If you came up to me at the start of WPPI in 2008 and asked me if I did predesign, I would have looked confused and then laughed. I think too many photographers fall into the same situation we were currently in. Giving our couples the upper-hand in planning their album layout timeline. Learning a lot in Las Vegas that year, I came home full of energy (as many of us do). I was prepared to make changes. Predesign would be a reality.

Sure, we come home from WPPI each year full of ideas for new exciting techniques and possibilities. But I made it happen. Old layouts were caught up on, couples were chased down, rules were enforced. And in the 2009 season, predesign is real.

In case anyone is confused, what I am referring to is presenting your client with an album layout before they have a chance to choose any images for their book. Many photographers have different approaches to this. Do you present them with a layout as soon as you can after posting their proofs? Do you present them with a layout before they see any of their images whatsoever? Do you simply ask them not to choose any images and tell them you are going to design it yourself?

I think the truest advantage to predesign is not the upgrades you can sell to your clients, but truly making them happy with the product you are delivering to them. While they make think a certain group of images is their favorite, they have no idea how those images will work lumped together in a book. And many times, thy don’t work together at all. By predesigning albums, you are educating your clients about what works well. You are educating your client as to what a great image is. And if the reminder they take home of your work is the best it could possibly be, why would they not come back to you?

I’m interested in taking the advantage of predesign one more step and would love to hear from some photographers that might want to give it a shot. But in general – I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts and methods on predesign and album layout!