What to Consider When Making a Photo Book

There are lots of reasons why you might want to make a photo book. They allow you to get your memories from your phone and into the real world in full technicolor, they offer a chance to wander down memory lane, they make a stylish addition to your décor or a thoughtful gift, etc. But how do you go about it? We’re exploring how you can make your photo book your own.

Balance in colour and pattern

Whenever you look at successful, timeless design choices, there is one main rule to follow: balance. A balance of colours, a balance of patterns, a balance of shapes, etc. The same concept can be applied to design. It’s easy to make your photo album look cluttered, creating a headache. For what you can control, make sure to balance out elements. If you have a lot of text, space it out with images, etc.

Consider mixing some scrapbooking in with your photo album so that your pages aren’t overstuffed with the same rectangles of faces. Give the eye some variety with stickers, ripped-out magazine pages, patterned tape, and anything else that catches your eye. The best photo book maker, My Social Book, even has an online scrapbooking option, so you can add a personal touch to an otherwise digitally made photo book.

Subject and categorising

There are a few different ways you can go about deciding what, or who, is the subject of your photobook. The first is the most obvious: a free for all. Everyone you love and all your memories in one book. With everyone carrying a camera in their pocket, you’re likely to run out of room quickly.

Instead, consider categorising. Maybe you want a book full of family events, or moments from your favourite holiday abroad or high school, or your journey from first date to honeymoon, or babies’ first photo book. It means you can have a little collection of matching photobooks on your shelf to browse, looking neat and part of the furniture at home.

Who is it for?

A photo book can be a great gift. Sure, it can be a gift to yourself, something to sit on the coffee table and pass around for a trip down memory lane, but it can also be a heartfelt and personalised anniversary gift, a reunion gift, or simply an excuse to walk down memory lane. Who it is for will obviously affect your subject. You’re not going to give Granny a photo book full of your high school memories, but you might give your teenage child a book full of family photos. You might make a photo album of your friend group for the bridal party or a photo album of memories as a Valentine’s Gift.

Then again you might just want to get your favourite memories out of your phone and into the real world. A photo book can sit nicely as a coffee table book or amongst your stylish décor for guests to browse alongside your books and vinyl collections.