Creating a Photobook

Jack and Linda Eyler

St. James Photography Club

May 9, 2016

Why Create a Photobook

To see your photos in print and not be hidden in the

1000s of archived digital images

To capture a special event and invoke memories

Vacations, reunions, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays…

Yearly highlights

To create a special purpose book

Photo/art portfolio, cookbook, genealogy

Also use photos for related products – mugs,

calendars, cards, posters, canvas prints …

Other Products

Name Website Comments Size/pages

CostApple iPhoto Mac-iPhoto Photos integrated with software;

easy to produce photo book

8x11/20

$30

Blurb Blurb.com Sleek look, best paper, premium

printing

8x10/20

$32

Costco Costcophotocenter.com Not as many photo layouts/theme

pages, least expensive, good color

printing, easier to get redone/

refund, coupons

8x11/20

$18 ($13)

Mixbook Mixbook.com

Mosaic app

Best reviews, most customizable,

shortest time to produce

8x8/30

$30

MyPublisher Mypublisher.com Owned by Shutterfly, most custom

options, more complicated software

– not for beginners

9x11/20

$30

Shutterfly Shutterfly.com Best reviews, market leader, most

variety of options, saves photos on

iCloud, good color printing, coupons

8x11/20

$40 ($25)

Snapfish Snapfish.com Good options but inconsistent print

quality, coupons

8x11/20

$35 ($15)

Photobook Sites (not including shipping)

Getting Started

Select online photobook maker

Instructional tutorials/videos (also on Youtube)

Can create using PC/Mac, tablet and some have apps

All have two ways to generate photobooks

Custom - you select every option – page themes, layouts –

consider using Storyboard to first pay out photos on pages

Simple – photos placed chronologically, more constraints on

photo sizes/layouts; however, can convert to Custom

Many page themes, photo layouts and text fonts/colors;

clipart, up to 100+ pages ($.50-$1.25 per extra pages)

Multiple book sizes and cover styles

Select, Edit and Upload Photos

Use your own editing stool to edit photos – website’s

editing tool has limited capability

Free: Pixlr, PicMonkey, Picasa …

Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Elements …

Easier to upload photos from one folder

May want to use file naming convention to group photos

Upload photos

Many sites store photos forever in the Cloud – photo backup

If photos already edited, turn off website’s auto-

correction

Photos per Page

Text – Font Style, Size, Color

Photobook Options Comparison

Book Cover:

Both: Soft cover (cloth, pseudo-leather, real leather, linen, silk)

Both: Hard shiny or matte cover with or without dust cover

Cover layout: Costco - 22 Shutterfly - 20

Photo page layouts (1-10 photos/page, text): Costco - 87 Shutterfly - 565

Paper designs: Costco - 435 Shutterfly – 3703

Embellishments: Both – 15,000+

Text: Both - many font styles and colors

Paper: Both – glossy and matte

Print Quality: Both very good Costco – easier to return/redo

Binding: Both - lay flat or not

Process: Costco – easier Shutterfly – more detailed

Summary

Check out Photobook websites to find which works best for you

Organize and photo-edit your photos before starting the photobook - will save time

Use your photo-editing tool, not the website’s limited one

Recommendations:

Use Costco for best “bang for the buck”, ease of refund/redo and good consistent quality product

Use Shutterfly for more options but still competitively priced

Look for coupons – periodically available

No matter which website selected, there’s a learning curve

Don’t get frustrated – the results are worth it!