FAQs - CandidShutters Store

GENERAL

What is so special about CandidShutters Store photo albums/photo books/Why should I choose you over my photographer/my local album printer?

There are various reasons as to why CandidShutters Store photo albums/photo books are special. Some of them are below:

Custom designed and hand-crafted photo albums/photo books.
Theme based unique designs or custom based fully customised designs.
Dedicated support team throughout your order process.
Sheet level editing of photographs (individual photographs are not edited).
Privacy of your photographs.
Defined timelines for every stage of the process.
More than a decade of photography and album designing experience which ensure that your story and vision is put beautifully on the album pages.
Well researched and carefully thought of processes developed over the course of a decade of our existence. These ensure a hassle free and creative output.
Online preview and proofing of the designs in an easy-to-use tech enabled interface.
Unlimited revisions till you are satisfied (for full-service designs. Two rounds of revision for theme-based designs.)
Tech enabled processes at every stage which ensure minimal manual work and maximum creative output.
Large collection of photo albums to choose from.
Top class quality.
Trusted brand name.
Professional experience throughout the order process.

Do you make photo albums/photo books for professional photographers also or just for general public?

At the moment we intend to primarily work with end users. Professional photographers are most welcome to make their albums with us. However, we will not be able to offer them different rates.

Do you give offline demos of your products?

No, we do not give demos. We do not have experience/demo centres anywhere at the moment.

Where are you based?

We are based out of Mumbai and Gurgaon in India. Our offices are the places where our designers, coordinators, design managers and creative geeks sit and operate out of.

Can we meet?

Our whole business model is crafted around convenience. We believe that preserving your memories should be as hassle free as possible and that is why we have designed the whole process in such a way that you need not meet anyone or travel to any place. You can browse and order your photo albums directly from our website. The whole process is online and hassle free.

Do you ship outside India?

YES! We ship worldwide. Shipping charges and custom duties are payable separately, on actuals, when we ship outside India.

What are your business timings?

Our design and production teams operate from Monday to Friday between 10 am to 6 pm. Festivals and National Holidays are off. Marketing and customer support teams have different operating timings.

WARRANTY

Do you give warranties?

We promise 100% satisfaction to you. Every album of ours 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 must be handled with absolute care, and they will last for years.

PRODUCTS

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 genuine leather products. The albums on our website are made of high-quality premium finish leatherette (some are Indian, some are American and some Italian, the same is mentioned in product descriptions). Some of them are plant/cork based also and this is mentioned next to the material’s description on product pages.

Which part of the photo book/photo album is custom designed and hand crafted?

Every album/photo book has three main parts–the design made using your photos, the pages which are printed with these designs and the album/book itself consisting of cover, bag and box etc.

The covers, boxes and other accessories are all displayed on our shop page and when you place an order with us, you essentially finalise these, the page type and number of pages and then move on to the designing of the pages. These covers, boxes and accessories are hand crafted and made to order but have a fixed style as shown in the photos on the shop page.

The designs are custom created using your photographs and are made from scratch/templates basis your design preferences and photos. You get to see the design previews online on our proofing site and suggest changes, if any, before they get printed.

What does your album package contain?

Each album/photo book of ours comes in best-in-class packaging. Some albums/photo books come with hard board/wooden 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/photo books come with.

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

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

If I place an order for a certain type of cover/colour and paper, then can I change these later?

There are few things which can be changed and few which cannot be changed. For e.g., paper type, leather colour, cover type, number of sheets, design type (full service or theme-based etc. can be changed on payment of additional charges (till the order is in design phase). Size of the album, orientation (landscape or portrait), design style cannot be changed.

What about reprints/parents’ copies?

Reprints/parents’ copies mean another copy of the photo book/photo album with the same inside page designs. You can choose to have your reprints to be an exact replica of the main copy or have them printed with different covers, different paper type etc.

