Whether you’re a keen amateur photographer or a reluctant snapper of shots at family occasions and events, everyone wants their photo albums to be filled with beautiful, stunning and interesting images that make the collection stand out.
If you long to enhance the visual presentation of your favourite photographs, following our 4 simple steps will help you to master Photo Book curating…
- Get Yourself Organised
It can be overwhelming and daunting to select the best photos for your photo books, especially if you have amassed a huge stash. When you’re buried under a mountain of photos, it can seem impossible to get organised, and to sort through the profusion of snaps. Being able to create a stunning display in a stylish and beautiful bespoke photo book will seem highly improbable at the start of your curating project. With a little patience and resilience, you can learn the basics and select your favourite of the best photos for inclusion in a number of photo books.
You will need to look through all of your photographs, in order to sort them into three manageable piles – poor quality, good, and outstanding. The photos that end up in the ‘poor’ pile will be generally blurry and out of focus, or feature nothing of interest, and should be destined for a box or the bin. You may want to keep many of the snaps that make it to the ‘good’ pile, but unfortunately these aren’t quite up to the standard that you want to showcase in your personalised photo books. Only photographs that are high resolution and visually appealing will have the honour of gracing the pages of your photo album.
For a 90-page layflat photo album, that features layouts that focus on one or two photos at a time, you’re likely to need between 150 and 200 photos. If you want to create a professional, minimal display that highlights white space, less is more.
- Focus On Photo Quality
Many people end up with a selection of shots that are fairly similar. When you can’t decide between two or more images, always opt for the snap that has a higher resolution. The quality of the resolution is a key factor in selecting the best photos for your photo books.
If you’ve asked family members or friends to contribute to your photo book project, using a photo-sharing app like Dropbox can enhance the lower resolution of photos that have been sent to you via a mobile device.
- Consider A Theme
While you can fill up a photo book with a random selection of your favourite photos, creating a themed arrangement gives your displays a professional edge, and makes the album coffee table worthy.
You can organise your piles of photos into themed groups such as wedding, milestone occasions like birthdays and anniversaries, lifetime accomplishments, and travel adventures. All of these landmark events are worth capturing in photographic memories, and preserving in the pages of elegant and stylish photo albums.
The theme of your photos can also help you decide on the perfect format for your photo book. For instance, travel photographs of stunning panoramic views are ideal for featuring in a layflat photo book’s double-page spread. The layout will transform your favourite snaps into an image that looks just like those highlighted in the pages of glamorous, glossy travel magazines. Add text in the form of comments, anecdotes or captions to bring each photo to life.
If you prefer to create a photograph arrangement that is an annual review, it’s best to organise your images in chronological order for ease of viewing. Create your own unique time capsule by recapping the events of the year month-by-month. Take the viewer of your favourite photos through a linear story of the celebration of annual occasions. To paint a real picture of what was experienced throughout the weeks and months, you can add extra details in text.
- Set The Scene
Now that you know the theme of your personalised photo book, you’ll need to set the scene accordingly so that the viewer is completely enthralled, and continues turning the pages.
Your collection of the best photographs should ideally include snaps that evoke emotion, show action, and feature the finer details. When combined together and beautifully presented on the premium quality paper pages of your luxury photo albums, your favourite photographs will tell a story that is personal to you.
Most often, 1-2 double-page spreads of the photo book’s layout are used to introduce an important event like a wedding or birthday, or a period of time, such as a holiday. You can set the scene by introducing the location, atmosphere, weather, and key characters.
Candid or posed shots can be presented throughout your photo album, and across 2-5 double-page spreads.
If your photo book’s theme is wedding, you may want to reserve a further 2-4 double-pages for group shots. The same rule generally applies to photos of other family events.
The main event should be featured in the centre pages of your photo book, and cover 2-5 double spreads. This is where your favourte portraits and panoramic photographs can be proudly displayed.
Don’t forget to save some space for the shots of the little details that make a big difference to a special day or occasion. These can be interspersed throughout the display to pique interest.
To conclude your photographic story, it’s fitting to choose the best photo that sums up the entire event or theme. Select the emotive shot that provides the perfect end.
