by Stacey Wiseman | Jan 19, 2014 | Q&A
It’s time for another photo book Q&A…and being January…this happens to be a timely one! 😉
Q: I really, really, really want to stay organized and on top of my photo book this year. Any suggestions?
[divider] A: YES! Ah, the new year. Ambitious goals that you really want to stick to…Here’s the thing…to really make sure you follow through, it has to become habit. So really spend the next 30-60 days paying attention to your intentions and goals. Do them, even if you feel like you’ve got it covered. Form the habit now!
[divider] Here is my go-to plan for staying on top of your photo book this year.
[divider] 1. Shoot at least weekly.
I applaud all of you who can shoot everyday. It’s just not right for me and my schedule. That being said, I make sure I get out my camera at least once a week…usually it’s 4-5 days a week. If you want a book that documents your life, your year; you’ve got to keep the camera accessible each week to capture the variety.
[divider] 2. Have specific projects or goals to work on throughout the year.
Working on a specific project or themes each month really helps you focus on what to shoot. There are numerous projects and themes out there. I’ve seen Project 52 themes, Letters to our Sons/Daughters, or getting in the frame with your kids. Select which one is right for you. And be sure not to overwhelm yourself. 😉
[divider] 3. Capture high and low.
I’m not talking about your position here, although that’s a great tip too! Great annual photo books balance the beautiful and candid moments in life. It’s definitely great to have photos that you want to feature large – photos that you are proud of as a photographer. But it’s also important to get those moments that may not in best light or best composition, too.
[divider] 4. Use Lightroom.
I love using this program. It has great organizational abilities plus you can edit your photographs – seamlessly in one program. If you do not have Lightroom and have an apple computer, iPhoto is a great solution to get started. The editing software is not as sophisticated as LR but it will definitely be what you need to stay organized and touch up your photos.
[divider] 5. Import your photos once a week.
I like to import my photos on the evening that I shot something. At the very least, make sure you import your photos off your card once a week. Don’t forget that ever important back-up (either online or on an external … or both!).
[divider] 6. Rate and edit your favorites on import.
After every import, I immediately go through and rate with 3 stars the photos that I love. Then I filter the photos to show only the 3-star photos. At that point, I figure out which ones to edit. If I have time, I’ll edit them all. If I end up having a lot of 3-stars, I’ll pick my favorites and edit those.
[divider] 7. Keyword.
On Sunday night, while I’m watching a TV show, I go through my photos and keyword the ones I want to go in my photo book. I use the keyword ‘photo book’. The key here is to pick something you’ll remember. You can also keyword where you were or who is in the photo.
[divider] 8. Create Smart Collections.
This is the crucial step. Create a Smart Collection to collect all of the keywording and tagging that you’ve been doing. Unfamiliar to smart collections?
Check out this video.[divider] 9. Once a month organize your photos.
Once a month, go through your smart collection and make sure all of your photos that you want for your photo book are cropped appropriately and edited the way you want. If you keep up with the steps above, this should not take a lot of time!
[divider] 10. Spend one night a month working on your book design.
Finally, take at least one night to import your photos into your book and work on the layouts. Even if you don’t get finished completely with the month of photos, you’ll have a good start and be way ahead of the game when the end of the year approaches.
[divider] Now it’s your turn! What is your favorite tip to staying on top of your photo book design?
by Stacey Wiseman | Jan 18, 2014 | Description, Review
I’ve been meaning to try out the photo book company Artifact Uprising. They have a very cool aesthetic and I couldn’t wait to test out one of their products! But what kind of book to make??? Well, I decided around November that I wanted a book of my 100 favorite photos in one book. I wanted something to represent my best work. Photographs that I love and worked hard on.
I love my annual photo books that capture all moments – my favorite photos alongside my candids that describe the year.  That’s not what this book was going to be about. No photos of my son at Monkey Joe’s in this book. 😉
I thought my Top 100 Photos of 2013 would perfectly suit their fun linen cover color options and unique cover designs. Â If you’re interested in a sneak peak to using the actual software, check out my December podcast.
For this post, I’m going to talk about my take-aways from working with the software and the results of the printed book.
Description:
Artifact Uprising is a relatively new company that is offering a different option for printing your photo book. The site is great because they have minimized options in order to streamline the process. You design everything online which also helps to cut down on the design time. Â There are not a tremendous amount of layout options, however, the ones they have seem perfectly suited for a beautiful book.
The company seems ideally suited for instagram books or books that you want to make with your smart phone. Yes, it’s that simple!
Pros:
Beautiful linen cover color options.
Unique dust jacket options (I went with the partial cover for my book).
The dust jacket has an amazing feel to it.
The layouts seem to be appropriately scaled to suit the 1:1 and 4:6 proportions commonly found in photos.
Cons:
It’s harder to customize layouts.
You can’t save your favorite layouts.
It’s not as intuitive to move pages around after you have laid them out.
My print had a few white specs visible in my black and white images.
You have to know what type of book and cover color you want from the beginning.
Final Verdict:
This is a fantastic option for a specialty book, when you’re looking for something unique, or want to prepare a book quickly. For a drag and drop approach to a photo book, this is a great way to accomplish a simple yet unusual book. The pages have a unique feel to them and overall, this is a book that will stand out among your other books. I’ll definitely be using them again – most likely for more speciality photo books.
Leave a comment below! Have you designed a book with Artifact Uprising? What do you think?
by Stacey Wiseman | Jan 17, 2014 | Cover Series, Photo Book Design Layout
Today’s photo book cover design takes a prominent photo and stretches it over the entire cover. Because the sun was prominently placed at the upper edge, I wanted the year to occur along the bottom edge.
