There are lots of template designers out there. Some sell photo announcements. Some sell book designs. Some sell collage/storyboard designs. And if you're lucky, you'll find someone that does it all.
Can you set up your own templates in photoshop? Absolutely! But if you put a price on your time you may find it is more efficient to just pay someone else to. After careful consideration I realized that it would be better for me to just buy templates.
I spent lots of time looking at templates designed for professional photographers and I kept coming back to the same person: Jaime Schultz Designs.
So far I've bought three items from her:
Birth Announcements
I love the Birth Announcements that Jaime added in February. They are clean, modern, and easy to use. She sets up her templates with easy to read layers for Photoshop so you can personalize the information and add the photos easily. And these announcements can also be used for other events like birthday party invitations and graduation announcements. For only $75 you get 10 5x7 cards, 6 5x5 cards, and 2 tri-fold cards. And as an awesome bonus she included the 10x10 Baby Coffee Table book template for both girls and boys!!! See her post to see more of the styles and to order your own! Just one order from a customer and these should pay for themselves! The way that I price announcements: I charge a setup fee which is included with the first 25 prints. Then they can order additional prints at a lower rate. I typically print the cards on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Paper. I keep a stock of envelopes for 5x7 cards in both white and vellum and I even have stationary boxes to make delivery easy. Most pro-labs also offer printing cards so you can use these templates to lay the cards out and order them through your lab.
10x10 Clean Slate Book
The second purchase I made from Jaime Schultz Designs was her 10x10 Clean Slate Book. I love the clean layout, and how easily customizable it is. You can choose to add color or just leave the pages white. And like her announcements it was easy to use the templates. Just select the area that the photo should go into and paste into it. Her photoshop files are very clean and easy to navigate. And she includes instructions!!! I used this template to create my 10x10 portfolio album. It has been a big hit. I use White House Custom Color for my album printing and was pleased with their results. They just recently added their press printed books so I was happy that the results were so good. They were backordered on the black leather cover at the time so I changed to the red and I'm so glad I did - it is stunning.
Wall Display Collection
My most recent purchase from Jaime Schultz Design (today, in fact) is the Wall Display Collection. It includes 16 different layouts that you can use to sell "collections" or packages to your clients. Or you can use it to help the client visualize how to lay out photos they buy. Either way, I have high hopes for this product. I know I'll want to add to the two photos included for sample room layouts (a bedroom and a living room). I plan to look carefully at these designs and change my packages accordingly!
Links to items mentioned in this post:
Comments