The product pages have provision for indicating your intent for reprints. You can specify your requirement by checking the reprints checkbox. While processing your order, our team will get in touch with you to update your order and bill you for the same. The additional amount can then be paid through secure payment links.

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

No, the sizes mentioned are approximate sizes and the final products may have a very small 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 is true for any printer in the world because screen and print can never completely match). This depends on the paper used and the colour space of the photos.

However, all these variations are very minor in nature.

Do the albums/photo books look exactly the way they are shown on your website?

We take great pride in our products and each product of ours gets made with lot of focus on details, finish and quality. In fact, all the photos/videos on our website are photos and videos of actual products and not samples.

However, being handmade, our products are subject to minor variations because every album/photo book is made by hand and is subject to supply variations. You may find a slight variation in terms smaller elements such as buckles or other ornamental elements of the albums.

Do you only make wedding related albums/photo books 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 will soon start selling frames, stick and paste albums and many other innovative and creative products. Keep checking our website for updates.

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 given below:

Photo albums: They are the true albums. Made with high quality archival photographic paper, these albums are the costliest. In our website, the albums printed using RGB printing technology are the photo albums. They have absolute flat binding without any cuts in the centre and are available up to 50 sheets. They use Fujifilm archival paper.

Photo books: They are the ones with soft or hardcovers and are printed using press papers (digital offset machines). In our website, the photo books printed using HP Indigo machines are the photo books. They have curved binding with a cut in the centre and are available up to 70 sheets.

By default, our shop pages show photo albums up to 50 sheets and photo books beyond 50 sheets up to 70 sheets.

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

PROCESS

How does the overall album/photo book ordering and design process work?

Visit our shop section, select the album/photo book you like and place an order like you would on any e commerce store. You can either choose to pay in full (full amount means the total amount as per your current configuration. During design phase if the configuration changes for e.g. change in number of sheets, type of paper, redesigning of sheets, change in design type from full service to theme based or vice versa, change in album type, change in number of copies, rush order, expedited shipping, international shipping etc. then the balance will change and will be payable as per your order. These charges are communicated to you before you are billed) or pay 50% (50% of the full payment means a half payment as per your current configuration. During design phase if the configuration changes for e.g. change in number of sheets, type of paper, redesigning of sheets, change in design type from full service to theme based or vice versa, change in album type, change in number of copies, rush order, expedited shipping, international shipping etc. then the balance will change and will be payable as per your order. These charges are communicated to you before you are billed) in the beginning and the remaining later once the design is finalised.

Depending on whether you have selected theme-based design or full-service design, rest of the process will differ:

For full-service designs, post your order confirmation, you will receive an email with a secure link to upload your photos and a small questionnaire to collect your design preferences. Depending upon if you have submitted completely shortlisted and sequenced data or not, you will receive a link to the final sequenced set of photos for you to approve.

Post the above step, the design process of the sheets begins, we initially share a few sheets with you to make sure that we are progressing on the right track and post your approval; all the sheets are designed and shared with you on our proofing website. You can go through the sheets and comment for changes, if any. Revised versions are uploaded and upon approval the design is sent for print.

For theme-based designs, post your order confirmation, you will receive an email with a secure link to upload your photos (shortlisted and sequenced or if you have purchased add-ons for shortlisting and sequencing then without shortlisting and sequencing) and select a theme for your designs.

Post the above step, all the sheets are designed and shared with you on our proofing website. You can go through the sheets and comment for changes, if any. Revised versions are uploaded (2 rounds of changes are allowed) and upon approval the design is sent for print.

Once the remaining payment has been realised, the printing and album/photo book making process starts and within the stipulated timeline, your album/photo book is dispatched to be delivered to you at your address.

How much advance do I need to pay and how?

