Photobooks

Digitally printed Photobooks allow much more flexibility than the old photo albums.
It is possible to select the number of pages, page finish, cover finish and photo size when editing.
Binding, cover type, boxing and other features are able to be selected.
This makes it possible to create a very engaging story using the images and words.

There are Photobook markets where people promote and sell their books.

Why a Photobook

Photo albums have been enjoyed for many years by families but often they are just a chronology or timeline of images of family life without a specific story.

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Photobooks allow specific stories to be told which make the book more interesting, such as:

  • Weddings - family wedding photos*
  • Baby books - a collection of images of the new baby
  • 'Brag' books - Grandma's family pictures to show friends
  • Life books - a record of someone's life experiences. Very powerful for elderly in residential care.
  • Family History/Genealogy - collections of photos related to family, ancestors and places
  • Special interest books - sewing, models, cars, boats, artwork and so on. A catalog, memory, record…
  • Holiday books - recording holiday fun from a range of family images
  • Travel books - a more formal diary of travel and experiences
  • Story books - with a selected batch of images, a special storybook can be created for a child

Photobooks come in many size options; small books can be printed that can be carried easily and large coffee table books can be made to enjoy in comfort at home. Covers, binding, end papers and boxing are all able to be selected.

*Be warned, if you are going to do your own wedding photography make sure you are a confident photographer with reliable equipment.
There is no excuse you can use that will satisfy a disappointed bride.

What will it cost?

This may be one of the hardest things to determine until the book is nearly complete.

The reasons for this are:

  • the many options available (see below)
  • the need to have enough pages for the number of pictures

These reasons mean that you have to lay-out the book to determine even approximate cost.
A photobook can layout photos in many sizes and orientations so it cannot be done by a simple formula like four 'photos per page'.

This can also make cost comparison between suppliers difficult.

There is also the issue of quality of printing. Cheap prices can be tempting until one is disappointed with the final result.
It may also be important to consider how well packed the finished book will be.
A cheap book that arrives damaged is also not a pleasant outcome.

Choices to be made that affect cost:

  • Size - sizes may include ISO sizes A5, A4, A3 or the inch equivalents.
  • Orientation - Portrait, square or landscape
  • Cover - soft cover, hard cover, photocover, embossed hardcover and so on.
  • Binding - glued back, lay flat, etc
  • Extras - boxed, place marker, clear first page etc
  • Cost per page - prices are often quoted for a basic number of pages*, say 20 and then per page price to add extra
  • Layout - blank, pre-prepared, template, automatic
  • Software - installed on PC, online (web app), in-shop

*Note: a 'page' is one face of a sheet of paper because the printing is costed by the number of images printed.

In many cases the final book will be printed and delivered in about 2 weeks.

To provide some sort of idea of cost, an A4 hardcover photobook with 150-200 pages from a good printer will probably cost around $150-$200 delivered.

While this might sound expensive, a conventional photo album might cost $20 and if 200 prints were made at 25 cents per print the total cost would be $70.
This has all the prints the same size and may allow handwritten notes below each print. It will not offer a photo cover and is bulky and very basic.

The photobook allows text anywhere on a page, special colouring, resizing of images up to the full size of the page and personalising of the layout.

Photobook Options

There are many providers of Photobook printing and most of these provide their own software to create the photobook.
Some require download to your computer, but this is normally free software.
There are online options where the design is done in a 'web app' inside a browser. This may be convenient as it does not require download or installation but there may be delays when photos have to be uploaded to the website of the printer while you are working.

Some businesses offer what I have termed 'live' photobooks. These books are created as photos are taken. Photos are uploaded to the book location and are placed automatically by the software. Maps, text and other enhancements are possible to finalise the book. This could be very effective for travel as the book is essentially finished at the end of the trip and can then printed soon after arrival home.
This table summarises the types of Photobook options available. Notice that 'Alternatives' is for consideration as a photobook may not be the best solution in some cases.

Photobook Type Workflow Comment
Software Download Prepare before design Work offline, fast edits, stored on your PC
Online Editor Prepare before design Online only, upload images may be slow, edit may be slow
Online "Live" Load and edit live Less edits, finalised quickly, fast for travel
Alternatives Diaries, notebooks, social media, blog Is a photobook needed?

Photobook Software

Usually the software used to compose a photobook is supplied by the printing business.
It may be online or downloaded to your computer or other device, and is normally free.
Some books are created online and viewed online but also hard copies can be ordered.
Existing photographs may be digitised using a scanner so that they can be put in the photobook.
Finished photobooks may be shared online and additional copies ordered by family and friends if desired.

This is the Photobook editor for an Australian company, Momento:

PBook_Edit.jpg

A suggested process for designing a Photobook is:

  • What is the story? - think about what are the important elements to be expressed
  • Gather the photos - which images will be most useful in telling the story
  • Edit for quality - reject poor quality images unless there is special historic or sentimental value
  • Sort the order to tell the story - how are the images to be positioned? Chronological, people, places?
  • Arrange the images using the Photobook software
  • Proofread and edit as required - read the text and check for quality issues with photo size and positioning
  • Upload to the Photobook printing business - this is usually automated within the software
  • Confirm the details and pay - a proof copy may supplied; payment is required before printing
  • The Photobook is delivered when printed

Once the Photobook is complete, multiple copies can be purchased or sold to others as in this example.
The book content or link can be shared in many ways.

PBook.jpg

The sharing options are: Email, various social media, sending the link, embedding on a website.
(Note: 'embedding' means that the information about the book can be included in a website)

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