One of my photography goals in 2014 was to get in the frame with my kids more. At least once a month!
While this seems easy to do, it actually is quite difficult when you have two small children. To get out the tripod, set everything up, clear the clutter and get them to cooperate…suddenly the task seems impossible.
Following some advice from great blog posts, here’s what I do:
1 : Set up tripod
2 : Put my camera on timer
3 : Give us 10 seconds before the first photo is taken
4 : Program my camera to take 10 photos with a 2 second interval with one click of the shutter
5 : Bribe my kids with a sucker if they cooperate
6 : Let them push the shutter (taking turns) so it is fun and interactive for them
Recipe for success? With me, not quite.
Out of 150 photos (yes – a lot of clicking going on!), I had 0 good photos, 20 “bad” photos and 130 automatic deletes. The elusive photo I wanted of all three of us looking lovingly into the camera didn’t happen.
Some are out of focus. In some I’m talking. In some I’m grabbing them to get back in the photo. Some have closed eyes. Some have grimaces. Some have limb chops.
But you know what? I don’t care. Of my 20 ‘bad’ ones, I still love them. In fact, I cherish them.
Here are 10 reasons why I love my bad photos.
1 : I love my daughter’s smile.
2 : I love my son’s tender heart.
3 : I love that my daughter has a lovey that barely leaves her side.
4 : I love my son’s love of legos.
5 : I love the giggles.
6 : I love my smile.
7 : I love the sibling almost-fights. (He didn’t actually knee her…but it sure looks inevitable in this photo.)
8 : I love Saturday afternoons with my kids.
9 : I love the kisses.
10 : I love my kids.
Of course, on this particular Saturday I don’t need 130 bad photos in my Lightroom catalog to love. About 12 will suffice. And they’ll look great in my annual photo book!
Now I want to see your bad photos! Let me know in the comments below, how have you embraced your bad photos? No need to be shy. Be proud! Blog about your love of bad photos and share a link below. I really want to leave some blog love for your bad photos too! <3
This very simple photo book cover design takes a photo documenting a cargo boat slowly moving freight into a very linear photo. The proportions of the photo have been adjusted to capture the horizon. In this example, the year title fills in the gap to complete the band across the lower half of the cover. A thin blue line underneath the title and the photo really connects the two. It’s simple yet bold.
[divider] Answer: Oh – great question! This is a little more technical of a question when it comes to the book design process. If you are brand new to making, designing or custom design services for photo books, you may come across this term and think, “What in the world is a spread?”
[divider] With books, a spread refers to the pages of a book laid open with both the left and right page showing.
[divider] So why is this important…well, when you are designing books, the typical default is usually to see and design one page at a time.
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[divider] But, why would we design one page at a time when we actually see the pages together when we are experiencing the actual book. You’ll see great improvements in your layout design when you can design with the spread in mind.
[divider] Yep, paying attention to a book spread, immediately ups the game on your photo book layouts! [Click it Tweet]
[divider] Look for a tool to view the spread as you are designing.
[divider] Without paying attention to the spread, you could design a layout that looks like this:
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[divider] Not terrible…but it could be better. Nothing feels together and well-thought out with this design.
[divider] By paying attention to both the left and right page, we can begin to align the bottom edge of the photo to create a layout like this:
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[divider] And if we are really looking for a layout that fully considers the spread and create a story between the two pages, we could create a layout like this:
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[divider] All because I was designing with the spread in mind.
[divider] I’d love to hear from you, what question do you have about book design? Leave your question in the comments below!
Our winter has been pretty normal up until the start of the new year. January and the start of February has brought a lot of cold, snow and ice. In our neck of the wood, this means a lot of snow days. After it hit double digits of ‘snow days’ from school, the winter blues started to settle in.
[divider] But this little pin gave me hope that spring is around the corner.
[divider] The Pantone 2014 Spring Colors.
[divider] First, if you’re not following my pin boards, hop on over and check out my boards! Especially my color board, where this special pin found it’s way onto.
