DIY photo book at home: is it possible? A gift for a long memory: how to make a photo book? Making a photo book with your own hands.

Many interesting and unusual items for home decoration are sold in stores. But do the thing with my own hands to please yourself and your loved ones, knowing at the same time that no one else has such a unique product, it’s much more pleasant.

An unusual book of memories

Lately everything more people They try to create a photo book with their own hands so that bright memories remain of the irretrievably flowing moments of life. And I no longer want to put photos into a boring, unremarkable, stereotypical photo album, but I want it to be completely different - elegant and beautifully designed.

Specialized stores offer a large number of decorative elements for creating your own work. But before you buy everything you need, you definitely need to decide which theme will dominate. Or maybe a self-made photo book will be dedicated to a single event?

This fact is important, because then it is possible to clearly determine:

• what materials for binding and decoration will be needed;
• what is useful for background decoration;
• how to decide on the choice of texts.

Most often, making a photo book with your own hands is caused by important events, for example, the birth of a child, an anniversary both in your personal life and in the work team, and a wedding. And even an ordinary country trip can be imprinted forever if an entire book appears dedicated to the short trip.

Number of pages

When the event and theme are determined, you need to select all the items that will be needed during work. The number of pages in the photo book also needs to be determined in advance and take a little more - in case you have to add photos. The dimensions of the sheets also matter and are selected according to the size of the photographs.

All photographs are selected in advance, and texts for them must also be selected. The most basic material for photo book pages should be thick sheets. The main thing is to decide how to place the pictures. You will need to experiment by applying the photo to paper. This procedure will take quite a lot of time, but then the finished album will turn out at a decent level.

Can in various ways attach a photo:

• The usual method, but the photo will take up the entire spread, or you will have to trim the edges. You can give your photos an unusual shape using one or more templates.
• Frame each photo, decorating each with an exquisite pattern. But the frames will also require certain conditions, since you need to decide what thickness should be and what color shades will look most harmonious.

A do-it-yourself photo book is created in an original way when you use a two-page layout, allocating space for a photograph in the first half, and using the second for a witty text or poem. But you can put a lot of photographs on the spread - as your imagination dictates. Important condition: do it in such a way that you don’t end up with a mindless pile-up of pictures and the semantic style isn’t lost. Otherwise, it will not be easy to look through such a chaotic book.

Text additions

Many people, when creating such books, do not take the texts into account. They are right in their own way, because usually texts are used when they want to supplement the captured moment with some important information that is understandable to the viewer. You can make a short note indicating exactly where the photo was taken or who exactly was captured if the person or event is unfamiliar.

But you should not emphasize what is clear without words. If you want to make headings or small texts, you must find a place for them so that they correspond to a specific photograph. But they shouldn't be so good that they attract more attention than the photo.

When creating your own photo book, you must follow the rules of consistency and remember the given topic. Having decided how many sheets will be used and what size will be needed, you should decide how to design the cover so that it looks attractive and explains what the photo book you made with your own hands is about.

When the basis of an unusual book is ready

Most easy way To get your own original edition, you need to take the required number of thick sheets (landscape ones are ideal) and fold each one in half. Using glue, they must be attached in this way: glue the last page of the previous page to the first part of the next sheet. When the last sheet remains, it should be attached on top, since this is already the cover. This will form the basis of the photo book.

Now, page by page, the album is filled with photographs, which must have a clear sequence if we're talking about about the development of any event. The layout obtained in this way can be useful if it is possible to layout a book in a graphics editor. To make your DIY photo book more durable at home, buy sheets of thick cardboard. If you need to cut them, use a stationery knife rather than scissors, as it is easier, faster and more convenient to cut with them.

Beautiful design

Photos hold up well if you attach them with double-sided tape. Glue in this case is a bad help, since it causes the pictures to become deformed. You should not decorate the pages too intensively with voluminous appliqués or patterns, otherwise the book will not close completely. To easily design each page, a convenient photo book should be created. You can make templates with your own hands in any quantity. It is easier to work with such blanks, but the pages should not be overloaded with colorful and numerous drawings.

But the cover provides large field for creativity. It can be decorated with all kinds of ribbons, velvet, small artificial flowers, beads, macrame elements or crocheted all kinds of patterns. The materials from which decoration can be made are chosen from a wide variety. You just need to remember that they must fully correspond to the theme of the entire photo book.

Connecting parts

While working, you need to remember to leave about 2 cm of space on the edge where the album spine should be, so that assembling the photo book with your own hands will be quite easy in the future. Binding is the most labor-intensive job. It would be easier to give away the parts to an experienced master so that he can assemble the book into one whole, but you can try to complete the work you started yourself. You can connect the sheets using springs, but only if they are not as dense as cardboard. Using a hole punch, you can make holes and connect all the pages using satin or silk ribbons.

Using rings you can make a more durable structure. You can do it yourself, which will require a vice and a hole punch. The sheets are collected together and fixed so that they do not move. Only then can holes be punched. To prevent the resulting holes from becoming deformed and deteriorating, grommets need to be strengthened there. You don’t have to buy metal rings; plastic ones will do. But the braid will also perfectly connect all the cardboard sheets.

You can start your own business

If the photobook you made with your own hands turned out well and earned the approval of others, you may receive an order from those who want to have their own album. You can eventually make this work your main occupation. People have many reasons to remember important events that happen in their lives, so orders will always be in demand. But in this case, more solid materials will be required, and these include:

• a machine designed for assembling sheets and making covers;
• a machine used to round corners;
• a device that cuts corners;
• a machine that allows you to attach corners to the cover.

