Select the most appropriate software 

  We have researched many packages and have three recommendations depending on your budget and the type of output.

  The best package for wedding albums is undoubtedly dg Foto Art.   It has been adopted by many of the bureau services.   It is a fast & easy-to-use software tool to create stunning photo albums in minutes with ease using blend of easy-to-use tools, ready-to-use templates and huge library of added décor. Being stand-alone Dg Foto Art is independent of any third party tools or plug-ins.  In  most cases you will not need access to Photoshop.  That is unless you want to make substantial changes to the pictures.  The top-of-the-range Dg Foto Gold version has come down significantly in price and is within the budget of any professional.    For amateurs we recommend the high-function Essentia version.  It gives a great range of templates, masks and frames.  There are a few facilities not in the Gold package and you don't have access to the template development tools.

   As a professional said “What took me a day to produce with Photoshop takes an hour with dg Foto Art” .  What's more it is supported by a very good hot-line support service with a local number in the UK and USA.   If you like producing wedding albums and your budget can reach that far - then it is undoubtedly our recommendation.

 We recommend the stand-alone approach.  If however you feel you have such an investment in Photoshop CS that you would not  consider any other software then we recommend SPC's Album Design 5. This does everything in Photoshop layers.

Our other album package is ACD Fotoslate4.  It is a more basic offering – but can produce very good results, if some editing on Photoshop (or Elements) is done beforehand.  It is also easier to add text items in Fotoslate.  It is my favourite for vacations etc, though I produced some nice wedding albums before I had dg Foto Art.


Finally if you want to produce a scrapbook – with that type of appearance then Art Explosion Scrapbook Factory is our recommendation.  Personally I don’t think it is right for a wedding – but if you want total informality, then it is worth considering.

  There are other album packages.  You can use an editor, or printing utility.  The former is more difficult to position for printing; the latter generally limits you to blocks of photos 4, 6 to a page etc.  Warning: many programs have ‘photo album’ in the title.  They are for organising photos on the computer or on the web to be viewed electronically.  They have poor or no printing capability.

  There are other album packages.  You can use an editor, or printing utility.  The former is more difficult to position for printing; the latter generally limits you to blocks of photos 4, 6 to a page etc.  Warning: many programs have ‘photo album’ in the title.  They are for organising photos on the computer or on the web to be viewed electronically.  They have poor or no printing capability.