source for your photos. I prefer a single light source (usually a large window) to create directional lighting. Make sure you turn off all other light sources in the room to optimize the control you have on the lighting. You’ll also want to use something to bounce light back into the shadows so that the details of the album really pop. If you have a v-flat, set it up on the opposite side of the window to bounce the light back in.
BONUS TIP: If you don’t have a v-flat you can use a reflector or anything really large and white (a large piece of paper, a sheet, or a white wall).
2. FIND THE PERFECT BACKGROUND
Sometimes it can be difficult to find the perfect background to take photos of your albums. To keep things simple, try to find something around your house or studio that will fit the bill and remain “on brand” for you and your aesthetic. Ideally you’ll be looking for something semi-textured with a contrasting (or complimenting) colour to the album. For example, I have a reclaimed wood coffee table that has a beautiful, unique texture and is a deep, dark brown. The contrast between the dark wood and the white pages of the albums helps create definition and make the album really pop in the images.
Now, I know not everyone will have a coffee table that is perfect for photos - and the good news is there are many other options for backgrounds. I’ll always suggest looking around your house to see what could work. Anything that has a visually interesting texture or a great colour can work. Things such as carpets, couches, or even a wooden desk or marble island can be great. Alternatively you can use seamless roll paper (white or any colour) to create a seamless backdrop and foreground for your images. This can have more of a product / studio photography vibe which may or may not work for your intended aesthetic.
If you don’t have anything around the house there are great Styling Board options out there (you can either make or purchase) that will give you a beautiful textured background for all of your album photos. Styling boards can be easy to transport and store, which is also a bonus!
3. STYLE YOUR SET UP TO ALIGN WITH YOUR BRAND
Now when you get to the actual styling of the images you’ll want to make sure you’re putting together something that aligns with your brand and overall aesthetic. Utilizing props can create visual interest and really add personality to your album photos. Try using textures and pops of colour that fit in naturally with your brand aesthetic.
Your props can be reused in different set ups and combined with other props, this way you aren’t sourcing new props for all your album photos. If you’re going to be laying your album or prints flat on a surface, try putting your phone (or something of similar thickness) beneath or behind the product to create dimension and a more defined shadows.
Be creative with the styling of your images, it’s the best opportunity to showcase your personality and artistic eye!
Here is a small list of props that you can have on hand for your album photos:
silk ribbon
florals
dried flowers
stamps
wax seals
cameras
photographs or display boxes
4. GET VARIETY
When taking the photos you’ll want to make sure you’re getting a variety of shots and angles. Be sure to photograph your best album layouts and the pages that really make your album stand out.
You’ll also want to photograph the album with different compositions and arrangement of the props you’ve put together. If you just photograph the full album open from a bird’s eye view, your photos will start to look repetitive, so instead you’ll want to make sure you’re mixing things up. You’ll want to try rearranging the props, changing the angle of your shots, and getting different crops of the album (try photographing a single page or focusing on showing off the spine of the album etc).
It’s also important to take photos that have a lot of negative space. These images can be easily used with text or a logo for your any advertising and marketing you may do (instagram stories, email campaigns, product guides and so on).
Here is a shot list to go off of when you are photographing your albums:
The cover (horizontal)
The cover (vertical)
3 of the best spreads from a birds eye view (showing off the full album)
detail of the spine
detail of the page thickness
3-5 shots of single pages
3-5 shots with significant negative space
5. USE THE HUMAN ELEMENT
The whole point of albums and print products is that they’re meant to be touched and held, they’re meant for your clients to interact with so it’s always important to include a human element to your photos. It helps keep your product photos fresh and unique while helping clients picture themselves as the ones holding or flipping through the album. Hire a model, invite a friend over, or use your partner to stand in for you. Now that there is a person involved you can create lifestyle images, instead of just product shots.
Here are a few ways you can incorporate a person into your photos:
Have their hands flipping through the album on a table
Have them sitting on a chair with the album in their lap (can be flipping through it or holding it)
Have two people (a couple) together on a couch looking through the album on a coffee table and interacting with each other and the album.
It probably seems like there are so many directions you can go when taking album / product photos but don’t get overwhelmed. Even if you just take a few simply styled shots of your first sample album, these photos will go a long way when you’re conveying the importance and beauty of albums to your current and potential clients.
Remember that when you’re taking photos of your albums you want the images to reflect your STYLE and BRAND. Keep the props and colour palette on brand and the images will seamlessly fit in to the aesthetic of your website, instagram, and any product or pricing guides you have.
That’s it! These tools and tips should help jump start your process for taking photos of your albums and products. I look forward to seeing what you create!
If I missed any good tips or if you ever have a question feel free to drop a comment below or message me on Instagram.
Happy shooting!
- RH
Tutorial video coming soon.
