Creating Printed Photo Books: What You Need to Know
Posted on March 11th, 2008 by Embassy Pro Books
When it comes to creating printed photo books, you’ll find that there are a number of key elements that you should be on the lookout for:
- Design inspiration for your printed photo books is everywhere. Whether you are actively creating a book or you’re thinking about creating one in the near future, keep your eyes open, you’ll be surprised by how inspiring everyday things can be.
- Choose printed photo books that are a high quality - especially when you are using them as portfolios or as albums for your clients. There is a difference, and when you choose your highest quality images, shouldn’t they go into a high quality photo book?
- Look for printed photo books that give you guidance but don’t dictate your layout. It’s one thing to start with a rough page template; it’s another to create a standard photo book where the only differences from one to the next is which photos are used.
- Create photo books that you feel good about. One of the biggest advantages that you will find when you self-publish with printed photo books is that you become your own editor. Take advantage of that creative freedom and design the books that you dream of.
Most of all, what you need to know about creating printed photo books is this: have fun.
The sad thing about DIY photobook software is exactly as you’ve said - people end up creating standard books where the only difference is the photos used. Another problem I find is that, no matter how amazing a photobook design and quality is, there is always someone who has made his or her own book with drag and drop software who will look at it your book and say, “Oh that’s nice, but you should see the book I made.” As a professional designer, it makes me really frustrated when people can’t see the difference between a book that’s taken 20 hours to design from scratch - a book that looks NOTHING like drag and drop software books - and a book that is made with DIY software and printed on poor quality stock. Embassy Pro uses excellent quality materials, so even if there are a few pictures (like old photographs taken at low res) that don’t really look their best to begin with, the paper quality makes them look much more presentable.