I have been quiet lately because I have been busy making images rather than writing about them but have broken my silence to discuss ALBUMS....not designing or creating them but waiting on them.
I think most families are completely surprised when they find out the turn around time on their album. Truthfully, for years I would pester and pester the album companies myself because I too could not understand the WAIT. Long after the wedding, long after we have done our job, we can still find ourselves at the mercy of album companies....waiting on albums.
It wasn't until one day while speaking with my company representative on the phone, that she told me the facts as she seen them. Her company represents thousands of wedding photographers across the country, so if each of them turned in only ten albums a year, I could surely understand the math on how quickly they could process orders. That is the same understanding of each of the companies I do business with so it is a very self serving understanding to be sure. Needless to say I have grown more patient through the years but for my couples, this is their one and only album.
Sometimes, long after their wedding, a couple will turn in their photos to have their album made. Some photographers will give couples a year to do their album but I don't have a timeline because I fully understand that life gets in the way of album designs. Most album companies however have price increases at the beginning of the year, so as long as a couple is willing to pay the cost difference for their album then it doesn't matter to me if its been a year or five years. (And yes...that has happened)
Once they have chosen their images, we can design the book which does not take long at all. After their final approval, the album is submitted for processing. It is sent on to production within their company and from that point on, it is a waiting game. Some album companies have faster turn around times then others of course. Some even offer two week services although I have not been as pleased with the quality of the construction from those who offer the extreme turn around times. The more common expectation can be as long as six months. I am fortunate most times that it takes my album companies about 16 weeks. I have heard many, many horror stories however, where the couple is still waiting on their book even after a year. I would not be doing business with that company for long. I think an average of 14-16 weeks is reasonable. But throw out everything I just wrote if you submit your book at the height of the wedding season or at Christmas. Then.....all bets are off.
So unfortunately, sometimes we have to wait. C'est la vie!
