31 Days:: Inside My Photo Books
This is the 20th day in a series: 31 Days of Memory Keeping. Check out all the posts here.
Today I am excited to share a short video giving you a glimpse at some of the photo books in my collection.
I also talk a bit about design preferences and what works for me.
I know I have talked about photo books A LOT this week. They have become a huge part of my memory keeping process in the past year, which is why I wanted a heavy focus on them.
Readers often email me questions about photo books, so I hope that the past few days has been helpful. Whether you choose to do a large annual photo book, a photo book about a yearly event (like a birthday), or one of special trip or milestone, these easy to create projects are a great form of memory keeping.
Tomorrow I will be talking about scrapbooking, and I have another freebie, so be sure to stop by!
Don’t forget – you have until Sunday to make a free photo book on Paper Coterie’s website. Details here.
I love them all 🙂 I have a vacation 8×8 for each 1 week vacation we took, an 8×8 for my annual trip to Atlanta, a small birthday book of some sort, if the kids had a party that year. I love love love photobooks. I’m actually hosting a shutterfly party with free 8×8 for all my guests next month 🙂 Can’t wait. happy memory keeping, I love it all 🙂
Could you move to Nashville so I can come to your party?? xo
Thank you so much for sharing! I love doing photobooks and I try to always have a few done for those random “free photobook” offers so I don’t have to rush and get one together. I can’t wait for the list of books I want to make to dwindle a little! I have done one year in review “series” (there were too many pictures for one book) and then rest have been vacation books or gifts for family. I so appreciate whenever you post reminders of groupons or other photobook deals out there. I don’t always see them so that is a huge help! 🙂
I’m glad to hear that those posts help!
Thanks for showing us your books..I’m always inspired by seeing others books…I really need to make more of these..I, too, take so many pictures at things and on trips that I’m often overwhelmed by the number and trying to get it down to a manageable number to make a layout…photobooks would help..I made one for my son’s football coach last season with all the pictures I had taken all season and he almost cried! lol..he was touched..and it turned out SO GOOD! I like more clean lined designs too..no cutesy stuff!
Yes photo books are definitely my answer to too many photos for a scrapbook page! 🙂
Ok, just the sound of all your books bumping together is wonderful! I am one of those people who has a zillion photos and never does anything with them, though has great intentions. In fact, when we were back living in the States a few years ago I had two full boxes (about 4000) prints from birth thru when I got my digital camera scanned, so now ALL my photos are digital.
I find myself paralyzed when it comes to creating a book – its like I don’t even know where to start, so I just don’t start. Do you have any suggestions? It seems like you can just sit down and whack off a photobook in an hour, and it takes me a week. I’m probably thinking I need to make it super complicated, something you obviously don’t do (and I love your style). Any tips?
I think making a list of the books you would like to make is a great place to start. What events do you have a large chunk of photos for that putting together a photo book would make sense for? Examples: trips, life events, holidays, etc. I have a running list of photo book ideas going so that when sales come up or I have some free time (ha!) I can whip one up. My other big tip is to keep it simple. If you watched the video you saw that my books are VERY simple. No fussy designs. Simple. Simple. Photos+words+memories kept well. 🙂
So I’m definitely started on my list (baby steps) and will be doing a Paper Coterie book in the next few days – thank you to them and you for this offer. Just one more question, when I was going through my pictures just looking at them ideas were popping up of “Trip to US 2007” and “Disney 2007” “Sydney turns 1”- now Disney happened when we were in the US for three weeks (we were living in Australia), and so did her first birthday – so here’s my question: would you do one big album of Trip to US, or break it down “WI” “Disney” “First Birthday” – etc. Obviously I don’t have to do the same thing you do, but I’m just trying to figure out ways to break it down in my head and then on paper.
BTW – you rock, thanks so much for taking the time to personally answer questions!
Thanks Jennifer for asking this question. I am on the same boat! Thanks Jessica for answering it too.
Since 2004, I’ve made an annual photobook for the grandparents on both sides of the family and have made separate ones from different events for the kids and myself. I keep my photos organized by month and year and from there, select my favorites (I use google’s picasa to organize my pictures) and begin from there. I try to keep on it through the year so it’s not overwhelming at the end and so I’m close to being able to put it together totally if there is a good sale. (And Shutterfly usually has one.)
What a special gift! I bet the grandparents love it.
Thanks for sharing your books, Jessica! I love to look at what other people do and their pictures as well. I’ve never used Paper Coterie but I have an idea for a book so I’m going to be trying them out.
Here’s a tip for Jennifer: Make a list of the books you would like to make (whether a whole year review, special event, of a specific person) then just pick one and start from there.
You will LOVE Paper Coterie. Their designs and quality is excellent.
Loving this entire series of memory keeping and I love all your photo books. Where do you keep your books stored? Or how do you display them?
Right now I have them on a bookshelf because our condo is on the market. I used to have them in a big basket in our living room. 🙂
I love your idea of doing photo shoot books. I so far have done all our own photo shoots of our daughter and our family. I would like to have a professional photo shoot sometime but haven’t since my maternity shoot (which I don’t have a cd for). Most of my photo books are of trips that we have taken, or life events (birthdays, holidays).
Loved watching your video. Curious if you keep all your books at 20 pages and the 8×8 size? I have made a book via Shutterfly but haven’t tried any of the other sites. How do you think the quality compares between them? Thanks your all your inspiration!
I typically do keep them to 20 pages. I was not happy with the quality of a Ritz book that I made. The quality is a bit higher with Paper Coterie and Picaboo. Shutterfly, Snapfish and Walgreens all have been pretty consistent to me.
Hi Jessica!
Love your posts on photobooks! I would like to know if the free photobook offer from Paper Coterie is for a hard or soft bound book? Thanks!
It is for any book valued up to $38.
I have not been able to make a book on Paper Coterie. I signed up and get the home page but when I click on a book to create, it loads and then I am not able to click anything further. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks,
Debbie
I have no idea. You should contact PC customer service. Sorry.