Over and over again, I hear from people that what makes designing a photo book so difficult, is selecting photos. Even if I design a custom photo book for you, you still have to select the photos, right?!?! So it’s important to get over this hurdle and find a way to make selecting photos less of a chore and maybe even {gasp!} enjoyable!

When I first heard that Marie Kondo was translating her very popular book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, into a Netflix show I was excited. I read her book when it first came out but tidying up always comes in waves for me. I’ll make progress over several weekends, then get derailed with life’s other demands.

This is what makes her show so enticing to me. Once I started watching the first few episodes, I realized how much it helps to see her and the families in action to get me back in gear. And whenever I fall off the tidying-up wagon, I can just watch another episode (or one I’ve already seen) to get re-inspired and make progress in my own home.

And this led me to photo selection. Kondo’s main mantra on clearing out the clutter can actually help you select photos for a photo book. As you are going through your photos, ask yourself, “Does this photo spark joy?” If so, it should definitely be flagged as a photo to print (either in a book or on your walls).

However, you also have to realize, multiple photos of the same event or moment, is just like clothes in your closet. While you may initially have a desire (joy) to keep 10 black dresses, at some point you have to ask, do I really need all of these? Or are there a few that spark the most joy for me. And that helps to narrow your selection….and all of the clutter.

I’m sure you would say most of your photos spark joy but you have to dig a little deeper. Are you holding on to similar photos just because you have the storage space? If pressed, could you actually select the pose/photo that provide you with the most joy?

Now, I would add one more question to help with your photo selection process.

How do I intend to use this photo?

Particularly when working on a photo book, it’s helpful to know if a photo is part of a series or a grouping – or – if you want it to be a stand-out photo on the page. Asking this question will help you determine if you can select a couple or if you need to be really strict and only select one.

With cameras on smart phones getting better and better, they are used more often to capture the photos of everyday life. Lately, I’ve been using my iPhone more than my dslr because it’s easier and more available for those quick moments. 

But it’s harder for me to remember to import the photos my iPhone to use them in my photo book. With my dslr photos, I have to import them into LR in order for me to view, edit and organize them.

With the photos on my phone, there are so many other things I can do with them….I forget to import them into LR. And this means, they are less likely to make it into my annual photo book. However, these photos are a big part of my documentation so I want to make sure I don’t forget about them.

In this tutorial, I’m sharing how I organize the photos I want for a photo book from my phone in 12 easy steps.

STEP 01: SHOW YOUR LOVE

The first step is to open up the Photos app on your iPhone. I look at the individual photos at full screen. If it’s a photo I want to go in my photo book, I show it some love by clicking on the heart icon at the bottom center of the screen. This marks the photo as a favorite. 

STEP 02: SELECT ALBUMS

Whenever I want to see my favorites, I back out to the Moments screen and then select “Albums” in the lower right corner of the screen. This will bring up all of the albums you’ve created. 

STEP 03: SELECT FAVORITES

With the photos app for iPhones, it automatically creates a “Favorites” folder and this automatically assembles all of the photos that have been marked with a heart. This is the iPhone Photos version of smart collections which makes life so much easier.

STEP 04: VIEW YOUR FAVORITES

Before I upload them to another app, I like to review all of the photos in my Favorites photo to make sure I want all of them to go in my photo book. If there is any that you don’t want to include, tap the photo, then tap the heart (to un-heart it) and the photo will remain in your collection but not in this particular album. So smart! 

STEP 05: SELECT DROPBOX

For the next step, I want to upload the photos to a storage app such as dropbox or google drive. In this case, I’m using dropbox because it’s where I’ve been keeping a majority of my photos to date. Select the app or download it if you haven’t already. 

STEP 06: SELECT CREATE

Then I click the plus sign at the bottom center of the screen. By selecting “Create” (the plus sign), the app will direct you to an upload dialogue box.

STEP 07: SELECT UPLOAD PHOTOS

With the dialogue box open, select “Upload Photos”. 

STEP 08: SELECT ALL PHOTOS

By selecting “Upload Photos”, the dropbox app automatically pulls up the Photos app. The view from the photos app includes all of your photos. This does not help because it’s showing everything. I only want to see my “Favorites” folder because I’ve already done the work to designate the photos I want to include for my photo book. 

In order to get to the “Favorites” folder, I need to tap “All Photos” at the top center of the screen.

STEP 09: SELECT FAVORITES

Now I see all of the albums created within the photos app and I can tap “Favorites” in order to see those photos.

STEP 10: TAP PHOTOS YOU WANT TO UPLOAD

Now you have to tap the photos you want to upload. Unfortunately, there is not a Select All function so you’ll have to tap each one. 

STEP 11: SELECT THE FOLDER FOR YOUR PHOTOS

Within the dropbox app, it will automatically designate a folder for the photos. If you want to select a different folder – or create a new folder – tap where it says “Choose a Different Folder”.

STEP 12: SELECT UPLOAD

Now that you’ve selected the appropriate folder, all you have to do is tap “Upload” and the photos will upload from the photos app to within dropbox. With the photos in this dropbox folder, it’s easy for me to copy them into my main photo book folder with my exported dslr photos so they are all in one convenient place for when I start my photo book. 

Bonus Tip: 

Once you’ve uploaded your favorite photos, you may want to go back into your “Favorites” album in your Photos app and un-heart them so you don’t lose track of what you’ve already uploaded. And if you like to keep a tidy Photos app, you can even delete the photos because you know they’ve been uploaded to a digital location.

Want to get started with a photo book? Check out my exact photo book process – from organizing my photos to working on the pages in this free guide.