by Stacey Wiseman | Nov 15, 2012 | Photo Book Design Layout, Podcast
Are you planning on designing and ordering a family photo book before the Christmas holidays? If so, the dates are quickly approaching to when you need to finalize your design and place your order. Even though the ordering process can seem straightforward, reviewing before you order is critical to ensure a gorgeous book.
Here are 7 simple steps to follow before you press “Order.”
1. Fix warnings
Most free online programs alert you of potential errors to your design. A common error is the image resolution being too low. You need to reduce the size of image or re-save the image at a higher resolution. Another example involves text that does not fit the text box. In this instance, you need to lower the size of the font or increase the size of the text box.
2. Ensure photos extend to edge of photo boxes and bleed edges
For any photos you want to bleed off the page, make sure they extend to the bleed line.
3. Review consistent elements (text, borders, page numbers)
If you established consistent elements at the beginning of the design process, check every page to ensure all elements have been consistently applied. This includes all text styles, borders, headers and / or footers.
4. Read through all captions
Read through all captions for any grammatical or spelling errors. A great tip is to read all text aloud. I tend to catch more mistakes this way!
5. Preform a spell check
Most programs will also have a spell check. Check the entire document before you order.
6. Print a proof, if desired
This step takes the extra measure to verify proper grammatical and design elements. Sometimes we fall into the illusion that we can catch everything on screen. Printing out your draft and reviewing the proof is visual proof you have got the book exactly the way you want it. Get out that red pen of yours and mark up your proof.
7. One Final check
After you have gone through the six steps above, I go through each page in preview mode one last time to see if I notice anything else. If I have no additional edits, I’m ready to hit that order button!
As some of you may know, my family recently returned from our yearly beach vacation. I prepared a photo book documenting our vacation. Here are a couple of pages of my book.
[divider_flat] I went through all of the 7 tips listed above and pressed “Order.” Want to see what happens next?
Watch this quick video below to de-mystify the ordering process!
Leave a comment below to let me know when you plan to order your photo book!
by Stacey Wiseman | Nov 9, 2012 | Cover Series, Photo Book Design Layout
Description
If you love this example or if it gives you some ideas for your photo book, pin it!
[divider]Make sure you sign up for the Book This Project weekly newsletter. I have a free download when you sign up!
by Stacey Wiseman | Nov 8, 2012 | Photo Book Design Layout, Q&A
What if I don’t take photos every month? Can I still design a book or have you design a book for me?
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Of course! Not everyone takes photos every day, every week or every month. But if you document big events and a couple of small events throughout the year, you should put your photos into a photo book. It is a fantastic and actually quite economical way to have actual prints of your favorite moments.
Organizing your year, or several years, into events is a simple way to select photos and design your pages. What exactly do I mean by events? These are family activities you do throughout the year. Usually, for these activities you have your camera with you…so photo books are an ideal way to document these moments.
Obvious events are birthdays, vacations, and holidays. But here are some additional events or ways to capture your family life:
- Trips to the zoo, pool, park, museum, etc.
- Family picnics either at home or some other location
- School events, plays, performances, graduations, etc.
- Visits with grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, family friends
- Playgroups with friends
- Art projects – coloring, painting, building
- Afternoon play – inside or outside
- Sporting events
Right now, we are finishing up the first round of the photo book design workshop and one of the students is designing a book of photos from 2011 and 2012, separated by events.
Below are sample layouts for a book organized by events. The table of contents are divided into two sections, one for each year. Color blocks at the bottom highlight the page numbers. There are different colors for each of the two years. This is a way-finding device. You know what year you are looking at by the color box at the page numbers. Simple pages with a full spread photo separate the sections.
[hr] Table of Contents:
Sample Page for 2011:
Sample Page for 2012:
Page Sample Layouts for an event:
[divider] I want to hear from you. What are the 3-5 events that define your year (besides birthdays, holidays or vacations)? What do you do throughout the year that you document? Tell me in the comments below!
by Stacey Wiseman | Nov 2, 2012 | Cover Series, Photo Book Design Layout
Description
If you love this example or if it gives you some ideas for your photo book, pin it!
[divider]Make sure you sign up for the Book This Project weekly newsletter. I have a free download when you sign up!
by Stacey Wiseman | Oct 26, 2012 | Cover Series, Photo Book Design Layout
Description
If you love this example or if it gives you some ideas for your photo book, pin it!
[divider]Make sure you sign up for the Book This Project weekly newsletter. I have a free download when you sign up!
by Stacey Wiseman | Oct 19, 2012 | Cover Series, Photo Book Design Layout
Have you captured details of your family life? Of your kids growing up? Put this detail on the cover and immediately capture an adorable and endearing way to feature your photo book.
