their life—with all their accomplishments and personality
traits. Parents cherish these albums as reminders of a
childhood that passes all too quickly.
Patti Andre’s Signature Storybooks.
Patti Andre, owner of As Eye See It Photography in Ran-
cho Santa Fe, CA, calls her children’s album books “Sig-
nature Storybooks.” Clients commission her books not
only because they want to commemorate important
events, but also because her books are works of art.
Patti and her husband, Tom, did months of research,
tried different bindery shops and album companies,
until they came up with the perfect treatment. Patti says.
“Our books are very labor-intensive because we do ab-
solutelyeverything—from the design and layout to print-
ing the pages on our Epson 7600 inkjet printer.” Then,
they outsource the final gluing, binding, and specialized
covers.
To start each project, Patti makes 2x3-inch proofs of
just her favorite images for layout purposes and to begin
a story line. Clients then receive a full working proof
book of 2x3 prints. According to Patti, “Every page is
built from scratch and customized, depending on the
progression of the story. Having a close working relation-
ship with clients allows me to find out what they like and
who’s most important to them from an event.”
100 CHILDREN’S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY HANDBOOK
A
recent development in children’s portraiture is the creation of
the storytelling album, which is very similar to a bound wed-
ding album. These albums contain a variety of images that may cap-
ture a special event in a child’s life or, more broadly, a whole year of
10. STORYTELLING BOOKS.
ABOVE AND PAGES 101 – 4 —This is the album of Capri. Her mom
found out she was pregnant when she was about to undergo breast
augmentation surgery. The surgeon came in and said, “We can’t
operate on you, you’re pregnant.” And so begins the story of
Capri. “I worked with Patti Andre on a storybook for my daugh-
ter, Capri Michael Nova—age twenty months,” says Capri’s Mom.
“We decided that we would focus on Capri’s first year of life, from
conception, through pregnancy, to labor, and then her firsts, end-
ing with her first birthday). Patti exceeded my every expectation
with her beautiful creation. I almost cried the first time she pre-
sented me the book. Her mixture of text, images, and color could
not have more perfectly embodied all of the feelings that my
daughter and I shared for her first twelve months. I received a big
book and a mini book (which I carry in my purse everywhere). I
have decided to work with Patti every year on a book for Capri so
that when she is eighteen, I can present her with all the books,
walking her through all of the special moments she gave me and
our family. For me, this is more than a storybook. It’s a legacy that
I can pass down from generation to generation.”