Commonly Asked questions

What levels of digital services do you provide?

We offer two types of services:

Custom Design by Amadeo: Custom montages, custom page layouts, collages, image manipulation and restoration all fall under the 'custom' category. Custom services are charged according to the price list in our members section and include consultation and advice, with the end result being one off individual designs. As this is a fully custom service so individual Jobs are quoted according to their scope.

Design Templates Design templates are currently available to existing clients who have one of our catalogues. Current templates are available as static jpeg files. We will be expanding our range to include more layered photoshop files in the future.

Why are the templates only available to your existing clients

At this time our photoshop templates are being offered only to clients who are in possession of one of our old catalogues. As we will be discontinuing the current line of templates to make way for a newer generation of templates, we are not issuing catalogues just yet. When our next edition of photoshop templates are released, notification will be made via this web site and new catalogues will be re issued at that time.

Do you offer a Professional bookbinding or Professional album service?

Our service allows the choice of print only or print and album or book binding using only professional products.

 

Is your service flexible enough to allow me to take the finished prints or layouts to my own Album company or bookbinder?

Yes

What is standard of quality can we expect from your product ?

It is always hard to convey this to anyone over the Internet as the Internet is limited in may respects. Quality and the consistency of quality are the most important aspects of our product. Whether we are talking about color management, printing or the uniqueness of our designs, we aim to satisfy.

Do all your designs have illustrations or graphics?

No, there are many designs that do not have any graphic or illustrations.

Why don't you use drop shadows, beveled edges or torn edges etc?

We believe that drop shadows, beveled edges etc used 'straight out of the box' will date faster than anything else. Whether we design simple elegant designs more suited to reportage photography or complex theme designs suited to illustrative photography we approach each job looking at many design possibilities as possible, without taking the easy way out. However we will listen to what you want above all else, so if it's drop shadows that you want that's ok. If you want our assistance or input, we do have our own philosophy when it comes to design.

Is there a set turn around time for work?

Custom: As the custom service is very labor intensive, the turn around time for custom work varies according to our current work load (in which case you will be notified beforehand or when the job is quoted) .As there are more variables with custom work, the turn around time may also vary according to requirements you may set per individual job and the level of difficulty.

How many images should go on a page layout?

The amount of images on a custom layout will depend on your needs. Any layout that looks busy is simply so because some clients or their clients demand it this way. Making a busy custom layout aesthetically pleasing is quite a challenge and will obviously cost you a little more. However once again simple image content combined with clever design techniques makes for a good formula. Our custom service includes consultation and advice for those in a higher price bracket. Our pre designed templates make it easy to handle busy pages as they allow for simple or busy options and cater for a broad range of tastes What you see with templates is what you get, making it easier to choose how images will be positioned.

Some digital layouts layouts I have seen look "busy" Is that always the case?

We always advocate that less is more. We stress this to all of our clients, however in the end it is the customer who ultimately decides and some clients do tend to overcrowd their pages. Our advice is not to over crowd a layout. Some wedding photographers sell digital albums as a means to include as many images as possible. We have seen some wedding albums with as many as 80-100 images over 20 sides. Keep in mind also that the more images you include the smaller each image needs to be to fit in a given space and that the less space on a page you have the less scope for design you allow. The end result for some studios is that they end up handing over a another 'proof album' rather than a creative wedding album. It is understandable that this would occur in a competitive market as some photographers increase the amount of images in a digital album to create the perception of value for their customer. Unfortunately some clients' perception of value is purely based on quantity of images within a given number of pages without any thought to how this will affect the overall design of pages. Proofs or proof albums serve the function of being able to retain a comprehensive record of the wedding day without the need of duplicating the same function with the main digital album.

It is is possible to create a 10 page 20 side album with between 50 - 60 images without overcrowding, leaving enough space for artwork and producing pages that appear elegant or stylish rather than busy and confusing. Our advice is firstly decide if you want the advantage of digital to produce stylish design pages, or do you simply need it as an economical way of pasting numerous images on to a page (as you would in a proof book) If you choose design as the most important feature, then keep in mind that being able to include 50 - 60 images on 10 pages on beautifully designed pages is far more than most traditional albums in mats can offer in any case. Also keep in mind that if you really need to include more images, you can increase the number of pages in digital album beyond the standard amount, thus providing you client with true value.

What is flush mount?

Flush mount refers to albums that have photographs mounted right up into the edge of the page rather than in mats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Digital Photography Services FAQ