Wedding DVD or Wedding Album
Will a Wedding DVD stand the test of time or is the Wedding Album still king, you decide? My parents have 25 professional photographs of their wedding. Twenty five. I know each one of them intimately. I am able to describe each image in detail so well that an artist would be able to draw them from my description.
How come I’m so familiar with them? Because I’ve seen them so often. I’ve seen them so often because they were in a Wedding Album. A Wedding Album designed by a professional photographer, with prints developed by a professional lab and bound in an album available to professionals. As a boy I was fascinated by it — seeing my grandparents and aunts and uncles surrounding my parents so young. It was a basic leather bound book, with photographs mounted behind a matte. Those images turn 63 years old in May.
What of couples today? What if they manage without an album and opt for a Wedding DVD? What if they decide it’s not worth the investment? How many wedding photographs will they put into frames? Five? Ten? Perhaps during the first year of marriage, they’ll have more. Often when children arrive wedding photographs are replaced with baby photographs in the frames. They move, circumstances change, the school run, cubs, girl guides, football, holidays etc. Will you remember to transfer your Wedding images onto the current media of the time? In 63 years, how many wedding photographs of their parents will the children remember? How many will they have ever seen?
Most couples today believe a Wedding DVD disc of images is good enough or will do. Big mistake, it’s not true at all, not by a long shot.
Wedding DVD Wedding Album a comparison
You feel you’d like to look over your wedding images, some time after the wedding. First find the Wedding DVD amongst how ever many DVD’s you have, boot up your computer, load the disc, wait a bit and then sit and right click your way through your wedding images projected by a low end uncalibrated monitor. Colours wrong? Too bright or dark? Had you made the right choice then you’d, get your beautifully crafted Wedding Album out, place it on the coffee table and flip through your collection of professionally crafted wedding photographs, edited by a professional on a high end, wide gamut, calibrated monitor. Colours perfect, photographs exposed correctly, not too bright or dark, bang on. Which would you rather show your friends and family?
Don’t misunderstand me, there’s nothing wrong in getting a Wedding DVD in addition to an album, just make sure all the images on it have been post produced by a professional. Straight from the camera expect second rate images, straight from your friends camera or phone, third rate. Opting for the Wedding DVD and no album would be the worst mistake you could make. How would you rate the importance of your wedding photographs? The vast majority of today’s couples get far more wedding images than my parents did. Will they necessarily be better off? I fear that today’s couples will end up with a worse deal than my parents did 63 years ago.
Consider this, will computers in 40 years have DVD drives? USB or firewire? Memory card slots? Looking back into the not to distant past, the answer is a resounding no. Eight-track players were one of the big technological advancements while my parents were married. If their images were stored on an equivalent device how on earth would I be able to see them? Anyone remember floppy discs? Photographs never become obsolete all you need is light and your eyes. We’re not talking prints from one of those self serve machines that spew out prints that curl up and fade after a few years. Whatever they’re charging, it’s too much. Because those prints aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. They will fade. They will curl. They will not stand the test of time. Not even close. Photographs printed at a professional lab on high quality paper can and do still look good after a hundred years.
What value to you put on your memories? The images of your wedding? More than your holiday snapshots? They’re not iPhone snaps. It meant enough to hire a professional wedding photographer. At least follow that up with a professional quality album that will last for decades. If you buy from your photographer you’ll be able to see and touch the quality of a sample album.
Quality albums are expensive as are quality clothes, handbags and shoes. Quality costs money, tat is cheap, your choice.
Of all the things you buy for your wedding the photographs are the only item that will grow in value over time. As the years roll by you’ll be increasingly delighted with the choice you made, provided you made the right one.
Money tight? Make savings in the other temporary areas in order to afford an album that lasts for decades. Drop the vintage limo you’ll spend all of 30 minutes in, bin the over expensive place names, shorten your guest list.
Remember you’re not doing it just for yourself. Think about your children and grandchildren, rummaging in the attic years from now. What are they to do with a USB stick or DVD in 2033?
DVD
How long before it’s obsolete?
Does it ooze quality?
How many precious images stored on digital media, discs, hard drives, usb pen drives, smart phones, etc., etc. have been lost so far?
How does it feel?
Would you be proud to show it to your friends and family?
Album
Obsolescence not an issue.
Quality Wedding Albums are a thing of beauty.
Good for 100 years.
Feels wonderful to handle.
A quality Wedding Album is something you can feel proud of.
I’d really like to hear your opinion on this subject so please email or leave your comment below.
Litchfield Weddings -Photography with Flair 7 High St Dollar FK14 7AY 01259 740180.
