Make Photo Books
Capture memories with custom photo books for any occasion
Jump to:
- What Is A Photo Book?
- When Should You Create A Keepsake Photo Book?
- Types Of Photo Books
- How To Create A Custom Photo Book
What Is A Photo Book?
A photo book is an album-like book with printed images, text, and designs. The images can include anything from family photos, vacation pictures, portfolio art, and more. The difference between a photo book and photo album is that the photo book has images pre-printed onto the paper. Photo albums are usually composed of thick pieces of paper with plastic sheets where you can place photographs. Because of the thicker pages, there are typically fewer images in a photo album than a photo book.
When Should You Create A Keepsake Photo Book?
Some of the best photos to showcase in a photo book come from special events and milestones. During these times you’ll want to take special care to capture the event with plenty of photos. And then, instead of letting the photos collect dust in a desk or in digital archives, you can transform them into a photo book to look back on in years to come. Whether you create a love photo book to showcase your relationship or a school photo book full of amazing childhood memories, there are endless reasons to make a custom album. Consider creating a keepsake photo book after your most cherished moment with your spouse like a wedding photo book or after your most recent vacation in a travel photo book. Special occasions that might merit a new photo book include:- Weddings
- Births or birthdays
- Vacations
- New year
- Family reunion
- Graduation
- End of the school year
- Adoption
- New pet
- Memorial
- And plenty more!
Types of Photo Books
Trying to decide what kind of quality photo book to create? It’s important to pick your paper type, book material, and theme before you start creating. To help, we’ve made a list of the different options available for our photo book selection. Each selection you make, will be a reflection of you and your style within your photo book. Browse through out our various styles, templates, and embellishments to find the photo book template that best matches your photos. Types of personalized photo books include:
- Wedding Photo Books: Choose from a selection of carefully curated flush mount albums, premium photo books, and standard hardcover books to make your wedding photos come to life. Add text to your wedding photo book by adding your wedding date, you and your spouses names, as well as the location or city where you got married.
- Flush Mount Styles Photo Books: These premium photo books feature a layflat cover design, thick pages, and high-quality matte or glossy finishing options. These layflat books are most popular for wedding albums, engagement photoshoots, and guest books, but they’re easily adapted for other themes.
- Soft Cover Photo Books: Soft cover photo books make for great economical keepsakes featuring vacation photos, photos of your pets, and anything else that brings a smile to your face. Choose from a variety of layouts, sizes, and page totals to make your project come to life.
- Hardcover Books: Hardcover upgrades help bring your photo book to the next level. You can also choose from a variety of sizes, layouts, and page totals, along with either a glossy or matte finish. These also make great photo gifts!
- Additional Photo Book Sizes: Looking for a specific photo book size? Our sizes include 8X8, 8X11, 11X8, 10X10, 12X12, and 11X14 inches. You can then choose from a selection of upgrades and add-ons to make your book your own.
- Instant Books: With instant books, creating lasting memories from any of life’s moments is quick and easy. Simply uploading your photos to your Shutterfly account and start creating your personalized instant book. Instant books come in a hard cover 6X6 photo book and are perfectly priced for everyday memories. Adding different messages such as “[insert name] First Vacation”, “[Our Weekend Getaway]” will make these books more personalized towards each photo book theme.
How to Create A Custom Photo Book
Ready to get started on your custom photo book? Make sure you’re picking the best photo book service options, customizations, and layouts for your needs. For instance, creating simple photo books from iPhone photos might require an easy photo book maker, while you might choose to invest more time and resources in the best photo book sites to make the best wedding photo books of your Big Day. Follow the simple steps below on how to make the perfect photo book.How to Make a Photo Book Overview:
- Upload your photos
- Pick a path
- Pick your book size and material
- Choose a layout
- Begin your project
- Review your book
- Order away
1. Upload Your Photos
The first step in creating a photo book is to upload your photos. Upload them to your Shutterfly account in a new folder named after your new photo book. Once uploaded, review your photos and make sure to delete or edit any that aren’t high quality or have other issues. To make uploading your photos easier, you can link your Google, Facebook, Instagram accounts to your Shutterfly one and utilize the photos from those accounts to create your photo books. Not only will you have these photos in your personal cloud storage accounts, you’ll be able to see these photos in your hands printed in a lovely photo book.2. Pick A Path
After uploading and organizing your photos, you’ll need to choose a photo book-making service. Your three options for photo book creation on Shutterfly include:Make My Book: With this service, all you have to do is select up to 500 photos that you want to be featured in your photo book. After that, our team of talented designers will create a book for you. You can then make finishing touches, order the book as is, or decide not to purchase it if you choose to go in a different creative direction. These easy photo books are also some of the best quality photo books and are a great choice for someone on the hunt for the best online photo books.
Custom Path: If you want complete control over your photo book process, this is the option for you. Choose from a variety of photo book websites and photo book makers to make the best photo book for your needs. Customize everything from the layout, to photo organization, to captions. Making a photo book is all up to you.
Simple Path: If you want some control over your photo book creation, but would prefer to have the photos arranged for you, you may prefer the simple photo book path. While you can still make minimal edits to make your book your own, the bulk work is done for you.
3. Pick Your Book Size and Material
Once you’ve chosen your creation path, it’s time to choose your photo book size. Our sizes include 8X8, 8X11, 11X8, 10X10, 12X12, and 11X14 inches. You can also choose your cover type and material once you’ve selected a book theme during this step.4. Choose a Layout
The next step in creating a photo book is to select your layouts. Note that this only applies to the simple and custom creation paths. You’ll want to choose layouts that have enough space for the photos you want to include that also match your theme or overall style.5. Begin Your Project
It’s finally time to start your project. Upload your photos into your project workspace. If you’re using the simple path, your photos will be prearranged for you. If using the custom path option, you’ll need to drag and drop your photos into the intended photo boxes. Take care not to use duplicate or low-quality images. During this step, you can also add embellishments, captions, and other designs that are found in the options menu on the left hand of your workspace.