50% (50% of the full payment means a half payment as per your current configuration. During design phase if the configuration changes for e.g. change in number of sheets, type of paper, redesigning of sheets, change in album type, change in number of copies, rush order, expedited shipping, international shipping etc. then the balance will change and will be payable as per your order) of the order amount is what we charge when you order an album. You can pay us using any online mode of payment (credit card, debit card, net banking, wallets, UPI or even through easy EMIs) you are comfortable with. The remaining amount is payable when you confirm the design before they go for print. For print products, 100% of the amount is payable before the products can be printed and dispatched.

How much time do you take?

Since the products are completely hand designed, we take about 5-7 working days to send you the design preview and when you approve the design, we take about 7-10 working days to print and dispatch the album to you. Some albums take longer to print and might even take up to 15 working days to print because of the extensive hand work and customisation in them. Product descriptions carry the individual timelines for each product.

Please note that if shortlisting or sequencing must be done at our end then the timeline will get extended accordingly.

I need the album by a specific date. Can you help?

We can take up priority orders and promise a guaranteed delivery timeline. There may be extra charges depending on how much time we have before the due date. Please check with us before placing rush orders so that we can prioritise them accordingly.

How will I receive my photo album/photo book? How do you ensure that my order reaches me properly?

Your printed photo albums/photo books are carefully packed in several layers of tamper proof and sturdy packaging and are dispatched through best-in-class logistics companies such as Delhivery/Bluedart/XpressBees/Amazon Shipping in India or through DHL/Fedex/UPS outside India.

Our sturdy packaging ensures that your albums reach you in the safest manner. For more details visit our shipping policy page.

When I finalise a leather colour and paper while placing the order then do you ensure that those are available when my design goes for print since there is a time gap between order placement and printing of design?

We always maintain a rolling stock of all the raw materials (different types of paper, leather colours etc.) and basis this stock we keep updating the availability on our website. However, there is always a time gap between when you place the order and when your album goes for print. In this time gap, sometimes (very rare) the stock may change due to supply side variations. In all such situations we try to keep you updated regarding the availability and act as per your preferences.

I have placed an order with you, does this mean that the price at which I placed the order and timeline I was shown is the final price and timeline irrespective of the time between the order confirmation and order printing?

Our products involve a lot of raw materials which we source from different parts of the world. At any given point of time due to cross border trade and logistics involved, our input prices keep fluctuating. Most of the time we absorb the price fluctuations and try to keep the retail prices fixed. However, as a rule, if we do not hear from you post order confirmation/after sending the design/post design confirmation but not final payment for a period of 2 months, we remove the price protection offered to you and hence any price rise will have to be borne by you. Also, the timelines mentioned to you may get extended if we do not hear from you for a period of 2 months as your order then goes into a queue and hence, we must prioritise more recent orders to ensure we abide by our SLAs.

PHOTOS

How do I give the photographs?

You will receive a link in your confirmation email where you can upload the pictures (our photo submission site can accept data upto 50 GBs in one go in a secure manner without any compression or loss of picture quality). We always suggest zipping your folder and then uploading in the link provided. In case you have them in your google drive or some other cloud drive then you can also share their links with us.

Do my images need to be taken by a professional photographer?

Better photos make the design look more beautiful. Keeping this principle in mind, it’s always better to hire professional photographers to take your photos. However, please note that you can give us self-clicked pictures, or any type of pictures and we will use our expertise to present them in the best possible manner in your designs. The following points should be kept in mind while giving images not shot by a professional photographer:

The images not shot by a professional camera are often low in resolution and have a higher chance of getting pixelated in print (this issue can crop up in professional photos also depending upon the photographer).
If you mix and give images taken by a professional and by amateurs, then do keep in mind that the amateur images will look different from professional images as it is never possible to match the edit and style of these two types of images.
During the QC process we try and remove all the “not good” (NG) photos which have a higher chance of getting pixelated or are blur/have poor lighting or which cannot be improved by way of editing (it’s very difficult to directly edit .jpeg photos) or are repeats. It is better to avoid amateur photos as sometimes due to human error we may miss out removing such photos while designing.

