Questions I am asked most

No. Most of my album work is for people whose photographs were taken by somebody else, sometimes years ago, including wedding albums designed years after the day itself. Send me what you have. It is worth checking the contract you signed with your photographer; I have yet to see one that forbids printing your own photographs for personal use, but it is a two-minute check.

Yes, and that is the most common reason people come to me. A gallery link, a download folder or a memory stick is all I need. This is what wedding album design usually starts from. You do not need your photographer's involvement to have your own photographs printed for personal use.

Three things: the photographs or a link to them, roughly what the album is for, and any deadline. I will come back with a recommended album, a price and an honest view of how well your photographs will print at the size you have in mind.

Send everything and let the edit be my job. For the finished album, sixty to eighty photographs makes a strong book. Fifty is plenty for a gift album. If you want the full story of the day, a 350-page Primo Book will hold around 800 to 850 images.

Together, before I start on the layout. We talk through which photographs mean the most to you and why, and which ones you would rather never see again. Only then do I make the first edit and sequence, so the album is built around your choices rather than handed to you finished, with no say in it.

Always. You receive a digital proof of every spread, viewed online, and nothing goes to the press until you have approved it. It is not a printed proof; printing a full sample album would add both cost and weeks to the schedule. Two rounds of amends are included in the price.

Two rounds of amends are included, which is comfortably enough for most albums. Further rounds after that are chargeable. Tell me everything you want changed in one go and the second round is usually just a final look.

Yes. Captions, names, dates, short passages and messages from family can all be typeset into the layout. For heritage albums I would encourage it, because a face without a name is only decoration. It adds to the design quote, but you will see that before you give me approval to proceed.

Yes, and you see it plainly. The quote shows the album on one line, with its size, page count, papers, cover and box, then the labour itemised beneath it: layout design, cover design, box design, preflighting and delivery. Two rounds of amends are included in that; further rounds are chargeable. Nothing is bundled or estimated in the dark. Full prices are here.

The range starts at £230.00 for a UK soft back book and £299.00 for a lay-flat album, and most people spend between £600.00 and £900.00. Larger albums, hand-cut matted construction and high page counts go further. Every quote is itemised so you can see what each decision costs.

Yes. The design work is already done, so further copies are charged for printing and binding only. How much you save depends on the album: a soft back copy is a great deal cheaper than the first album, while a second flush-mount album in the same size is a more modest saving. Parent copies and family editions are usually ordered at the same time as the main album, and I will quote them alongside it so you can see the difference.

A 50% deposit confirms the commission, and the balance is due once you have approved the album layout, before the files go to the press. Bank transfer is my preferred method; card payment through Stripe is also accepted. For clubs and associations and companies I can work to purchase orders, with the deposit payable within 14 days and the balance before dispatch.

Usually. Fading, colour casts, scratches, creases, tears, foxing and water spotting are routine. Damage across a face is sometimes recoverable and sometimes not. Send me a scan and I will tell you honestly before any money changes hands. There is more detail on what restoration can and cannot do.

It depends what the photograph needs. As a guide, correction is £15.00 per photograph, repair £30.00, and reconstruction £75.00, with packages of ten at £125.00, £250.00 and £600.00. Every job is quoted individually once I have seen the photographs, including heavier work and colourisation. The restoration page sets out what falls into each band.

Your originals are never altered. Restoration produces a new file for printing, and anything you post to me is returned to you as it arrived, by special insured delivery.

Yes, and with restraint. Colour is an interpretation rather than a recovery, so I work from what can be established and keep it understated. Some photographs are stronger left in black and white, and I will say so.

Six to eight weeks is typical: around two weeks to design and proof, then four to six weeks with the maker in Italy. UK-made soft back books are quicker, at around three to four weeks in total. Scanning or restoration adds time at the front. The full process is set out step by step. If you have a date, tell me at the start and I will work backwards from it.

Usually yes, if I know about it early. Christmas albums need to be ordered by the middle of October at the very latest, and by the end of September for a celebration album, where gathering photographs from relatives adds time at the front. Round-number anniversaries and presentation evenings need starting sooner than feels necessary.

Eight of the nine are made in Italy by Graphistudio. The Soft Back Book is printed in the UK. Bespoke sourcing from other makers is available on request, and I will be adding albums from new suppliers over the coming year.

Yes. The studio is in Lancashire and the work is done remotely, so where you live makes no difference. Albums are delivered by insured courier.