How to make a photo book.

The photo-album is dead. Long live the photo book. Gone are the days of leafing through dusty self made albums with Polaroids stuck higglety-pigglety in place. Now you can have a professionally produced record to keep and cherish for many years to come.

It sounds very nice and can be wonderfully simple to put together. Various providers offer simple software with which you can put together pictures in your preferred order. The company will then take control of the printing process and present you with the finished product.

For many this is a good option. Not only is it hassle free, but it retains that personal touch. You can keep control of the design process and order the photos in the way you wish.

Alternatively, other people prefer to let the company deal with every aspect of the photo book design. Even then, you can have significant input. Speak to them at an early stage about how you would like pictures orders and what you’d like the finished product to look like. They are the professionals after all. Handing over the nitty gritty completely to them while you take overall control of the look can offer the best of both worlds.

But how should you go about creating the best photo book? This is no easy task. There are all sorts of ways in which the album can be present. For example do you want the book in a landscape or portrait format? The answer to this question, for many people, depends greatly on how they expect to use it -- namely what looks best and what would be easiest to open. It’s all down to personal preference, but whatever your desires, consult closely with the company at every stage. They will be able to offer various design ideas and concepts that could best harness your wishes.

You might also want to consider which pictures to use. Older photos can be scanned into the computer and used in the same way as digital prints. That can be great for creating a photo book chronically a family history. Alternatively you might also choose a calendar. These make great Christmas and birthday presents and can be ordered in whichever way you want. For example you can dedicate a month to a particular member of the family. Alternatively you can use fond memories or holidays that correspond to certain months.

Whichever option you choose, a photo book can offer fantastic value. Best of all, though, with professional publishing tools now coming into reach of all of us, it’s never been easier to produce something that looks and feels fantastic.