How to Choose the Perfect Photos for Your Custom Photo Book

How do you choose photos for your custom photo book?

1. Know the theme and purpose of your photo book.
2. Select the type of photo book you want.
3. Pick photos with good resolution.
4. Layout and organise the sequence of your photos.
5. Add meaningful notes to make it personal.
6. Share and Enjoy with your Loved ones!

Memories have a remarkable way of capturing our hearts and taking us on nostalgic journeys. And what better way to preserve those cherished moments than with a custom photo book? Whether it’s a collection of family vacations, unforgettable milestones, or heartwarming everyday adventures, a personalized photo book is a treasure trove of joy.

But with an abundance of photos at our fingertips, choosing the perfect ones for your custom photo book can feel like an overwhelming task. In this blog post, we’ll be your trusted guide on how to choose photos for your custom photo book. We’ll share expert tips and creative insights on how to curate a stunning photo collection that truly brings your story to life.

Pro tip: Always use your heart. Choose photos that make you smile, giggle, and even enough to shed a tear.

Know the Theme and Purpose of Your Photo Book

One of the most celebrated documentary photographers, Dorothea Lange, left us with this beautiful quote to ponder. “Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.”

We want to inspire you with this quote as you begin to alter and take out meaningful photos from your collection and understand the transforming power of pictures. When planning for a custom photo book at Prima, always make sure that it has a theme and purpose. Choose images that tell a compelling story to take its future viewers on a visual journey.

Here are some tips:

• For a nostalgic vibe, try focusing on activities or events you spent with your family, friends, or loved ones. If you like to put your travel photos and memorable gathering in one place, this is a great idea.
• For a more minimalistic type of photo book. Stick with 2-3 colour palettes and maximise negative space. Keep in mind that simplicity allows your pictures to shine on every page.
• For history enthusiast photo collectors, you may opt for a chronological approach when organising your album. You may put them based on dates or times they occurred. This is suitable for chronicling life events like – your relationship with your significant other, pregnancy journey, your child’s developmental milestones, or some adulting phases you’ve been through.

By customising your photo book chronologically, you present it with more cohesion, and you allow each shot to tell a story that flows naturally.

Select the Type of Photo Book You Want.

Once you have figured out the purpose of your photo book, the exciting part happens – selecting the materials that will add value and feel to it.

Prima commits to delivering high-quality photo books that will serve as a ‘home’ to your treasured memories. We want to keep it the same way you value it with all of your heart. Ourexperience of being your partner to preserve memories in print helps us develop various products to date.

We have hard and soft book covers in 6 different sizes to secure all of your snapshots. Our hardcover book materials can be suitable for your personalised wedding albums, pregnancy journey, and travel compilations.

However, if you want a lighter magazine type of cover, you can always go for soft ones. This type of photobook can hold 100 pages. To add more character to your customised book, we offer the following finish satin, UV gloss, and high gloss.

Pick Photos With Good Resolution.

As painful as it may be, not all photos will make it to your book. Be selective.

To make it easy for you, here are some things to consider for you to know you got stills with a favourable resolution.

• The image must have at least 300 dpi resolution. Anything lesser than this spec will make your pictures grainy once printed. So, when you snap photos, keep in mind that they don’t magically turn themselves into high-res. You have to work on that.
• Choose clear ones and leave blurry pics. Poorly lit shots will ruin your photo book goals. We don’t think you’ll argue with us if we ask you this. Think of your grandparents when picking photos, always go for sharp and well-exposed images.
• Play around with your shots. Include close-up snaps, mid-range images, and wide-angle shots.

If you decide to create your custom travel photo book, photos taken during golden and blue hours should make the cut.

Layout and Organise the Sequence of Your Photos.

Another valuable tip we can share with you on how to choose photos for your custom photo book is to never ignore the importance of lay-outing.

Your photo album should capture our journey, and it’s a must that we layout and sequence all photographs to produce an appealing and interesting experience for those who will look at it. Continuity in photos will help with the flow of the narrative and the emotion that each snap prompts. It must answer the question, “What happens next?”

Add Meaningful Notes To Make It Personal.

Though one photo can speak thousands of words, some people still want to know what each photo is all about. Adding little notes will give them enough context as to why you choose to include this particular picture in your album. You may write 1-3 short captions for each photo. Keep the tone conversational, as if talking to your mate.

For example, leave a note next to the photo of you and your friends during a prom, write something like this: “A snapshot from an unforgettable magical night! My first-ever prom with this crazy bunch. Wouldn’t trade you for anything!”

These short recollections will bring life to your book. You allow people to have a peek into the special people you get to share your journey with and shape these experiences with you.

Share and Enjoy With Your Loved Ones!

The world should see this masterpiece of yours. With all the stuff you have to go through each page to make this photo book memorable, it deserves to be celebrated and cherished by the people who inspired you to complete this.

You may invite friends for some coffee or cocktails and show this to them. As their thoughts or feedback if you want. Do you know that your photo books can also be a meaningful personalised gift for your long-distance loved ones? So you can mail this to them together with a loving note that will make them feel appreciated even if they’re far away.

This is a good addition to your bookshelves too. In this way, you can see and browse it from time to time if you feel like reminiscing about yesteryear.

Key Takeaway

Photo books are a reminder of the things we have once enjoyed, cried over, laughed about, and dreamed about. They are also solid evidence of how we live our lives and how we share who we are with the people around us.

Never take for granted designing or customising a photo book. A part of you lives on every page that you carefully and meticulously create.

Our team at Prima is just here to keep tabs on the milestones you create and want to share with the world. Don’t hesitate to call us if you need a hand to curate your well-treasured photos. Or feel free to request our catalogue that sums up everything that we offer for your custom photo book needs.