This is a very modern album style with matte finish pages, square corners and a canvas image cover. I think it shows off Amy and Kep’s vineyard military wedding in a great way!

Enjoy this weekend and get outside everyone! It looks like it’s going to be perfect Spring weather in Austin, Texas!

~shannon

My dear, dear friend and talented photographer Kristen shot these for us. It was freezing cold and when I picked my kid up from school before the session, her teacher said “She’s had a really rough day today – not the most well-behaved”. Awesome. So the odds were highly stacked against us, but in a 25 minutes session, Kristen made us some gorgeous photos. I had them made into a holiday-style album, which I am LOVING (as are the grandparents).

I love small albums for portrait sessions! While I am a bit of a mimimalist on my wedding album designs (white pages, clean layouts), I think this album benefitted from a kicky little theme.

Looking forward to 2012…The Best of 2011 posts are coming!

Partially, because I just love them and also because I hadn’t seen this combination for the cover before and it looked so lovely among the leaves in the fall – just like their wedding.

 Shannon Cunningham is an Austin wedding photographer.

The lovely Leslie and Ryan picked up their album this week and I wanted to show you that the basic black album got an upgrade. It is so pretty. Gorgeous printing and modern binding – sharp, square pages. Yum! It’s completely archival too. It’ll outlast all of us.

Today I want to show one of my favorites. The Mini-Accordian Album! Everyone who has ordered these is in love. I have several around the house with photos of my daughter and family and they are the best gifts. If you are a lover of all things travel-sized (like me) you will squeal when you see these.

They come in square and rectangular formats and can printed on smooth (with high gloss or semi-gloss), linen or watercolor paper in a variety of cloth and faux-leather covers. They are usually made with between 5-10 images. You can have them as just story boards or let me add some whimsy with borders and colors. They’re great for both weddings and portraits and the turnaround is FAST! Once we have your design approved, you’ll have them in a week.

You can order these at your ordering session or through your online shopping cart.

Day 2 of December Fun and Games is complete!

Shannon Cunningham is an Austin Wedding and Portrait Photographer.

Not that long ago, you needed to have your film developed to see what your photos looked like. You had this tangible thing in your hand that you sorted through, put in albums and shared with other people. As someone who comes from a fine art background, I find this really powerful. I spent hours in the darkroom making prints and I think something that you can hold is a little more precious. It’s an experience that you can’t get with an online gallery.

I am guilty of uploading photos of my daughter onto my hard drive and letting them sit there. I have THOUSANDS of photos of Savannah that have never been printed. I had a great experience a little while ago that got me thinking about the importance of printing out your photos, especially your wedding photos.

My in-laws celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary a few weeks ago. While we were in Ireland this summer (which is where my husband’s family is from), my husband’s aunt brought out my in-laws wedding album for us to see. It had been in the family home since my in-laws had moved to America.

It was magical! We saw them so young and happy. The fashion and style of the guests was so fun to see. Conor’s aunt would spot someone in a photo and tell us a story about them. She remembered all of the funny moments of the day like it was yesterday. She remembered her feelings of the day. It was such a lovely glimpse into family history. I don’t think that’s something you can get with a DVD of images. Who knows what format we’ll be using 40 years from now? My brilliant husband suggested that we scan, restore and make a new flush mount album for them as an anniversary gift. The old one was falling apart a little.

Most of my collections come with an album and there are few things I love more than delivering a gorgeous finished product to a client. They are true heirlooms that are constructed to last for a long, long time. However, there are tons of options for you! At the very least, print out your favorite images so 40 years from now you can tell your favorite wedding day stories.

Here are some of the spreads from my in-laws wedding album. Enjoy!

OK here we go:

This album comes wrapped in the most beautiful packaging. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but a nice touch for sure. It’s fun to open a box and have this looking at you.

The covers come in almost unlimited combinations. This album is pretty simple, but do you want a leopard fur cover? Done. How about three cutouts with pictures and two different colors of leather? Done.

Seriously; So. Many. Choices. It’s great.

The pages have the feel of photographic paper and are THICK! Probably about a 1/8 of an inch. There is a seam down the middle of the page in this album, but you can get a ‘creased’ album page, which means no gap in your image. It can go all the way across the page.

Nice, rounded binding. It’s incredibly sturdy. You can also opt for a square binding.

This album is an upgrade from the ones included in my packages. The package album is amazing too, so no worries about that. If you’re interested in looking at the album and swatches, call me and stop by and check it out.

Just a reminder that I only do albums for my clients. If I didn’t shoot your wedding or portrait, I’m sorry, but I can’t do an album for you.

On the pretty couples and adorable kids front, my week is going to get K-RAZY starting tomorrow (if the weather holds out). Check back soon for updates!

-Shannon

The pages are made from fine art paper. These particular ones have a matte look and feel to them, although you can have the pages created with glossy paper.

Here’s the best part – there is no seam in the middle! I can now create full page spreads. This book is 9X12, so this image is 12X18. The photos have quite an impact at this size.

The pages are very sturdy with a cardboard-like feel to them.

The Fine Art Book comes in a variety of sizes from 4X4 to 12X12.

It’s also my recommendation for your custom sign in book (great at a 5X7 size), made from your engagement session images.

Stay tuned for pictures.