Our friends at The Imaging Alliance have put together four helpful guides for imaging enthusiasts. We’ll be sharing one a week this August. You’ll find any additional editorial comments inside brackets. Enjoy! – Blog Master
Click here to design your photo book now! Be sure to create an account so you can save your progress as you go and come back to it later.
01. A Day In The Life Album
Spend the day documenting ordinary moments in your family’s day. Breakfast favorites, what’s in their lunchbox, the wheels on the bus, school friends, homework routines, family game night, dinner table talk and bedtime routines. These everyday moments are filled with pure, sweet family memories that tend to be forgotten over time. Ask kids what their favorites are and jot them down. Favorite TV show, favorite food, subject or class. What do they want to be when they grow up? When the day is over, select the photos from your camera roll or SD card and upload to a photo album printer. Add a few stories and details while the day is fresh in your mind and submit for print. Don’t stress about design or layout, done is better than perfect! Create one every four months and these tiny treasures will increase in emotional value every year as you watch your family grow and change.
02. ABC Album
This album will be a hit with toddlers and parents alike. Using the theme A is for ….. B is for ….., select family photos that represent a letter of the alphabet. B is for Bedtime (little Suzie in her favorite jammies). C is for Cousins….you get the picture. Pun intended! Get creative with letters like X. X is for eXtra special (add a pet photo). Once you’ve completed the entire alphabet, upload your pictures to a photo album printer or print photos and add to a scrapbook. Add the ABC text to each photo and enjoy! Your toddler learns to read while you both enjoy some family memories.
03. Themed Album
It’s no secret that we live our lives (and take photos) in themes. Celebrations, events, birthdays, vacations, Christmas, Hanukkah, weddings, sports and so on. Pick one idea and gather 50-100 photos that relate to that theme. Themed albums that span a vast period show how a family grows and changes over the years while highlighting what your family values most. Print the photos if you haven’t printed yet, and add to a pocket style album, or scan printed pictures and upload to a photo book printer. Themed albums need very little text other than a few details about the key players or a paragraph or two about the story.
04. These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things Album
Let’s celebrate YOU! Find some photos (or take some) that represent people, places or things that you hold dear. Jot down a few words for each picture that gives the reader some insight into who YOU are. Add a few words of gratitude to remind you of what matters to you most. Print your photos and add to a pocket style album or scrapbook. Or scan and combine with your digital photos and upload to a photo book printer. This album will be treasured by your family in the years to come but will lift you up whenever you need a boost.
05. Once Upon A Time Album
Pick a favorite memory and turn it into a story that begins with “Once upon a time,” e.g. “Suzie and her family traveled to Disney World.” Choose photos that accompany the story and combine in a printed photo book. This type of photo book is often a hit with pre-readers and young children who love stories where they are the main character or hero of the story.
06. Song Themed Album
Want to celebrate someone special or create a gift for a grad? Choose an inspirational song and jot down the words. For example, I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack is an excellent choice for a Grad student. Select random photos of the recipient and use the words of the song for text to accompany the images. Print the photos and add to a scrapbook or upload to a photo book printer. [This is a great companion piece to a custom slideshow. What bride and groom wouldn’t want a hardcopy of their stories, concentrated?—DS]
07. Look How We’ve Grown Album
Do you take the first day of school photo? Or an annual family photo? Do you all strike the same pose in the leaves every Thanksgiving? Yearly photos create a family timeline that shows how a family grows and changes over time. Combine one or many of these annual photos into a photo book and be sure to document the year. You’ll laugh, and you’ll cry as you enjoy old hairstyles, clothing, and glasses over the years.
08. We Love To Compete Album
Are you a family that loves sports? Is your home filled with hockey or football players? Gather a collection of sports photos and take a few images of trophies, medals, and awards. Don’t worry about a timeline or chronological order in this case. Pair up pictures of little Suzie kicking the soccer ball at 5 and then again at 15. Interview your teen about his favorite football memory. Don’t forget a few photos of the team mascots! These photos look great in a sports-themed printed photo album or scrapbook.
09. There’s A First Time For Everything Album
Did you capture your baby’s firsts? Their first bear, haircut, and tooth? The first crawl, step, and climb? Make a list of all the firsts that you recall and collect photos to match those firsts. Forgot to take a picture? Add a story instead. A brief descriptive paragraph about the time little Joey climbed out of his crib is the best solution for a missing photo.
10. A Blast From The Past Album
Do you still have a shoebox of dusty old sepia photos or black and whites? Dust these treasures off and choose 30-40 photos to have scanned at a high resolution. Upload these images to a photo book printer and add any details about relatives that you can recall. Make several copies to share and enjoy with your family. Don’t forget to store your old prints in a photo safe box or album for safe keeping. These heirloom photos need to be protected from heat, humidity, and light.