If you love this example or if it gives you some ideas for your photo book, pin it!
[divider]Make sure you sign up for the Book This Project weekly newsletter. I have a free download when you sign up!
by Stacey Wiseman | Oct 18, 2012 | Description, Q&A
Q: How long does it take to design a book?
[divider] A: Approximately 7-8 weeks (depending on your review time). Here is the breakdown. The design process takes about 3 weeks and the printing and shipping takes 4 weeks. This time is required for complete and custom design.
With each book I design, I go through every single photograph, determine which ones will be right for the book and decide the perfect size, crop, proportion, and location. I ensure the book flows as entire collection but also that each page highlights the photographs and tells a story.
I create an organization for your book and structure the section pages and table of contents. The cover is custom designed. I perform checks and double checks for accuracy and inspect the printed book for quality before it is sent to you. Custom service is provided throughout the process.
Do you realize if you spent 15 minutes per page to achieve this level of quality and design, it would take you 25 hours!!! And that is if you are extremely efficient and in tune with the program. Ordering an annual family photo book will preserve your memories in absolute style without spending the crazy time and stress to get it completed in time.
For this reason, if you are looking for an absolutely gorgeous book for the Holidays (either to give as a gift or to share with family and friends as they gather this season), make sure you order today.
To receive your photo book by December 21, 2012, here are the final cut-off dates you should be aware of:
Place order by November 5, 2012.
Upload your January through October photos by November 12, 2012.
Upload your November and December photos by December 4, 2012.
This design service is limited to 10 people.
I will make sure you have a draft to review with plenty of time to receive your order before the Holidays.
Do you have a question about photo books, photo book design, or my design services? Leave a comment below!
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by Stacey Wiseman | Oct 12, 2012 | Cover Series, Photo Book Design Layout
Description
If you love this example or if it gives you some ideas for your photo book, pin it!
[divider]Make sure you sign up for the Book This Project weekly newsletter. I have a free download when you sign up!
by Stacey Wiseman | Oct 11, 2012 | Photo Book Design Layout, Podcast
If you have been following along with the monthly podcasts, you know we have been building up a photo book. In July, we outlined a photo book in pages/excel. In August, we outlined the book in the a design program.
For today’s video, I am showing how to design the book page by page.
Let me know in the comments below: What is your most efficient technique for designing your photo book?
by Stacey Wiseman | Oct 8, 2012 | Description, Inspiration, Tutorial
Are you looking to improve the quality of your photo books?
Do you need extra motivation to complete your family photo book this year?
Enroll in this Introduction to Photo Book Design Workshop!
In 4-weeks, we will take your to-do list item and make it a reality. Perfect timing to have your photo book ready as a Christmas gift – or – end of year gift to yourself.
This Design Workshop is designed to help inspire and instruct you as you organize, prepare, and design your photo book.
Included in this purchase are:
- pdf’s with narrative, photos, & examples of layouts
- videos explaining how to implement the lessons
- detailed action plans to develop your personal photo book
- a private facebook group to ask questions and share examples
- bonus materials
The course runs 4 weeks.
Each week there will be a different lesson with examples and videos.
The start date is October 15, 2012.
This course only runs this year and is limited to 20 participants.
[divider] Some, but definitely not all, of the material will include videos that have previously been posted to the blog. The advantage in this course, it presents the materials in an organized fashion, ideally suited for you to follow along as you design your book.
By the end of this four week course, you should have your book almost finished…all you will have to do is add your November & December photos!
To be clear, this is not a design service for me to design your book. You will be responsible for organizing, cropping, preparing, placing and designing your own unique vision for your book.
This course will:
- instruct you on how to efficiently organize and design your book
- inform you on how to use the free software program provided by companies
- design principles to ensure a professional quality book
- inspire you to create a stand-out, beautiful book
A summary of the lessons:
Week 1: Photos
- Organizing Photos
- Quantity of Photos
- Editing Photos
- Exporting Photos
Week 2: Photo Book Design
- Organizing & Outlining a photo book
- Consistency with Variety layout design
- Placing Photos
- Creating Master Layouts
Week 3: Professional Elements
- Fonts/Text
- Color
- Sections/Table of Contents/Page Numbers
- Ways to Customize
Week 4: Cover Design and Finalize
- Cover Design
- Final Review/Edits
- Ordering
- Sharing
The purchase of this design workshop is non-refundable.
To purchase, click here.
Here are 7 simple steps to follow before you press “Order.”