Do I need to shortlist the photographs for the albums/photo books?

Yes, you need to shortlist the ones you want us to use in your album/photo book design and then arrange them in the sequence you want them to appear in the album/photo book. This ensures a faster turnaround time. However, in case you are not able to shortlist to the final count or are unable to sequence the images then we do have a tech enabled system which can help you do the final shortlisting, sequencing and tagging of important pictures to be highlighted in the album design. If you are buying theme-based designs, then there are add-ons for shortlisting and sequencing which you can add along with your order.

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

Each sheet can (a sheet consists of two pages–the left page and right page from the binding. These two pages make a full sheet or spread) 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. Most customers 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 must 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 upon your approval 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 megabytes. Either of JPEG or Camera raw can be sent.

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

For full-service designs, once we receive your photos, we will show you the sequence in which the photos will be used (the sequence is either the one specified by you while sending the data or the order of occurrence of events as per the meta data of the photographs). In this sequence, you can tag the important photos to be highlighted.

For theme-based designs, you will have to either rename the photos which must be highlighted or submit their numbers in design instructions which you will be asked to send post your order confirmation. If you have purchased add-ons for shortlisting or sequencing, then once you receive the shortlisted/sequenced data from our side then you can tag the photos to be highlighted.

How do you ensure privacy of photos?

Privacy is at the core of our operations, and we strive to ensure that your privacy is maintained at all times. The following points may be relevant here:

The photographs are collected in our secure link with no loss of quality whatsoever.
Data while being designed is stored in our secure systems or on cloud where the data is end-to-end encrypted. Only your designer and the design-manager can access them for design purposes.
Post confirmation of design, the photos are removed from our systems/cloud storage.
The designs made, are stored in our secure archive servers on cloud in an end-to-end encrypted format.
The designs during the print process are stored in our print servers and only the print-in-charge can access them for printing. Once printed, the designs are removed from print servers.
We do not upload or share the designs on our website if we receive any request from you to not share them.

DESIGNS

On what basis do you design the photo album/photo book sheets/pages?

For full-service designs, when you place an order with us, through our innovative and well researched ways (developed over a decade) we try and collect your design references, design elements-what you like and what you do not like.

We also show you the sequence in which your photos will be used (the sequence is either the one specified by you while sending the data or the order of occurrence of events as per the meta data of the photographs). In this sequence, you can tag the important photos to be highlighted.

Basis your design preferences and the sequence, we first design a few sheets and share them with you so that we can understand from you if we are on the right track. Upon receiving an approval from you, we design rest of the sheets and share them with you on our proofing site.

For theme-based designs, the designs are done on the exact same lines as shown in the theme selected by you.

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

Photographs play a very important role in designing; better photos make a better design.

Can I suggest photo design references from across the web?

For full-service designs, you can either suggest references from our past work or from anywhere across the web.

Can I have different design styles for different pages of the album?

Coherency and consistency are the key to a good album design. When you flip through the pages, the focus should fall on your story and not on the design or any other aspect of the album. Lesser the distractions, better the album design. Keeping this principle in mind we do not suggest too many variations across different sheets. Therefore, when you approve a particular design style during the initial preview, we try and follow that style throughout the album.

In general, what is your design style?

We specialise in modern and contemporary Indian and western design styles. We do not believe in altering the photos too much by changing their backgrounds, too much of merging of photos etc. If you have a specific requirement which requires altering of your photos (changing backgrounds, adding/removing people from them or editing them in a specific manner) or following very old-style template-based designs then please check with us before placing your orders.

Do you use predesigned templates to make your designs? 

For full-service designs, all our designs are made from scratch keeping your pictures, the story flow and design preferences in mind. We do not use any predesigned templates to make our sheets.

For theme-based designs, we use predesigned templates.

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

We do not edit each 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.

I need some quotes to be put on different pages of the designs in English/other languages. How to go about it?

