18.07.2013 Views

The Best of Wedding Photography.pdf - Free

The Best of Wedding Photography.pdf - Free

The Best of Wedding Photography.pdf - Free

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Mini Albums. Australian wedding photographer Martin<br />

Schembri creates what he calls a mini-magazine book,<br />

a miniature version <strong>of</strong> the main album that is small enough<br />

for brides to pop in their handbags to show all <strong>of</strong> their<br />

friends. Being so portable, the mini albums get far more<br />

exposure than a large, precious album. It also works as a<br />

great promotion for the photographer.<br />

Digital Output. Digital output allows the photographer<br />

or album designer to create backgrounds, inset photos,<br />

and output the pages as complete entities. Sizing the<br />

photos does not depend on what size mats you have available,<br />

as you can size the photo infinitely on the computer.<br />

Once the page files are finalized, any number <strong>of</strong> pages can<br />

be output simply and inexpensively. Albums can be completely<br />

designed on the computer in Photoshop using<br />

plug-ins that feature drag and drop templates.<br />

DESIGN PRINCIPLES<br />

Visual design has one and only one purpose: to keep the<br />

viewer’s eye and concentration on the page(s) for longer<br />

than it takes to digest the basic information. Design elements<br />

exist to coax the imagination <strong>of</strong> the eye/brain to<br />

play along with the designer’s master plan. Most <strong>of</strong> what<br />

happens when you view a page is subliminal—you don’t<br />

realize you are being manipulated in a sensory way. Some<br />

<strong>of</strong> the techniques are bold and demand your attention,<br />

some are more subtle and create a pleasing response in the<br />

viewer. But make no mistake about it, like any page-layout<br />

designer, the wedding album designer faces the same<br />

challenges—to keep the viewer amused and involved in the<br />

content.<br />

Design Elements. Left- and Right-Hand Pages. Look<br />

at any well-designed book or magazine and study the images<br />

on the left- and right-hand pages. <strong>The</strong>y are decidedly<br />

different but have one thing in common. <strong>The</strong>y lead the<br />

eye into the center <strong>of</strong> the book, commonly referred to as<br />

the “gutter.” <strong>The</strong>se layouts use the same design elements<br />

photographers use in creating effective images—lead-in<br />

lines, curves, shapes, and patterns. If a line or pattern<br />

forms a C shape, it is ideal for the left-hand page, since it<br />

draws the eye into the gutter and across to the right-hand<br />

page. If an image is a backwards C shape, it is ideal for the<br />

right-hand page. Familiar shapes like hooks or loops, triangles<br />

or circles are used in the same manner to guide the<br />

eye into the center <strong>of</strong> the two-page spread and across to<br />

the right-hand page.<br />

<strong>The</strong>re is infinite variety in laying out images, text, and<br />

graphic elements to create this left-to-right orientation. A<br />

series <strong>of</strong> photos can be stacked diagonally, forming a line<br />

that leads from the lower left-hand corner <strong>of</strong> the left page<br />

to the gutter. That pattern can be mimicked on the righthand<br />

page, or it can be contrasted for variety. <strong>The</strong> idea is<br />

Sequences can be an effective means <strong>of</strong> telling a secondary story within the story in the wedding album. This beautiful triptych was made by Becky<br />

Bergin.<br />

WEDDING ALBUMS 111

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!