It’s always nice to give a gift with a personal touch. When I learned my little brother was getting married I knew I didn’t want to just order from his registry. I wanted to do something special.
This led me to the idea of a photo book – a combination family album and recipe book. With enough advanced planning I contacted family to contribute favorite photos and recipes. It was rewarding to combine special memories and meals into a welcome to the family book for Jackson & Stephanie.
Check out a few of the spreads below as well as some tips if you want to give it a try.
Tips for Creating a Photo Book:
- Identify a theme. This will help spark ideas around color palettes, book title, organization, etc. My brother spent over a decade working in a tattoo shop and both he and his wife have many colorful tattoos. I knew this would give it a personal touch, and it instantly sparked ideas for color and font selection, icons, and cover ideas.
- Create an outline. Yes this is a photo book, but it’s helpful to identify a storyline or chapters for direction and organization. In my case I had different types of content so I went with chapters – Welcome, Photos, Recipes.
- Find your print vendor and specs. Before you go too far decide what service you will use to print the book. I’ve used Shutterfly for a lot of photo projects, but for this one I went with Blurb. I like their paper and size options and was sold on their InDesign plug-in so I could have complete control of the design. No matter what you choose, it’s good to decide early so you know the template and specs you are working with.
- Look for inspiration online. Need some layout ideas? Use Google, Pinterest, and online tools to get ideas from others. There’s nothing wrong with borrowing ideas, but make sure to give it a personal touch.
- Find an editor. When you have a final draft, get a friend or family to flip through your book. It’s always smart to get another set of eyes on it. My mom and dad both helped review the book and shared suggestions (and a few typos).
Dillard Guide to Life Preview (see full book online):
P.S. The wedding was amazing and resulted in tons of beautiful photography. So, naturally I followed the first book with a wedding photo album. The photos were so strong that the design is minimal to give them full impact.
A Decade to Dillard Preview (see full book online):
Here's The Dill 