Album Design is Intense
Designing albums and books is a intense chore for photographers and requires time, love and skill… and great tools. Well, you can do it without great tools, but then it takes more time, tests your love and tries your skills. With that in mind, I thought I would share my thoughts with you on the latest releases of what I think are the two best album design programs out today.
Keep in mind, there are plenty of album companies (like KISS, Leather Craftsmen and Queensbury) who will design your albums for you, and a few independent designers (Align Album Design), who will take this task off your plate for you, if you are willing to let go of it. For those of you who are not, take a few minutes to watch the following set of videos to get my take on the chief differences between Fundy Designer and Smart Albums. Both album design programs are excellent programs, I have decided on a winner, and if you don’t already know which one I choose to use, you will at the end of this blog post.
FULL DISCLOSURE
I am not being paid or compensated by either of the companies for this review, but I have spoken at Smart Albums booth at trade shows. I am also using my own purchased copy of both programs… no freebies. I wanted to run them through their paces, so I bought both of them. I only plan on using one of them for my production. So this is just my honest and independent take on two impressive album design tools.
Starting with Lightroom
Building Album Spreads
Manipulating Album Spreads
Organizing Spreads
Adding Text
Image Editing
Exporting Spreads
Client Proofing
Ordering the Album
Conclusion
This blog post is meant to provide you with a few things to think about before you start comparing album software for yourself. You may want to add other album production software in the mix, like several online designers that are available. Hopefully, the items I have discussed here will get you thinking critically about the programs your are considering. It really does matter what software you choose! It needs to work with you and not against you. Whether you enjoy the process will depend on your choice. So choose well…
Find and Test the Software
Now here is your assignment: go make an album with both pieces of software, think about the items I have discussed and watch for even more differences. Prioritize the good and bad and decide which tool makes you faster, which gives you the most artistic freedom and which lets you enjoy the process. The one you choose should have a good score on all three of those requirements. Then buy the winner and start making albums and books!
