Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ SSP: White Space

[slava-slavik]

Shawn, I consider this forum also as a talk about albums and album design. If this post belongs somewhere else, please move it.

Recently, I had two clients in a row who asked to fill all pages in their wedding albums with pictures as much as possible so there would not be any white spaces left.

In January, I attended the DWF convention and one of the speakers Jim Garner spent lots of his time discussing the album designs. Besides other principles, he prefers very light design with plenty of (as he calls it) negative space so the eyes can rest.

Right after the convention we created and album using his guidelines:
http://www.slava-slavik.com/wedding_photog...ontaluce-album/
We really like it and we would like to design our future album like that. Also all clients who have seen it so far liked it...

Well, the question is, how do you converge your vision with client's vision?

[cofphoto]

I don't do a lot of albums, but I too prefer some "dead space" in my albums. That said, you said that the client didn't want any "white space". I'm guessing that they are assuming that any space not filled with a photo will just be white.

For portrait albums (ie. a maternity/newborn album) I often use soft textures, gradients and colored backgrounds. For weddings I'll often use photos from the wedding as backgrounds, but faded out/blurred to make the main images stand out.

I wonder if you did that with the album in question if they would be happy?

[Jess]

I'm not Shawn (obviously!), but I just had to say I love the album you came up with. I wish you could have photographed my wedding! Lovely, lovely images

I agree with Shawn, I typically use soft backgrounds on my pages so they're not stark white. Granted, I've only done two weddings, so I'm sure that makes a difference, but I've found with studio work that most people seem rather pleased with that.

That said, if it's a matter of my client demanding full page spread or nothing, then they get a full-page spread. Money talks

Jess

[pabicu]

I think your design is beautiful - as are the images!
I have a hard time with reading people's minds, if they just want pages full of photos I say they should buy the CD of images and do one at snapfish- an album is art - you are the designer.

This will be a reflection of your work - I'd have a hard time designing an album I hated.

(and yes, I am really crabby today)

[cofphoto]

I think your design is beautiful - as are the images!
I have a hard time with reading people's minds, if they just want pages full of photos I say they should buy the CD of images and do one at snapfish- an album is art - you are the designer.

This will be a reflection of your work - I'd have a hard time designing an album I hated.

(and yes, I am really crabby today)

[Mara]

Wow - the album & images are stunning!

[spartacusii]

slava -

1st, i looked at your album, & i think your photography/vision is very nice. you have a NUMBER of wonderful images.

now, as to the album & your client's request. personally, i think the design that you have generated is very clean & classy. finding that 'happy balance' between your vision & that of your client's can sometimes be a challenge. ulitimately, their's is the only one that matters, of course . . . AS LONG AS it doesn't TOTALLY misrepresent your work, right?

i had a client that basically gave me the same response of too much white space. in the end, after some discussion to see exactly what her objections were, i learned that it was nearly exactly what shawn mentioned, in that she didn't want more pictures so much, she just didn't want plain white backgrounds - at all.

what i wound up doing on a number fo the pages, cuz i didn't feel the spreads lent themselves to a textured or colored background, so to speak, was this: i picked SOMETHING in one of the images on the spread - something with some color & took a fairly small sample of it in the size that my spread was, cut & paste into a layer behind the rest of the layers, & then blurred to taste if i felt it needed it. in the end, this was all it took for my bride to be totally satisfied, AND, i didn't feel like i compromised my design/vision at all.

if you don't fully understand what i described above, feel free to ask any other questions & i'll be happy to do whatever i can to clarify.

GL

[pabicu]

[slava-slavik]

....
if you don't fully understand what i described above, feel free to ask any other questions & i'll be happy to do whatever i can to clarify.
...

I think I do. Well, we will create one or two more studio samples with the backgrounds.

BTW, check Yervant's albums, this is where we also got inspired.

Anyone, thank you for your time and opinions!