North Photography

Imagine this. Fifty years from now you are sitting and sorting through some old boxes that have come out of your attic. It’s nearly yard sale season and your grand daughter has come by to help you clean out the dust bunnies. She turns to you and holds up a small circular mirror that is in a cracked case. “What is this Grandma?” You falter for a second before remembering that, “Ah, yes. Those are my and Grandpa’s wedding pictures.” She removes the old disc cant asks, “How do you look at them?” You take the disc and look at your fuzzy reflection on the scratched and dusty rainbow surface, “I don’t know that we can anymore…”

Chances are most of you probably recognize the above image. The majority of you will even remember having used one in the past whether it was to play a computer game, transfer/save files for school, and/or back-up digital images….Oooh man, that last one makes me cringe. As much as I miss playing the original Oregon Trail (where you had to insert the floppy disc into the computer to even play the game!) I certainly would not want to have my wedding images saved on a nearly obsolete form of media storage. I would be really hard pressed to even find a computer that would accept a floppy disc!

No one can predict the future, but technology is changing daily and chances are data storage will be completely different in another 15 years. Just think where it will be 50 years from now! DVDs may be like floppy discs: unable to be read except on really old “antique” computers. ::cringes::

Now, I don’t tell this tale to be overly dramatic, but as a word of caution. I have been photographing weddings for five years now and recently have come to the conclusion that I have been doing a disservice to my wedding couples by just providing them with a DVD of their wedding images. Of course one can argue that this is what they want, but as a professional photographer it is my job to the couples that hire me to provide them not only with great service but with a product that will in fact last them 50 years and more. One of my favorite things is looking through family albums, particularly my parents and grandparents wedding albums. I cannot help but wonder, what will become of the majority of this generation’s wedding images?

Up until recently I did not offer wedding albums at all. There were so many options and companies offering “the best!” that I really wanted to do my research before choosing a product that I truly felt was tried, true and really the best. Why offer anything if it was just going to be mediocre?

In January I attended Imaging USA in New Orleans which is the annual Professional Photographers of America convention and trade show. The perfect place to scope things out and make my decision! I talked extensively with numerous album binders and asked them questions about quality, longevity, printing technique, the glues they use, turn around time, specialty products, and of course I asked, “Why should I work with you?”

I met many nice customer service reps, but it was one company that really caught my eye. Leather Craftsmen. They are a top of the line album binding company and have been around since 1942! That right there made me think, ‘These folks know what they are doing.’ Their album styles are modern and classy and they offer the popular flush mount album bind. They also have a more classic matted album style that was really quite nice.

For cover materials they have beautiful leathers and quality fabrics that really bring a design together. They can also use custom cover materials if you wanted to include something special from the wedding day (groom’s tie, lace from the dress, special cloth). It also didn’t hurt that after I had returned home from Imaging USA, I called Leather Craftsmen to ask a question and had the pleasure of speaking directly to Howard Schneider, the current company President and grandson of founder Morris Schneider. He was so helpful and friendly! Everything I want in a company that helps run my business.

After much research and planning, I am very pleased to announce that North Photography will now offer album packages to all wedding couples, which will include a keepsake DVD of all wedding day images for preservation and personal printing for as long as the media lasts.It is my way of saying, please, honor the history and family that you are creating on your wedding day. Not only will you enjoy revisiting your wonderful day, but future generations are going to love listening to your stories as you show them the start of your story, page by page.

An 11×14 custom album with a custom made slip cover. You have the option to purchase an album slip cover that comes in the same cover material. This case helps to protect your album in the long term.

All albums will come with a single cover material, an inset photo and either name/date embossing on the front cover or the spine of the album.

This album has a two tone cover featuring a Euro leather and a woven cloth.  A two-tone cover is an additional option.

Knowing that you have been given the best album possible!

The page spreads are split down the center by a narrow gutter. Over time if a print is folded (like some album companies) the print paper can yellow and crack at the crease. A small gutter insures that this will not happen. Images can still go across the center line though and panoramics look wonderful!

To inquire about album packages and wedding availability, please be in touch!  kathleen@north-photo.com