Jennifer Chaney - Dream Featured Photographer
Nov 2, 2009 at 10:38PM These are the Dream Album product images from Jennifer Chaney ( www.jchaney.com ), a cherished client and one of the best lifestyle photographers in the San Francisco Bay area. We wanted to share with you the amazing way she presents her simple, modern, and beautiful work using Dream Album products.
These are her 12x12 dream albums: one is 40 pages and the other is 50 pages. 
We contacted her as our first featured photographer because the feel and look of her work, her website, and her Dream Albums are the perfect match! And whenever we see her new album orders come in, we know that her clients also cannot get enough of her amazing artistry.
Jennifer says, "Your albums are so customizable, which is important to me because the Bay Area has a large photography community, and I know my albums will always be different from ones my neighbor designs. And I love that the same album comes in three square sizes, and with customizable covers I can really create an heirloom album for my clients.
My photography is lifestyle and candid, so my clients need an album that is large enough to show their sessions in a storytelling layout. I can easily do this with the 12x12 album - it's big enough to handle the largest of sessions. And with my album style being clean and classic, I have a lot of freedom in designing layouts this large. I can do a beautiful full spread of a favorite picture on two pages, and then on the next page have 9 pictures to complete the story. For me, it's the ideal combination because I shoot a family session much like I shoot a wedding - lots of detail shots and a lot of large portraits.
For the clients wanting fewer pictures in their albums, I offer the 9x9 album with up to 40 images. This has been a lovely option because my clients don't have to deal with several different album prices. The 9x9 is the same price for 30 pictures as it is for 40, so most of my clients opt for all 40 images. I don't offer the 6x6 album as a single purchase because I don't think it's large enough to be a standalone album. Instead I usually suggest it as a gift for the grandparents, and a number of clients actually purchase one for the newborn or child. What a fabulous gift to give them when they either get married or have kids of their own! I've also discovered that I can take the storytelling spreads I've already designed for the 12x12 and use them in the 6x6 - that's my favorite combination, but you have to be sure to use the spreads with larger pictures in the simplest layouts.
Which leads me to why I design the albums with a white cover, white core, and why I upgrade to the white box. I do a white cover and layout because I want the images to truly pop and I don't want the viewer to be distracted by wording or colors. And it's very important to me that everything I offer is timeless. What is hip today may not be so fabulous in 20 years (feathered hair, anyone?) This is why I also use the white boxes. They are sleek and modern just like the albums. At first, I switched to the white boxes because it coordinated with my packaging, but now I order them because I see them as an extension of the album. It's what I hand to my clients, so the look and feel of the box is an important part of the finished product.
I'm in the process of designing a couple of Dream wedding albums, and I'm excited to see how they turn out!
In the end, I don't offer what I don't love or what I wouldn't own myself. The same goes for selling; I would never try to sell something to my clients that they don't need or want. And all of my clients fall in love with these albums as soon as they see them!"
We cannot wait to see the wedding albums that Jennifer is currently working on. Knowing her timeless style and commitment to quality, there is no doubt they will go exceed our expectations - and her client's too! We feel very honored to work with such a dedicated and talented photographer like Jennifer.
Reader Comments (16)
great choice! she is a very talented photographer.
Congratulations Jennifer :-)
Beautiful work, as always! You are so inspiring!
Congratulations Jennifer, your work is superb and I love the simplicity and elegance of your album designs!
I always love seeing your albums! Beautiful work - thank you for sharing a bit of your process with us!
Wow! I love Jennifer's album design. So simple, but elegant, but classic, but beautiful! The dream albums are gorgeous! There is no comparison anywhere!
OH MY!!! Jennifer Chaney, these are GORGEOUS albums!! I have not taken the leap yet to order one but your images are definitely pushing me in that direction! Your work is stunning and so are you, inside and out!!!
First off I agree, Jennifer you are one of the best!! These albums are simply gorgeous, what a beautiful product. I love finding a product that you can feel proud of and confident about putting out there. I 'd say Jennifer and your Beautiful Dream Albums I are a fabulous l creative partnership.
this album is just gorgeous. makes me want to upgrade everything to white. great job!!
These are definitely DREAMY! Love this product and Love Jennifer's work!
Congrats Jennifer - and gorgeous albums too! I really like the simple cover design you've chosen -- I've been doing all full-bleed-image covers up til now, but this simple square image in the center looks really classy! I might need to try that out next time...
These are GORGEOUS and I appreciate your explanation of how you use the various sized albums. This really makes me want to get in gear and order some sample albums!!! :)
These albums are absolutely beautiful! I knew that Jennifer's work was beautiful but seeing how she designs her albums to showcase the work completely takes it to another level.
jennifer is such a talented and creative photographer...i am a huge fan and loved seeing these examples of her magnificent work. it's been on my to do list for a while and i'll be ordering up my samples ASAP now! so inspiring!
these are breath-taking! awesome! can't wait to order mine!!!
Just gorgeous!
I'm in love with ur books, with ur boxes, with every lil detail on all the sweet products you offer, such an amazing work, guys! I'm so so happy to find you :)
I'm launching really soon my family site : www.lilannfoto.com and would be a dream if I can count with u and your books to end to delight my clients with them.
I live in Spain, would be a problem?
thanks so mucha and congrats for ur breath-taking full of love work :)
hugs and smiles from Barcelona,
Angharad