Everything’s fine but what do you do?

Good question. We are a team of passionate photographers and designers who have decided to spread happiness around. How? We used to design albums and other print products only for our photography clients but one fine day we decided to throw it open to everyone. So, whether you hire our photography services or you do not, you can still give us your photographs and get photo albums, leather photo frames, wooden photo frames, canvas printed frames, wood printed frames, calendars and scroll albums made.

What is so special about CandidShutters photo albums?

Our photo albums are completely hand crafted which means that when you give your photographs for albums, we edit them (on the basis of look and feel of every page, the individual photos are not edited) and design each and every page manually. Our photography background further helps us in understanding the story behind your photographs and in crafting them in various designs. When the designs are done, we send you an online preview and offer you unlimited changes free of cost. Your design is printed only once you approve it.

Compare us with other album companies or your photographers: either they do not have the experience and the skill required to design your albums or they do it on some software. Personalisation is what truly sets us apart from all the others.

With CandidShutters photo albums, you also get the assurance that there is a personal involvement. Since we are a boutique, we take care of all the steps ourselves which means that right from understanding your design preferences, colours you like, design elements you prefer to designing and then overseeing the final delivery; all is done personally by us thus ensuring that your albums get the kind of attention they deserve and you are free from all the hassles. You just need to give us your photographs and preferences and then sit back and relax.

Do you give warranties?

Yes, we promise 100% satisfaction to you. Though each of our Albums passes through rigorous QC process before being shipped out however, if you find any manufacturing defect in your product, please bring the issue to our notice (within 5 days of receiving the product by sending detailed pictures of the product, inner and outer packaging) and we promise to make it right.

Please also note that all our products are handcrafted and are made using variety of materials such as wood, leatherette, plastic, acrylic, paper, inks and dyes and hence they have to be handled with absolute with care else the product may get spoiled.

Do you give demos of your products?

Yes, in Mumbai and Gurgaon, we do give demos of page types.

At any point, it would be best to give us a call and enquire. We would be glad to help you.

You can call us at 08080470280.

Are the sizes and colours mentioned on your website the exact sizes and colours of your albums and other print products?

No, the sizes mentioned are approximate sizes and the final products may have a 3% to 5% variation in terms of the sizes, similarly there might be a slight variation in the colour of the album covers as compared to what is shown on our website.

The colour variations arise because each product of ours is made from scratch and often the input supplies have slight variations with respect to the colours.

The size variations arise because of the final cutting and finishing. Since each product is handmade and is made from scratch, sometimes a slight size variation occurs when we do the final finishing.

Please note that the colours and the general appearance of photographs on screen (when you see them during the design phase) and on paper might be different. This depends on the paper used and also the colour space of the photos.

Are the leather albums made of genuine leather?

No, we do not use genuine leather and being animal lovers ourselves, we do not believe in buying or selling of genuine leather products. The albums on our website are made of high quality premium finish leatherette.

Sounds interesting, but how to go about it?

Great. You just have to select the albums/print products you like and send us an enquiry for that. We will call you with the exact rates and take the process forward. To help you decide, we have categorised our albums basis the occasions, properties of the albums etc. Remember that each and every album of ours is unique and we do not use any templates to design your album.

Find all this confusing? Never mind, pickup your phone and give us a call at 08080470280.

How much advance do I need to pay and how?

When it comes to payment, we are very particular because we feel that it’s our right to get paid when we have worked so hard. No over demands – right?

50% of the order amount is what we charge when you order an album. You can pay us using any mode of payment you are comfortable with. Do remember that the order is confirmed only once we get the money in our account. The remaining amount is payable when you confirm the design. For print products, 100% of the amount is payable before the products can be printed and dispatched.

What does your album package contain?

Each and every album of ours comes in best in class packaging. Some albums come with hard board boxes and some come with leather ones. Some of the albums come in leather/jute bags as well. The product pages list the boxes/bags which the albums come with.

How much time do you take?

Since the products are completely hand designed, we take about one to two weeks to send you the preview and when you approve the design, we take about a week’s time to print and send the album to you. Some albums take longer to print and might even take upto 15 days to print because of the extensive hand work and customisation in them.

Do I need to shortlist the photographs for the Albums?

Yes, you need to shortlist the ones you want us to use in your album design and then arrange them in the sequence you want them to appear in the album. In case you are not able to shortlist the photos then please contact us as we can do the shortlisting free of cost for you.

How many photos do you use in a sheet and how many photos should I give?

