It’s almost Labor Day, so of course, we’re thinking of ways to save you a little time and effort. What better way than with a DIY album. They are perfect for in-person reveals or to capture the intensity of the moment with an instant album.
Or maybe it’s a last-minute booking, and your client needs a quick turn-around. With your own prints, having a few of these on hand names you the photographer who can make anything happen. Who wouldn’t want the reputation of being a miracle worker? With studio branding on the inside cover, these are the take-home product that will showcase your work to all your clients’ colleagues.
Two of the DIY albums that Finao features are the Reveal and the Element. They are budget-friendly, but like all Finao products are infinitely customizable and have an air of quality and luxury.
The Reveal
Finao’s Reveal is a slip-in album for 4×6, 5×7, 7 x10, or 8×10 vertical or horizontal prints. At its heart are beautiful conservation mats in deep black or bright, cool white. Reveal’s mat pages are made from smooth acid-free archival paper to ensure long-term protection for your images. These mats are FSC®, Green-e® and Green Seal™ certified for being manufactured using responsible forestry and 100% green renewable energy.
You’ll have no worry of loose images – our mats are a strong 1/8-inch-thick, and photos rest securely in the internal horseshoe layer that holds them in place. No adhesive required! The embossed detailing around the mat aperture completes the elegant look.
The Elements
In either black or white, Elements’ full peel and stick pages are the fastest route to a beautiful album. It meets your every need with 16 sizes ranging from 3×3 to 12×12, with portrait and landscape options.
The Elements comes to life in any of our multitude of custom cover options – including tooTones with ANY cover material combination. The Elements accommodates 10, 20, 30, or 40 prints or 5, 10, 15, or 20 prints with the guestbook style pages. Custom capacities are also available.
A Finao-favorite use for DIY albums
Finaon Benny Migliorino of Benny Migs Photo has a favorite use for the 4×6 Elements – the Same Day Wedding Album. It’s an easy way to make your photos the first ones the couple sees of their special day. At weddings, you may have the attention-grabbing competition of guests taking pictures and posting them on social media. Make a huge impact by surprising the bride and groom with a teaser of their professional photos to come.
It’s a tip he picked up from Bryan Caporicci at sproutingphotographer.com. In 2014, Benny made his first Same Day Wedding Album and has carried on that tradition ever since. He invested $100 in a portable photo printer and has his assistant print ten fresh-from-the-camera images. Then Benny places them on the Elements peel-and-stick pages.
“It’s super easy to use,” he said. “To assemble the album takes only about five minutes of my time, and the whole process takes about 30 minutes total work.” Aside from the printer, he can surprise the couple for a cost of less than $30!
“I do it for the WOW factor,” he said. “I’ve had brides cry. They take it back to their table and everyone crowds around to see it. Some even take it on their honeymoon.”
Watch videos of Benny’s Same Day Wedding Album:
Your burning questions about the Elements and Reveal
Over the years many of you have chatted with Finao’s Image Police, Lynsey, as she ensures your orders come out perfectly. Lynsey just celebrated her 10th anniversary with Finao, so she is our local expert on all the things you wonder and ask about. Here are some tips she wanted you to know:
Which way is up? If you’re not in the mood for DIY, we’re happy to print and assemble your album. However, please rotate your images into the same orientation you’d like them viewed. If we are mounting a horizontal image in a vertical album it can be placed 90 degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise. Show us exactly which one you want.
Can I mix it up? A common question about the Reveal is whether you can combine horizontal and vertical mat openings in the same album. Unfortunately, that’s a rare request we can’t fulfill. For an easy way to include horizontal and vertical images in the same album without needing to rotate to view them, Lynsey recommends formatting your images to fit an 8×8 canvas for an 8×8 Elements.
A good thing to keep in mind… It’s worth noting a primary difference in these two —for an all-picture album Elements images always start on the right and Reveals always start on the left. If you choose “guest book” pages” however, in a spread of both albums the image will always be on the right with the signing page on the left.
Why not try Reveal or Elements – we know you’ll love them!
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