[divider] Second, when I come across little gems like this, I try to brainstorm fantastic ways to utilize this in my book design. I absolutely love finding ‘pins’ to inspire elements within my books – whether I’m designing for myself or for others.
[divider] In this Design Tutorial, I look at 5 creative ways to use these colors to brighten up your book.
[divider] It can be the colors in a quote:
[divider] Or in a graphic:
[divider] In a color block:
[divider] A patterned graphic:
[divider] Or a neutral color block with a colorful border:
This photo book cover design is all about red and love. Well, because I love this photo of my daughter!
Here I’ve outlined the edge of the cover with a bold red color. Then I used the same color value to create a color fill layer in Photoshop over the photo. I adjusted the layer to “Screen” mode and saved. There you have it. A simple red-inspired photo book cover for Valentine’s Day!
Are you comfortable with the photo book design process….just looking for a little more inspiration and accountability each month?
Are you looking to break that habit of waiting until December to design your photo book?
Would you like to join a group of people working on their photo book together?
The Book This Project Annual Book Accountability Group is perfect for you!
Let me become your annual book personal trainer for the year! …or you could see me as your inspiring book design leader. 😉 Either way, works for me!
Each month, you’ll receive a monthly checklist, calendar and inspiration lesson to apply to your book. I’ll lead a monthly screen share call where we can discuss ideas, troubleshoot and share. I’ll create a private Facebook group to discuss stumbling blocks and create accountability.
Here is a sample of a recap of a monthly call:
This product is for you if you:
have taken my Intro or Advanced Photo Book Design Workshop
have designed several books on your own
are familiar with the book design process
are looking for a like-minded group to stay accountable
need monthly inspiration to make a photo book spectacular
This product is not for you if you:
have never made a photo book before
have questions about how to get started with your photo book
need advice on how to use the basic tools of the design programs
This workshop promises to be more motivational than instructional. I’ll show you how to add the right touches each month to make your annual book amazing.
The payments are $15 a month for 12 months. However, it will last for the entire 2015 calendar year. I’ll have action list items for each month, regardless of when you sign up.
Maybe you’ve seen a couple of posts or images of Artifact Uprising books? Or read my recent review of my experience with them? Perhaps you’re curious to check them out but a little intimidated because you’ve never worked in the program before.
Don’t be! My video tutorial this month takes you inside the design program of Artifact Uprising. You’ll see how to create gorgeous photo books that are a snap to put together.
Here’s an image from the Artifact Uprising website.
[divider] I wanted to design an Instagram book but – and this may be a big shocker for some of you – I do not yet have a smart phone so taking photos with my phone and/or using Instagram is a little more challenging. I decided to reach out to my good friend, Nicole, and use the lovely photos from her Instagram feed. If you’re not familiar with her work…start now! Follow her on Instagram or Facebook. She always provides such inspiring images of everyday life. And our kids are about the same age, so I relate to so much on what goes on in her household.
[divider] In this month’s video tutorial, I show how easy it is to create a book with Artifact Uprising and reveal my best tip for working in this program.
Let me know in the comments below if you’ve tried Artifact Uprising yet! If not, why not!?!
For this week’s photo book cover design, I took a highly ornate, script font and turned it into an outline. This minimizes it’s presence on the cover, yet still provides some visual interest in the negative space of the photo.
Since the subject is on the right of the photo, the title occupies the left side of the cover. In the upper corner, there is the year. In the lower corner, a short description and family further defines the book.
This example shows how to take advantage of a very dynamic photo and use the empty spaces in the photo to place the text. If you’re stuck on what photo to use for a cover, look for one with a large space for text.
I love sleeping photos of children. It’s so calming to watch your children sleep. I wanted to take this delicate photo and use it for a cover on a photo book. This was actually a vertical orientation photo that I used in a landscape cover. I had enough space at the top and bottom of the photo to make it work.
I started with this…
[divider] But soon realized, I wanted a little bit more to this cover. Something a little un-orthodox. So I applied a dual color gradient and reduced the opacity for a subtle effect.
