A photo book is a great way to capture your favorite digital photos in print. They make thoughtful gifts, interesting coffee table books, and are an excellent way for both professional and amateur photographers to showcase their work.
But sometimes choosing the right combination of prints for your book can feel overwhelming. As digital photography continues to take on a more and more significant role in our everyday lives, the number of photos we are taking is skyrocketing. What to do with all those photos in the offline, non-digital world is the next question. So here are three quick tips on how to compile some of your favorite photos into a beautiful photo book.
But sometimes choosing the right combination of prints for your book can feel overwhelming. As digital photography continues to take on a more and more significant role in our everyday lives, the number of photos we are taking is skyrocketing. What to do with all those photos in the offline, non-digital world is the next question. So here are three quick tips on how to compile some of your favorite photos into a beautiful photo book.
Tell Your Story
One approach to creating a photo book is to treat it like a visual story. Think about the message you want to send with your photos and weave a visual narrative with them.
"...put the shots in order as they were taken, which will offer a natural progression...." Phototuts+.com
Your story could be an event, a season, a holiday, a place or even an object-based theme. Whatever it is, use your photos to communicate the tale you want to tell to your "reader."
Pick Your Photos First
"Edit down the number of photos to the best ones, or the ones essential to telling the story you wish to convey."
Digital Photography School.
Before sitting down to layout your photo book, choose the photos that you want to showcase. You may have a thousand or more photos to sort through before choosing the gems that will make it into your book. To do this you might want to create a new file folder and name it something like "best" or "photo book 1" etc. As you pick the photos you want to use move them into this folder. After you've gone through the entire lot, you can then go to this folder and begin the elimination process again - this time, on a smaller scale - until you are certain that only the very best photos ready to make it into your book.
When evaluating which photos to include, think about what you want to communicate with your book. In other words, what's your motive?
This is important no matter what kind of book you are creating, but especially for professional photographers. A photo book should be a cohesive and meaningful work of art.
This is important no matter what kind of book you are creating, but especially for professional photographers. A photo book should be a cohesive and meaningful work of art.
Digital Photo Resolution
If you're a pro you can skip this section, but for many amateur photographers the dots-per-inch recommendations (DPI) can feel intimidating.
Here's what you need to know. Many printers recommend printing your photos at 300 DPI, at the dimensions you want them to appear. But that is the lowest resolution allowable for a clear print. For better quality photos, aim higher and always follow your printer's recommendations.
To find the dimensions without photo-editing software, right click on your photo and choose "properties" on a PC or "get info" on a Mac. Then plug your printer's suggested resolution into this simple formula.
Here's what you need to know. Many printers recommend printing your photos at 300 DPI, at the dimensions you want them to appear. But that is the lowest resolution allowable for a clear print. For better quality photos, aim higher and always follow your printer's recommendations.
To find the dimensions without photo-editing software, right click on your photo and choose "properties" on a PC or "get info" on a Mac. Then plug your printer's suggested resolution into this simple formula.
"If the photo book printers recommend 300 dpi and your photo is 2592 x 1944 (about 5 megapixels), divide each dimension by 300." Photobookgirl.com.
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Now that you are ready to begin creating your photo book, use our online apps to bring your vision to fruition. With a variety of sizes, styles and themes available, the only limits are your imagination. Our expert photo printing services will bring your vision to stunning reality.
Don't have everything ready just yet? Not a problem. You can save and edit your work for as long as you need to until it's done!
Got questions? Feel free to contact us!
or call us at 1-800-297-7226
Got questions? Feel free to contact us!
or call us at 1-800-297-7226
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