[divider] I started with this image above. Which I liked…but I thought the white was almost too bright for this photo. The “2014” was a (very) slight distraction in the lower right corner, pulling me away from the sun and my son’s face.
So in the version below, I changed the opacity of the date. This allowed it to fade into the background.
[divider] Of course there is no right or wrong answer. To me, the first version, the year is prominently displayed. If it’s important to have that announcement, it makes sense that this would be a white text (and could maybe increase in size). If you wanted a cover that is more about the photo and less about the book title or year, the second version is the one to go with. In this example, you have to almost discover the title of the book.
In this final photo, I wanted to demonstrate that the text of the year, is centered between my son’s hand and the edge of the book. To make sure, I used a line tool to map out the entire distance. Then I centered the text and aligned the center of the text box with the center of the line. You could always create a text box that is the full dimension you want, then center the text…the line just helps to illustrate the point!
[divider] Pin your favorite version and share with your friends!
by Stacey Wiseman | Jan 10, 2014 | Cover Series
This photo book cover places the text announcing the year, right at the horizon line. The text becomes more and more opaque as it gets to the last digit. If you wanted to be even bolder, you could make the transparency/opacity even greater or use a gradient tool in Photoshop or InDesign to achieve a more seamless look.
The cover title in this case, balances out the subject who is in the lower left corner of the photos. Plus it really draws attention to the horizon line – which I find so appealing in beach photos.
by Stacey Wiseman | Jan 9, 2014 | Podcast, Product Feature
Happy New Year!
-and-
Congrats to all of those who have finished a Project 365!
I prepared a free download for all The Photographer Within members with my favorite tips plus 16 layout ideas for designing a Project 365 Photo Book.
[divider_flat] Then I took those 16 layout ideas and transformed them into a BTP Photo Book Template. All you have to do is install the template, place your photos and order your book.
[divider_flat] Today, in this first monthly podcast of 2014, I show you how to design a Project 365 book using the LR Book Module.
I think you can tell how impressed I am with all of those who finished a Project 365!!!
If you completed a Project 365 (or starting one this year), leave a comment below and share your 365 blog!!!
by Stacey Wiseman | Jan 3, 2014 | Cover Series, Family Photographs
It’s time to bring back the weekly photo book cover designs!!!
In 2014, every Friday I’ll be featuring a cover design for a photo book. Some may have a tutorial associated with it…sometimes it will just be the cover. Always feel free to pin it and share it on Facebook.
I’m starting the year off with a simple cover. In this example the photo occupies the top two-thirds of the cover and then a bold color forms the base. I use a stencil-type font style to write out ‘2014.’ In this case, I wanted the font to be light because the photos and the color are so bold. To achieve this, I created an outline for the text.
by Stacey Wiseman | Jan 1, 2014 | Family Photographs, Product Feature
[divider_flat] Happy New Year to you all!!!
I have exciting plans in store for 2014!  If you want to see something on this blog, leave a comment below or better yet, fill out my very brief survey! 😉
One big change, I’m now hosting my photo book design workshops over at The Photographer Within. This is a great place to learn and talk about photography. Â My Intro Photo Book Design Workshop kicks off on January 20, 2013. I’m also planning on leading my Advanced Photo Book Design Workshop (on InDesign) there as well as a brand-new and very exciting new type of workshop!!!
If you finished a Project 365, I’ve got a great template available for you (to use with Blurb BookSmart).
Here is what I’ve been busy with over the last year. If you would like to a tutorial on how I created this video, leave a comment below. I’m happy to update my tutorial from last year with revisions I made during this video!
I hope you had a great 2013 and wish you the best in 2014!!!
Cheers!
Stacey
by Stacey Wiseman | Dec 9, 2013 | Photo Book Design Layout, Podcast, Tutorial
Procrastinators Unite!!! Yes, there is still time to design a book before the end of the year. You can do this!
If you’ve put it off or recently decided you wanted a photo book or looking for a quick way to design a book…this podcast is for you!
In this month’s podcast, I outline 3 different ways you can design a book in 1 hour. …or 1-3 hours.
And if you decide you want your photo book before Christmas, here’s a calendar illustrating the different companies and dates you need to know!
2013_12_BTP podcast_1hr book from Stacey Wiseman on Vimeo.
by Stacey Wiseman | Dec 1, 2013 | Family Photographs, Motivation
I’ve been working on my 2012 photo book…because yes…even I fall behind. But with the 30 Day Photo Book Challenge, I decided to tackle it!
To start, I selected my photos and to save time, most of the photos I selected had already been edited. Then I worked with my layouts. I used the template provided in the 30 Day Challenge – this helped to save even more time. Finally, I added some titles and page numbers, did a spell check and reviewed the entire book.
Last night, I used a Black Friday coupon code from Blurb to order several of my 2012 book. This will make great gifts for relatives!
Here is a preview of my book and I’ll update with photos once my book arrives!
#30dayphotobook
by Stacey Wiseman | Nov 26, 2013 | Description
It’s always important to take note of the Holiday production and delivery schedule when you are planning your photo book. If you want your photo book in time for Christmas, please take note of the following schedule below.
If you’re a little head of the game, Blurb is having a 30% off coupon code when you order by November 30th. I know I’m taking advantage of this.
If you want to get your game on right now and make a book before Christmas, make sure you sign up for my 30 Day Photo Book Challenge!
I’ve included some of the major photo book printing companies out there but if you need to know about a company not listed, leave a comment below.
