I take a lot of photos. Currently, I have over 25,000 images on my computer (backed up, of course) in a seemingly endless directory of photos. Even though they are not all "keepers" I can't muster up the will to pare them down to only the best. What if I want that photo later for some reason I don't even know yet!?! The sheer number of images, though, makes it much less convenient to just browse through them.
I struggled for a long time to come up with a way to bring my photos out into the real world. Printing them all would cost a pretty penny, and then I'd still have to buy albums, sort them, and catalog them somehow. It just didn't seem like the right solution. Then I discovered the photo book option. I could assemble my photos into books, print them out, and have them out on my bookshelves and coffee table! I still faced a problem, though, as I didn't know how to organize them.
Printing a different book for every occasion was cost-prohibitive. I would end up with hundreds of books after a few years! But then I figured it out. I could create a book for each year of images! I could include my favorite 20 photos from an event, as well as stand-alone photos that didn't really "go" with other sets. Because they would be organized chronologically, they didn't need to have further categorization.
I now have a book for each year that I've been shooting digitally. I can pick up 2008 and begin with my best friend's birthday, and end with the family photos from the holidays, and see the best images and highlights from that year. It took me a while to go through the year's photos and select the ones to include, but that task was much more manageable then tackling my whole library at once. Now, I have a cohesive set of books that represent the best images I've taken.
I chose to use iPhoto to create my first book, which Gregory gave a great synopsis of here, primarily because my photos already lived in the program. At the time, there were only a couple of options for printing these sorts of books, but by now there are many to choose from. I'm very happy with the ease and quality of my Apple books, but I've heard great things about the following companies, and they often have unique options that iPhoto doesn't offer.
• Apple's iPhoto books are extremely easy to create if you're already using the program. I've enjoyed the quality and size options they offer, and the pricing seems to be competitive with other programs.
• Lulu is a self-publishing program that allows you to purchase one book, or to utilize their resources for selling your book online! This is a great tool if you just want a single book for yourself, or if you are interested in bringing your book (any type) to the world.
• Snapfish began as a resource for uploading digital image and ordering prints. They now offer great book printing options, as well.
• MyPublisher offers great printing options, as well, and features a very attractive "lay flat" option that makes the books very reader-friendly.
• Blurb was one of the first big online publishers, and touts "bookstore quality" books. Many of my fine-art photographer buddies sing the praises of this option.
Have you used any of these companies? How did you like the quality? Any that aren't listed?
I love the fact that my photographs are once again a part of my home landscape, ready and easy to peruse. As someone who is a stickler for organization and cohesiveness, sorting my images by year allowed me to wrap my head around my vast library of images. Perhaps this idea will inspire you to revisit your images and bring them back to the analog world in some way!
Images: 1. Flickr image by cotero70s 2. Dear Lulu project, via Drawn 3. Snapfish 4. MyPublisher 5. Blurb
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I'm a big fan of mixbook. I do the annual book too and it's much nicer than a stack of plastic paged photo albums with CVS printed photos!
I also make one book per year, though if we do some travelling that year I'll make a book just for that trip too. The smaller size of Apple's iPhoto books are elegant and not too expensive-- a 100 page book costs about $50. I looked at a couple of other book-making systems online and didn't find any of them as cheap or nice as the Apple ones (the ones from Pinhole Press are admittedly nicer, but also more expensive).
I've done the same thing- one a year, plus special big trips. I'm about to (photos loaded, just need to add captions) create a book for each of my kids "First 10 years" and "First 5 years" so that they have their own books with top photos of themselves and family from each existing 'best of' kind of album.
I've also done the same. I've used Blurb and I'm a huge fan of these books. They are also a lovely present.
super cool! i like this a lot :)
This is a great idea! I have exactly the same problem with my digital photos. It's going to be fun to go through and pick out the best from each year!
I've used Blurb to make vacation photo books for family and been happy with their price and quality. They just came out with a higher-end format too (haven't tried it yet).
I have a slightly...well, maybe very, different version of this. Last Christmas my dad went and scanned all the old family albums and gave us all DVDs of the results. So, right now I'm in the proccess of making a 30 year, 400 page, 12"x12" behemoth of a photo book chronicling 30 years of family history. It'll weigh a ton and cost me $200 to print, but what a family heirloom! And each of us in the family will be ordering a copy. And hey, what's $200 every 30 years? It will span from my parents dating to my baby sister getting married, tomorrow.
Funny little bonus, I've discovered that with The Album in the making, I don't feel the need to keep as many keepsakes around. Practically every event I'd keep a keepsake from has been photographed. Really frees up some closet space.
I agree...
I stumbled into some boxes of photos from the 1930's to 70's at my great-aunts house the other day and realized two things:
A) she was a drop dead gorgeous tomboy when she was yound and shouldve taken way more pictures of herself.
B) after many years the casual viewer of the of the images isnt going to care what party it was taken at, or on what vacation you were. The year. The year will be the significant thing.
I used to work for kodakgallery.com and I would say the photo quality of their books is great. Their book making program actually autofills the book with the photos in chronological order and then you can drag and drop and change the layouts on the preloaded photos. Most people make the books and then wait for a sale to get the best deal. Kodak often has one where all the extra pages are free - it was a great deal when I made a 100 page book for my cousin's wedding.
If you are not happy with the quality for any reason, they will reprint the book for you for free.
I'll sing Blurb's praises! I've used it for books for me, for my parents, and a few other things as well. they're great, and the book arrives really quickly.