Favorite Print Products for Your Pets

The pet photo session is over. You’re staring at your gallery of proofs. You’re paralyzed with indecision. What should I get? Small prints to put on my desk, or in my photo album? Big, ready-to-hang prints to display over the fireplace? Something else entirely? And which images do I pick? I can’t decide!

Well, here are some of my favorite print products that offer a nice number of your favorite images to be displayed in variety of ways – on a dresser, on a table, on a wall. All are crafted beautifully and stylishly with high-quality, professionally-made materials.

PHOTO BOXES
Last year I started offering photo boxes with a custom cover. Included with the box is ten 5×7’s on matboard. They fit perfectly in the box and are sturdy enough to be displayed on their own, propped on a small easel for example. Here is Freddy‘s first photo box. (I didn’t take any photos of the others that I made…resolution for 2011 is to take photos of ALL finished products!)

COFFEE TABLE BOOKS
Many pet clients order coffee table books of their 4-legged beloveds. I was initially offering 8×8 hardcover books, but after making a 10×10 I haven’t looked back. I design all the page templates myself, preferring to keep everything clean, minimal, and surrounded by white space. Titles for the book are simple too – just the pet’s name and maybe its breed. The title is repeated on the spine, along with my little cat logo. On the last page I add a “Shot on location in {city}” text for fun.

I allow clients to pick a certain number of their favorite photos to go into the book, but I’ve had several who have asked me to pick all the images myself and to lay it out in whichever way I see fit.  The book in effect becomes a “Photographer’s Pick” of images. A big thank you to Floyd’s mom for introducing this idea to me.

First, going the “Photographer’s Pick” route really speeds the whole process up, especially if you’re the indecisive type, or if you’re short on time. A few weeks had passed with no picks from Floyd’s mom and finally she said to me, “Dude” (more or less) which is short for, “I cannot process all this information.” So let me do the work for you!

And second, you get to see your pet in a whole new light! My picks allow me to tell the story of your pet the way I saw it. Floyd’s mom told me that if it were up to her, she’d choose the same kind of photos over and over, and so if I were to pick, it would fun and refreshing to see her dog from another’s point of view.

Here are just a few of the books made in 2010:

^Dasha‘s book in 10×10 and Penny & Maple’s book from 2009, in 8×8 for comparison. Bigger IS better!

CUSTOM FRAMED PRINTS
Even with all the newfangled print products being introduced on a regular basis, sometimes you just end up coming back to the basics, like good, old-fashioned frames! And in this case, high-quality, custom frames that are meant to last. Last year I began a partnership with the Back Bay Framery, Boston’s best. I love being able to work with local businesses, especially when the ladies are as nice as Kerrie and Aura.

All are framed with “museum glass,” which means the glass is anti-glare and anti-reflective (all the reflection in the first two photos are from the protective plastic wrap. I didn’t want to take those off). I offer single frames with multi-openings, so clients can pick up to 3 of their favorite images to be framed together. I’m a big fan of grouping; it’s good for story-telling.

Multi-openings work well for photos of a similar “theme” too. For example, Fergie‘s mom ordered several of these frames and in one, she had a trio of Fergie body parts, hee, and in other, a trio of Fergie in action. Rummy‘s parents chose to frame their print picks individually, but ordered half a dozen, all in B&W and in the same size, which they hung in their hallway single file.

^ My favorite photo of the year!