Each of our sheets usually accommodate about 4 to 6 images. Please note that this completely depends on the type of design you choose and the quality of pictures you give (for great looking candid shots we can even use 7 to 8 pictures per sheet). Most of the people usually use about 150 to 200 images in an album which translates to 30 to 40 sheets.

Please note that sometimes while designing the sheets, we may feel that a specific number of sheets have to be increased to ensure that we design as per your given preferences. In such cases, the increase in the total payment as well as the number of sheets will be communicated to you and the amount will be added to your pending payment.

What should be the resolution and format of my photos?

We recommend that you send us your photos in the resolution in which they were shot. However we have observed that many photographers do not shoot in high resolution or even if they do, they compress and send the photos to their clients which ultimately affects the quality of prints. Since this point is beyond your control many a times, we recommend sending out photos whose sizes are at least in few mega bytes. Either of JPEG or Camera raw can be sent.

How do I give the photographs?

You can send your photos to us either online through https://spaces.hightail.com/uplink/csstore or through any other file transfer application or you can courier them to us in DVDs or pen-drives. In Mumbai and Gurgaon we can get them collected as well.

How do I tell you about the photographs which need to be highlighted in the album?

You can mention the image names or numbers and we will ensure that those images are adequately highlighted.

Can I suggest references from across the web?

Of course.

Are the designs which you make related to the type of photos I give you?

Photographs play a very important role in designing; the better your photos are, the better the final designs will look.

Do you edit the photos before using them in the design? 

We do not edit each and every photo however we do enhance the whole sheets as per the requirements of the design. Some photos are made black and white and some given different tones as per the design.

Will you give the soft copies of the final design?

We do not give out high resolution print ready jpegs of the final design however you do get pdfs of all the versions of your design which you can download at all stages when you receive the design previews. These pdfs are low in resolution and cannot be printed.

How do I know that which album is best for my photographs?

Though the final call will be yours, we have given our suggestions in the product descriptions/categories/tags.

What is your data policy and how do you accommodate request for changes on your products?

At CandidShutters, we strive hard to deliver your photo albums and prints to you as per the agreed timeline. This timeline maybe different for different customers and is communicated to our customers very clearly when they signup for our services.

Once you receive your album designs you will get 7 days to suggest changes, if any (you can suggest unlimited revisions as per the T & C). If we do not receive any changes by this time then we will consider that you are happy with the products (which most of the time you will be :)) and we will close the project from our side. Please note that once the design has been sent for print, no changes can be incorporated. The printing will happen only after the full payment has been realised.

Due to number of orders received by us and excessive data generated in the process, it is not possible to retain your data (the photos and the designs) beyond a period of 2 months from the order date. Therefore we are not liable to maintain your designs (or photos) beyond a period of 2 months from the order date if we do not hear from your post sending the designs/order confirmation email. Post this 2 month period you will have to get your pages re designed (we may offer you discount on the design if we are re designing your album). The 2 month retention policy applies to finalised designs as well; when you finalise your design for print but do not pay the final payment. Once the full payment has been realised and your data has been sent for print, we may retain the print ready jpegs (the designs and the photos are not retained) for a longer period of time.

I had approved my album design and have received my album print. I want to suggest some changes now, is it possible?

We are afraid that you will have to pay for the print again. We may waive off the design charges depending upon how many changes you want but printing charge will be payable.

Do you only make wedding related albums or other products?

No, not at all. Though a major part of our portfolio shows that we are only into weddings, we can make albums and other products for almost any occasion be it birthdays, anniversaries or just about any other event or occasion.

What are the other products which you sell?

Apart from photo albums, we sell leather photo frames, wooden photo frames, canvas printed frames, wood printed frames, calendars and scroll albums.

What is the difference between coffee table books, photo albums and photo books?

In the common parlance, these names are used interchangeably with coffee table books being used for albums which are smaller in size and very handy. However, the correct definitions are as given below:

Photo albums: They are the true albums. Made with high quality photographic paper, these albums are the costliest. They use high quality leather and paper and are often hand designed and hand made. However the paper is prone to wear and tear and moisture and can get spoilt very easily.

Photo books: They are the ones currently that get sold the most in the market. With soft or hardcovers, they are designed using softwares and printed using press papers.

Coffee table books: Portable and handy books with non lay flat binding and thin card board type press paper.

What we sell can be called a hybrid of photo albums and photo books. The coffee table books are similarly our smaller hybrids. They are hybrids because we design them manually but print them on non photographic paper.