Graduating is one of life’s major milestones—honor this moment by commemorating your journey with a series of nostalgic photos. Create a keepsake photo album to preserve your photos and tell a story of your achievement. A graduation photo book is a perfect way to preserve the memories of this giant step in the journey through life.
When it comes to making a graduation photo album, personalization is key. You choose the theme, colors, photos, and text to make your album uniquely yours. Every detail from cover to cover is completely up to you. Not sure how to get started? This guide will show you just how simple it is to make your very own graduation photo book.
Jump to:
- Make a Graduation Photo Book
- Graduation Photo Book Ideas
- Grad Messages and Quotes
- Gifts To Pair With a Graduation Photo Book
Make a Graduation Photo Book
Photo books aren’t just a collection of randomly placed images on pages. Instead, the best photo books tell your unique story through thoughtfully combined photographs, embellishments, themes, and styles.
Whether you’re putting together a photo book for yourself or to celebrate the huge milestone of a loved one, this guide will show you how you can easily create a graduation photo album you’ll treasure for years to come.
1. Choose Your Process to Make a Photo Book
How “hands-on” are you? Depending on how involved you want to be in the process, we’ve got three great options for when you’re ready to design your graduation album. With Make My Book® Service, talented designers will curate your photos and design the book for you for free. You’ll still have total control while we do most of the work and return the graduation photo book to you in just 24 hours.
Or, choose to design your photo book on your own if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to place your images onto a pre-designed template. Select a grad photo book design style and fill in your own photos, or start from scratch and customize each page yourself by following the steps below.
2. Pick Your Photo Book Theme
Your graduation photo book will be cohesive when you choose from one of our hundreds of available beautifully-designed themes. Choose any design you like—there are several themes that were designed with graduation in mind.
Include school-themed embellishments and yearbook-style layouts. No matter your style, from simple and subdued to fun and funky, find a theme that fits your personality perfectly.
3. Choose Your Photo Book Size and Layout
After you’ve settled on a theme, you’ll be prompted to choose a size for your book. You’ll have a lot of options ranging from a petite 8×8 to a generous 11×14 and every size in between.
The size you choose will depend on how many photos you want to include, how many images you’ll want on each page, and where you’ll store your custom photo book. Now’s your chance to also decide whether you’ll go for a hard cover, soft cover, or an upgraded cover option. Choose if you want your book to have standard bindings or layflat pages.
4. Upload Your Photos
It wouldn’t be much of a photo album without photos! After you’ve decided what size and type of book you’ll create, it’s time to upload your photos. Make sure all the photos you use are high-quality, in focus, and not too small.
Remember, poor quality photographs will look pixelated and out of focus when they’re enlarged and printed. So, only choose the best photos for your book. Depending on the page layouts you choose, some images will be highlighted more than others, so make a note of your favorite photos so you’ll remember to use them there.
5. Customize Your Photo Book Pages
Photo albums are all about personalization. Unleash your creativity by choosing from a variety of page layouts that allow for one to 30 photos per page. Next, choose the background for each page.
Keep it consistent from one page to the next or mix it up—it’s entirely up to you! Here’s where you’ll add embellishments, like banners, photo frames, ribbons, stickers, and thoughtful text.
6. Preview Your Photo Book
After you’re done designing your completely personalized book, preview it on the screen to make sure it’s exactly how you want. You’ll have a chance to go back and edit if needed and then you can add a few more options.
A clear memorabilia pocket attached to the inside cover is a perfect place to store your graduation announcements, graduation cards, and other keepsakes from your journey. You can also opt to include a gift box if you’re creating the photo album for a loved one. When you’re ready to purchase, simply add the book to your cart and checkout.
Graduation Photo Book Ideas
A single image can capture a moment, but a photo book can capture the entire journey up to your graduation. A chronological narrative can help you, your family, and friends relive this auspicious occasion for many years to come. Here are some tips and photo ideas perfect for your grad photo book.
Photos That Tell a Story
Tell your story of graduation by incorporating pictures of your transformation from child to adult. Use pictures that show your growth and how much you have achieved in the past years. It will feel so bittersweet to see how much you have changed from year to year.
Get a Formal Portrait
Make sure you get a nice formal portrait as the grad. Take your photo in a place that has even lighting and be conscious of distracting backgrounds. A nice portrait will give your grad memory book an air of dignity, pride, and accomplishment for all of your hard work over the years.
Capture Happiness
Don’t limit yourself to posed shots! While formal photos are perfect for that decorous look, candid shots give a touch of raw emotion, fun, and humor to the photo book. Some of the best photos are candid images that capture the true joy and emotion of the occasion.
Don’t Forget Their Friends
Graduation is not just about the students, it’s about the unbreakable bonds and friendships they have made over the years. Be sure to add your favorite memories you had with your friends. Capture the joy of the occasion.
Graduation Messages and Quotes
If you’re gifting someone a graduation photo book, you’ll want to make them a nice card with a thoughtful message to share your congratulations. When celebrating a milestone, there are a million ways to say “congratulations” and “here’s to your future.” The key is to personalize your message and say it from the heart.
Here are some happy graduation message ideas to get you started:
- Congratulations. This message is short and sweet and can be as formal or casual as the situation calls for. Some examples are, “Congrats, what an impressive achievement.” and “Congratulations on your well-deserved success.”
- To the Future. Focus your message on what’s to come. Like, “I know life has even more wonderful things in store for you.” and “You deserve to see your dreams come true!”
- Give Advice. If you’re the type to give advice, now’s the time. Just make sure it’s all about building the grad up. Examples are, “May you always do great things with your life” and “There’s no limit to what you can achieve now.”
- Use Humor. When all else fails, you can’t go wrong with saying something funny. Put a smile on their face with a message like, “Did you ever think this day would come? Neither did we!” or “Welcome to the real world. Don’t worry, none of us know what we’re doing either.”
Gifts To Pair With a Graduation Photo Book
If you’re creating a graduation photo album to celebrate a loved one’s milestone, you may want to present their book to them along with a personalized graduation gift. For more inspiration, shop our Graduation Shop that serves as a gift guide and where you can find graduation cards, party decor, and more.
Photo Phone Case
Remind your grad to call home by turning their favorite photos into an awesome custom iPhone case. Personalize it with photos from their favorite memories of their school career.
Custom Wall Art
If your grad is off to college or into their first apartment, wall art like canvas prints, framed prints, or photo tiles a perfect way to display family photos and keep special memories close. A stylish canvas print or framed print will liven up empty walls and stickable photo tiles transform a drab dorm room into a well-decorated space without damaging the walls.
Personalized Jewelry
Necklaces, bracelets, bangles, and charms that can be personalized with a favorite photo, a birthstone, initials and more make a perfect graduation gift. By designing the perfect piece of personalized jewelry, you’ll create a treasured graduation gift that exactly suits their style.
Custom Photo Mugs
Custom coffee mugs and travel mugs are great graduation gift ideas because not only are they perfect for keeping them hydrated or caffeinated throughout their busy days, but they’ll also love seeing some of their most cherished memories or quotes displayed on their custom design.
Graduation Resources
Whether you’re celebrating graduation from high school, college, or grad school, an occasion this big should be commemorated with a custom photo book. Now that you’ve been inspired, get started making your very own graduation photo album. Then, combine your book with one of our personalized photo gifts to celebrate the graduate in your life.
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