With the discerning wedding customer invariably looking for a high end album from their photographer these days, Nigel Harper outlines the importance of good design

The past few years has seen a complete revolution in the way that wedding photographers, particularly those at the higher end of the business, present their pictures to their clients. Traditional albums have always been in vogue and remain popular, but the photo book is now right up there in terms of popularity, and client demand has ensured that many photographers feel obliged these days to include one as an option.
With the growth of this form of presentation, the onus has been on photographers to learn new skills and to tackle the design of the albums they offer alongside the shooting of the actual wedding pictures. Nigel Harper is typical of the modern social photographer in that he has taken on this task and has added it to his range of services. Having been offering digital albums to his clients since 2001 he has acquired a vast amount of experience in terms of what is acceptable to the contemporary bride and groom, and he’s about to share his knowledge with his fellow professionals by undertaking a seminar at the Photovision roadshow when it visits Coventry on May 22.
“Initially the whole concept of digital albums was very slow to take off,” he says. “This was probably because it was just too radical at the time for most people. It was so very different that I think people found it difficult to accept.
“What has changed is that ordinary people have now been exposed to the concept and it’s becoming more mainstream and more acceptable. In the first two to three years that I offered Graphistudio books to my clients the take-up was around six a year, if that, from the 50-60 weddings I undertook. That’s completely changed in the past few years, however: two years ago I did around 18-20 digital albums, and last year that number was nearer 30. I expect to sell at least 30 again this year and the bigger books in particular will have a significant ‘wow’ factor.”