If you’re anything like me I’m sure you’ve taken a ton of photos over the last year. And every year before! And you probably have some nice photos from family events like weddings and family photo shoots. But what do you do with them? Sure they can live on your phone, but maybe they deserve more than that! Seeing them everyday in print brings way more joy and fun to life. I’ve created many a photo book and album for myself and for others, so today I’m sharing a few ideas and options for how to create or get albums and books for yourself.
A quick distinction here: an album has a thick cover and pages, pages that lay flat, and lots of cover material options (leathers, cloth, photos and a combo) and a book has thin book like pages and possibly a thinner cover. Books also have less cover material options, usually only linen and photo.
In terms of design I always lean towards a crisp white page with large photos. I love a full spread image, which is when a photo spans across both pages and the crease. This is typically only possible in albums, because they are gutterless, but some places, like Mpix which I’ll talk about below, do have options for a gutterless book.
Many people have had gorgeous photos taken at their wedding or of their children but they never did anything with them. They’ve just been sitting on a disc in a drawer for years. I think everyone can relate to that! When life has finally slowed down enough to think about what you might want to do with those photos, you have a few options for albums and books.
The first option is to reach out to your photographer, or any photographer in your area and see if they can create an album or book for you. This is probably the most expensive option, but it’s the most hands off. You give them your files and they create a beautiful custom book featuring your images.
The second option is to create and order an album yourself. I really love Nations Photo Lab’s Album 99 for this. Their software works pretty well and the leather embossed covers are beautiful. I’ve made a few albums for myself and family at Nations and they’ve all turned out beautifully. I really like the 10×10 size with a leather cover. The photos below are of an album I made after my dog Olive passed away. I did a 10×10 album with white leather, rose gold embossing and thick pages. The Album 99 has the quality and look of an album from a professional photographer but with a much smaller price.
The third option is to create and order a book yourself. For books, I would recommend Mpix. Mpix is the consumer division of a professional photography lab that I use at work. I’ve used Mpix many times to create photo books (and lots of other things) for family and friends. Their software works well enough and their books are the most cost effective option. I really like their hardcover book because it doesn’t have a gutter and allows photos to flow seamlessly across both pages. Their classic photo book is a great price if you don’t mind the gutter. They often run sales so you can usually get a pretty good deal. The photos below are of a classic photo book I made for my parents as a thank you after I graduated from university.
And finally, if you want to print the photos that live on your phone, the easiest, no thinking involved option is Chatbooks Monthbooks subscriptions. This is such a cool idea. When you join, you pick how many books you’d like to receive per year, 4, 6 or 12 and what size you would like them to be. Then you’ll link your camera roll to chatbooks and you’ll have the opportunity to filter out things like screenshots and other photos you wouldn’t want in your book as well as add captions and change layouts. Before it goes to print you can make any adjustments you would like and then the book is printed and shipped to you. This is a great option for a babies first year and growing families.
Whether you chose an album or a book, your photos will be much enjoyed in any of the options above. If you have questions about anything, please ask!