One you receive the design preview on our proofing website, you can put the exact quotes as comments on relevant pages in the language of your choice. We will put them in the design. We do not suggest quotes from our side.

Do you design photo albums which contain lot of messages/quotes etc.?

Yes, we do that. In fact, our product pages have the option to indicate your choice for such album designs by checking “text heavy designs” add on. Please note that these albums require extra designing effort and hence carry extra charges.

When you select the “text heavy designs” add on, our team will contact you while processing your order and basis your preferences, update your order. Please note that to maintain aesthetics of the design, we may have to increase the number of sheets in your order (approximately by 20%-30%, depending on number and length of messages). Final charge is based on the number of sheets designed and printed; you will be billed accordingly along with the remaining payment.

Please note that beyond 50 sheets, the album will get converted to a photo book format i.e., with curved binding. In case of increase beyond 70 sheets, the album will be split into two parts.

In case you do not check the add on while placing the order but during the design phase we feel that the design is a text heavy one, we will reach out to you and update your order accordingly.

Milestone albums such as the ones for birthdays, anniversaries or any other important milestones of life usually contain lot of texts, however a wedding album or any other album may also contain texts/messages.

Is processing done on my photos post my design confirmation?

We keep editing the sheets during the design process to present your story in the best possible format. This ensures that what you see during the design process is what you get in the print. Whichever version you finalise is the version which gets printed without any further offline processing on it.

Do you do proofing of designs before printing them?

Though we try to remove duplicates, “NG” photos etc. from our side, please note that the version you approve is the version you get in print. Liability of checking for repeats/mistakes does not rest with us.

Similarly for texts in the design, we do not do their proof reading. We use the content as is provided to us. The liability of doing their proof reading rests with the customer.

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.

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

We are afraid that you will have to pay for the print again. There will be design charges for the number of sheets re designed and the printing charges for the whole album.

Do you post the designs/photos of the albums/photo books online?

In our line of work, you are as good as your last work. Keeping this principle in mind, we continuously strive to make our current album/photo book better than the previous one both in terms of design and finish. It therefore becomes very important to keep posting our work online so that prospective customers can see our latest work. However, if we receive any request from our customers to not post designs/photos of their albums online, keeping their privacy in mind, we absolutely refrain from online sharing.

What about copyright?

The copyright of photos or any other media belongs to you. The copyright of designs created thereafter using those photos belongs to us. However as mentioned above, privacy and mindfulness come above everything else for us.

DATA POLICY

What is your data policy and how do you accommodate request for changes in your designs?

At CandidShutters Store, 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 sign up for our services.

Once you receive your album designs you will get 7 days to suggest changes, if any (you can suggest unlimited revisions/2 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 you 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 retain print ready jpegs for a period of 2 years.

PAYMENTS

How do I pay on CandidShutters Store?

CandidShutters Store offers you multiple payment methods. Whatever your online mode of payment be, you can rest assured that our trusted payment gateway partners use secure encryption technology to always keep your transaction details confidential.

You may use Internet banking, UPI, Credit card, Debit card and Wallets or even easy EMIs to pay for your purchases.

Are there any hidden charges?

No, there are no hidden charges at all. The prices you see on product pages are inclusive of GST and are final (unless there is a change in the configuration of the album/photo book for e.g., change in number of sheets, type of paper, redesigning of sheets, change in album type, change in number of copies, expedited shipping, international shipping, rush order etc. These charges are communicated to you before you are billed). For international deliveries, shipping charges are extra and payable later when the albums are ready for dispatch.

Is it safe to pay online on CandidShutters Store?

We have tied up with some of the best payment gateway providers in India and hence you may rest assured that your payment details are safe and secure. We do not store any of your payment details and upon clicking on place order, you are directed to our payment gateway provider’s secure page where the transaction is carried out. Our gateway providers use 256-bit encryption to keep your data safe.