Photo Books, Not Photo Dumps: Tame the Chaos and Let Your Best Shots Take the Spotlight
Everyone loves a photo book. It’s the perfect keepsake. Symbolic yet tangible; something that you create for yourself or your near and dear out of pure love and desire to make shared moments last forever.
As a custom, one-of-a-kind creation crafted with the recipient in mind, it’s a gift that’s always well received, no matter the occasion. The fact that these photographic memoirs are some of our most popular items sold online only confirms exactly how highly desirable they are.
The Honest Truth
At Fujifilm Photos, we’ve tried to make the process of photo book creation as simple and straightforward as possible. And this is something we’re constantly improving on. We have free, intuitive software, ready-to-use page layouts, and cover designs just one click away. But no matter what we do next, the toughest challenge will always be yours to solve.
What’s the story and how to tell it? Although curating a keepsake like this is largely a personal journey, we hope that our tips can provide helpful guidance.
1. Face the Paradox of Choice
You may be fond of saving every blurry shot and every funny selfie, but this can quickly lead to a photo overload. When you’re creating a photo book, the “the more the merrier” axiom simply doesn’t apply. Instead, you come across the paradox of choice. A situation where too many options leave you unable to move forward.
Uploading images into our platform can be quite difficult and time-consuming if you’re trying to scroll through your whole camera roll. It can also dampen your enthusiasm and steal a bit of the joy and anticipation. We get it; we have kids, pets, plants, friends, family, screenshots, memes, too. We’re no better.
Moving endearing snaps to trash is not easy. Especially those silly little moments that make you chuckle and feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but they’re not to be shared with the public and certainly not to be printed in stunning colour. The solution? It’s down below.
2. Get Organised
Pre-organising your images streamlines the workflow on our platform. If you collate your files into a folder before uploading, you’ll be off to a better start. Use your phone’s image organisation tools, such as face and event recognition, to create a folder, and then upload that whole bundle directly into your photo book project. This will save you time and effort and allow you to focus on the creative aspects.
3. Tell a Story
A photo book can be more than just a collection of images; it can be a visual story. The face and event recognition tools mentioned above can also guide your narrative. Whether it’s a family vacation, a baby’s first year, a wedding, or another special occasion, choosing photos that flow together can help you create a truly captivating experience.
Consider adding other personal touches that support your story or provide context. Like captions or text. You can easily add stylised text to your project using the Add Text Box feature that allows you to customise the font, size, colour, and alignment.
Our top tip: have all your text ready beforehand in a separate document, ready to be copied and pasted. This means proofread and edit, twice. Typos tend to fly under the radar when you’re admiring the big picture. And once they’re printed, they’re yours forever.
4. Prepare Your Photos
Once you have your album ready, it’s time to do a final photo quality check. It’s best to avoid dark and low-resolution pictures. Fret not, our software will warn you with a yellow exclamation mark or a red cross if an image that you have used for your photo book is of low resolution.
We strongly advise against proceeding if these warnings appear to avoid poor results when printed. These warnings are a great safety net, but to avoid going back and forth, do a thorough check of your album before you start uploading. Aim for at least 300 dpi to ensure clear prints.
5. Get to Know Our Software
Have fun with it. Figure out what each button does. Our software is packed with nifty features to simplify the process. Use them to your advantage.
For instance, our Auto-layout and Auto-fill functions create a quicker and smoother journey. They lay out the photos based on the number of images and pages you’ve selected. It’s recommended to go through each page, however, before putting through the order. Measure twice, order once.
Feeling creative? Our Blank Photo Book option grants you complete freedom, allowing you to choose the layout on each page. Somewhere in between? It’s called a golden mean for a reason. The Layout Only option lets you add your own images to a layout, the perfect balance of me-made and professional polish.
The A+ Difference
Printed on the highest quality paper and bound with a professional finish, our photo books feel effortlessly elegant in your hands; flipping through the pages is an act of indulgence, and seeing each photo is like witnessing memories coming back to life.
Got a big day coming up? Want to make someone smile without a special reason? Blow them away with the “I made you a book.” Now that you’re equipped with a little know-how, it’s time to move forward.
Newbie or seasoned Photobook creator - what's your best piece of advice?