How to Make a Great Photo Book: Tips & Tricks

• Capture the entire story of your birthday celebration – from the gift table to the place settings, and of course blowing out the candles on the cake. It’s also a great way to remember every special gift from the day.
• Create and share the ultimate keepsake of a family reunion with snapshots of people laughing and reminiscing as well as group photos from each branch of the family tree. Don’t forget the decorations, the party favors – and the food!

• For the teacher: Ask every student in the class to write down their answers to the question: “What do you love about your teacher”? Upload scans of the kids’ quotes and artwork and then add in individual photos of each student, and some candids from the classroom.
• For the coach: Create a book of your child’s favorite team memories for the coach to enjoy. Your book could include photos of the first day of practice, team road trips, trophies and a picture of the coach.
  
  

• Create a one-of-a-kind gift for the graduate. From baby pics to senior year, share your favorite memories of the grad – even a few they might not remember. Include photos of friends, special gatherings and activities the graduate was involved in, and add any phrases or quotes that hold special meaning.
• Make a guest book for the party. Jostens offers two fantastic Guest Books designed for your Graduation event – Graduation Signatures and Graduation Stories. Graduation Signatures provides the traditional lined pages with space for name and address of each guest. Graduation Stories is designed for guests to write a personal note to the graduate, share a story, or an encouraging message as the graduate starts a new stage in their life. Unveil the book at the party for everyone to enjoy and sign.

• Think about the pieces of the story yet to be told, and plan for those moments. Photograph people, activities, and antics at all times of the day.
• Keep your camera handy, for those great unplanned moments.
• Take some time getting to know your camera’s settings, shutter speeds, pixel size and how your zoom affects photo clarity.
• For digital cameras, practice taking some action shots so you get a feel for the timing. Some cameras have a delay or won’t “snap” when your subject is in motion.
• Just keep shooting. When the action happens, you never know what great moments that you will capture.
• Snag those photos from family and friends, too. Exchange them whenever you can!

• Beyond the basic people pics, keep an eye out for those seemingly simple details that can really add a lot to your story.
• Sports - You probably want to get photos of people in uniform or holding the game ball. But what if you photograph just the uniform, or just the ball?
• Classroom – Include pics of the day-to-day stuff: The teacher’s desk, the artwork displays, the “quote of the day” on the whiteboard.
• Birthday or anniversary celebrations – Take snapshots of the gifts and all the decorations, from balloons and party favors to table settings and centerpieces.
• Trips – Don’t forget the memorabilia! The story of your trip will be richer when you photograph those extra details such as your airline tickets and your favorite souvenirs.

• Look for new ways to create interest in your photographs with unique and varying angles.
• Bird’s-eye view – Shoot your subject from a high-to-low angle, such as standing on a stable chair or desk. Just be careful to avoid a shot full of the tops of peoples heads.
• Worm’s-eye view – Shoot your subject from a low to high angle. Be careful not to point your camera up skirts. Or noses.
• Level playing field – Crouching down or kneeling is a great way to photograph children and pets, capturing the moment at their level.
• Mirror image – Be on the look out for interesting reflections, whether in a mirror, a window or even eyeglasses.

• Select your best images and arrange them on your computer before uploading to your photo book project.
• Adding folders in your image library helps you sort your photos chronologically or by theme.
• Include the “tools of the trade”—from sports equipment to buses, stage props, musical instruments, trophies and more—they’re all part of your story.
• Avoid photos that are fuzzy, out-of-focus, or dark.

• When you add a photo to an image box, it's automatically sized to fit. You also have the flexibility to make your photo bigger and move it inside the image box using the cropping tool.
• Missing individual photos of teammates or family? Crop your group photos to create instant headshots for your book.
• Use the “Rule of Thirds” to create visual interest. Imagine that your photo is divided into nine equal squares – like a tic-tac-toe board. Adjust your image to any of the four points where these lines intersect for the greatest impact.

• When designing your photo book layouts, keep your subjects facing the middle of the book. When working with photos of people, pets, or even cars, make sure they face inward, not off the page.
• Let your photos be the focus of the page, not the background.

• Every page is ready to go with photo frames and text boxes so you can simply add your pictures and text quickly and easily.
• You can also choose a new photo layout. From the “Layouts” tab, select from a variety of preset layouts, then simply drag and drop the layout onto your page.
• Or create your own layout. It’s easy to change the arrangement of photo frames on your page when you add, delete, move, and resize the photo frames any way you choose.

• Take advantage of our professionally designed backgrounds and stickers to add an extra creative touch.
• Create backgrounds from your photos. In your image library, create a new folder called Backgrounds and upload your image there. Return to your book, and inside the Backgrounds tab you'll see your photos.
• Create your own pages with Photoshop, PowerPoint, or any program you like. Save as jpegs and upload to your image library. In your book, select a full bleed photo layout on any page and drop your page image in the space.
• Make your story stand out by adding color to your text box. Click the “Matte” icon to adjust the opacity and color of your text box. Make it solid, or click and drag the slider for a transparent effect.
• When working with fonts – choose a style that fits the overall theme of your book. To be consistent, select one for titles, and possibly another for paragraphs and photo captions.
• Keep it simple. As creative as your layouts can be, sometimes the most beautiful pages are very simple. Know when to say when.

• With a small bit of text, you can turn a photo book into a memory book that enriches and re-tells the stories you’ve collected throughout your lifetime.
• Sometimes simply adding the name and date of an event, a friend’s quote, or a brief anecdote will help you remember the moments better and what made them so special.
• Another option is to add a brief label or one-word reminder to a set of photos, such as “Bon Voyage” to a class trip or family vacation.
• If you can’t think of something to write, we offer hundreds of stickers with words and phrases, quotes, and clip art.
• Be sure to proof read your book before you place your order.

Different perspectives can add rich, exciting dimensions to your photo book. Invite friends and family members to your Jostens photo book and take advantage of their points of view!

• You can invite others to join your project at any time before your book is finalized.
• They can add images, vote on their favorite photos, and even make their own copy of the book to customize.

• Click on My Projects, select your book, and click on the “Invite Friends” tab on the right side of the screen.
  • To invite one person, enter the name and email address on the form.
  • To invite multiple people, click on the “Add Multiple” link and enter email addresses in the form. Copy and paste email addresses out of other applications such as your email address book. Separate the email addresses with commas, semi-colons, or line breaks using the return or enter key.
• Click the “Send Invite” button and you’ll have ten months to complete the book.
• You are now considered the “leader” and your book is the “base book”.
• At any time during the project, group members can make a copy of the original and customize it for themselves. However, you might encourage them to wait until the book is nearly complete – otherwise they might miss important updates and additions.
• Soon you’ll be ready to order and share your photo book together with friends and family, and enjoy the story forever.