Album vs. DVD?

blankslate25

I'm new to the photographer search, and from what I've seen online, most offer either an album, or a dvd with pictures (and rights) in their packages. Which is the better option? I do think a professionally done album is important and will certainly last, but is it more important to have access to all of your images on a dvd at your disposal? Does it all boil down to quantity vs quality? Advice please!

fallbride1109

I did both--but if I had to choose, I would choose the DVD (with the rights and pictures in high res) so you can print pictures for yourself and your family, and then you can always make the album yourself.  I made a professional quality album for my husband's parents and it was almost identical to the one we got from our photographer (review in my bio).

katie1carter

As a photographer myself, I agree that if you have to choose between the two, the DVD with the rights is the better choice.  That gives you the freedom to get all the prints you need.  Later if you want a professional album, you can always take the DVD to a local photographer to create one for you since you have the rights.

blankslate25

Thanks so much!! Since you're a photographer I've got another question for you...is there a big difference between high resolution images, low resolution images, and FULL resolution images? Obviously if picking between low & high I'd stick with high resolution, but I've never heard of full resolution...any words of advice there? Thank you!!

fuccisphotos

I'm a photographer as well, and I've heard of high vs low, but not full resolution.  Usually high resolution is the highest quality JPG file available, which is what you'd make a print from.  Low resolution is what you'd use on say facebook, you wouldn't use these photos to make a print, and often have watermarks on them.  The last option that I doubt they offer, is the RAW images.  High end digital cameras can capture both RAW and JPG images.  Your regular run of the mill point and shoot only does JPG.  A JPG image is a compressed version of what the sensor on your camera sees and what the processor interprets it as.  A high resolution JPG on a professional quality camera that hasn't been cropped can be anywhere from 10megabytes to around 4 megabytes (if it's B&W, or isn't super colorful).  If the image is super cropped it will be a smaller size.  The RAW image file will usually be about 20 megabytes.  You need special software to have your computer read a RAW image file.  Most photographers would NEVER give out the RAW image files to clients, but every so often a photographer does.

If you are a huge photography buff, it might be nice to have these files, but again, most photographers NEVER give these up.

Getting the DVD of the high resolution images is great IF it allows royalty free reprints, and you find a good place to make prints that are of archival quality.  Getting the prints all done at your local pharmacy or target/walmart is NOT a good idea.  

Getting a real professional archival quality album, over say a photobook, can't be overlooked.  It really is a wonderful thing to have.  

hannahhannah1

DVVD with rights for sure! Check out my wedding blog. I just wrote about that! 

http://weddingdaygroundhogday.blogspot.com/

Peacefield

I'm sure different photographers use the terms differently, but in general, both full resolution and high resolution are suitable for producing even very large prints.