Conclusion

All devices and accessories will require costs, but this business is just emerging, so there will always be customers. The efforts and expenses put in will pay off and will soon bring profit. So if at first the question was only how to make a photo book with your own hands for your family, then soon this hobby will begin to provide excellent income.

Photos are a wonderful, and sometimes the only, opportunity to remember what happened before. But cards simply printed and placed in an album will not revive old emotions as much as a photo book created with your own hands. Despite the fact that today many companies offer their services for making such things, it is still worth trying to make a book yourself.

Selecting elements

Before you start making a book with memorable photographs, you need to determine what it is about. A lot depends on this:

• what kind of frames should be included in it,
• what text and background to choose,
• what materials to use for binding and decoration.

Most often they make photo books that tell about how the first year of a baby’s life or a family vacation went. It is also common to find wedding albums or those that reflect the story of how a couple in love met. Such books are made as gifts for parents who live far away and do not have the opportunity to see their children every day.

Having decided on the topic, you can move on to solving “technical issues”:

1. How many pages are in a homemade publication?
2. What size are they?
3. What photos will go on the cover, will there be only one photo or a collage of several?
4. How to choose a suitable graphics editor?

Perhaps, faced with the solution to these issues, many will abandon the idea of ​​handmade. But it's probably worth a try.

Working in a graphic editor

If a person does not have the slightest idea what a graphic editor is, then experts advise starting with the simplest - paper mockup. It's done simply:

1. You need to take several album sheets and fold each in half.
2. Then glue them together: the last page of the previous spread should be glued to the first page of the next one.
3. The last sheet is glued on top - this is the cover.
4. In the end, the “brochure” should contain exactly as many sheets as are planned for the photo book.

Now on each page you need to indicate where and what will be located: photo, text, design.

You can type out a book using the finished layout. For beginners, it is recommended to use Adobe Photoshop - this is a program that allows you to work separately with images and arrange them on a sheet:

1. Create a new file and set the size. It should be equal to a full spread of the book or a little more, so that if necessary, trim and trim the edges.
2. White, in which the “leaf” is colored by default, is filled with the selected shade.
3. The desired frames are dragged onto the background by simply holding the left mouse button. They can be reduced, enlarged or rotated if necessary.

This is done with all spreads and covers. The finished files are printed on photo paper and glued together in the same way as in the layout. All that remains is to intertwine.

Handmade

Handmade work is extremely difficult, and there is no guarantee that the product will turn out well and will hold up for many years. However, for those who decide to try, the following advice can be given:

• find sheets of thick plain cardboard, cut them to the right size with a stationery knife, not scissors;
• glue the photo to each side using double-sided tape, as glue causes the paper to wrinkle;
• leave a space (at least 2 cm) on the edge where the book has a spine - here you can thread rings, thereby holding the sheets together;
• Do not use voluminous decor in the album, otherwise it will not close well.

The only thing you can and should experiment with in case of self made, - this includes the cover design. Here it is worth giving free rein to your imagination: let dried flowers, twigs, leaves and even small figures made of polymer clay flaunt on the front side.

Binding

Since it is unlikely that you will be able to make a photo book completely with your own hands, you will have to resort to the help of professionals when it comes time to bind the resulting sheets. There are several options:

• on a spring - ideal for light pages printed on regular photo paper, not on cardboard;
• book - for heavy and dense pages, the spine is quite wide, due to this the spread is completely revealed;
• with butterfly binding, the spine will be folded in half lengthwise when unfolded;
• on rings is the simplest option; if desired, rings can be placed even at home.

To make ring binding with your own hands, you need to stock up on a good hole punch and a vice. It is very important to fix all the sheets so that they do not move even a millimeter; only then can they be punched. It is imperative to put eyelets in the resulting holes, otherwise the holes will quickly become unusable and tear. Not only metal rings are used, sometimes they also use plastic ones, and often they simply tie the sheets together with braid.

In any case, no matter what method is chosen, the most important thing is inspiration and the desire to please loved ones with such a wonderful gift.

A photobook, unlike an album, most fully reflects the emotions and experiences captured in the photographs. If a photo book was made with your own hands, then it becomes an object of special love and adoration. Experts advise not to go to a photo salon to have it made, but to take advantage of the excellent capabilities of Photoshop. It’s not a fact that everything will work out the first time – experience is gained over the years. But a photobook made by yourself will undoubtedly turn out to be unique and exclusive, containing a small but colorful and vibrant world.

Stages of creating a photo book

First of all, you need to consider the following nuances:
1. Photo book design. This article will talk about the design of a premium book. All its pages can be rotated one hundred and eighty degrees. This makes it possible to make full use of all available space. Drawings and photographs can even be placed at the joints;
2. Photo center. It is necessary to select a photo center in which the book will be formed at the initial stage of work, since the web resources of these photo centers indicate the initial format of the product sheets;
3. Photobook size. You will have to choose the size of the product from the options that are available in the selected photo center. It should be borne in mind that different graphic editors have their own settings for spreads for creating a book independently. This also applies to photo centers;
4. Subject of the book. Usually a photo book covers a specific event or activity. She can talk about a sea holiday, the first school day, anniversary, birthday, wedding or wedding ceremony, as well as summer holidays;
5. Decor. It is desirable that the book contains not only photographs, but also interesting notes, poems, thoughts, the first sayings of a small family member, and memorable lines. The book is decorated with postcards, cute notes, old theater tickets, and funny souvenirs. All these dear trinkets are scanned and placed on the pages of the book;
6. Style. For this photobook publication, you need to choose an original style. For children's products, preference is given to variegated and multi-colored tones. For a wedding or anniversary celebration, calmer and muted shades would be more appropriate. But it is not at all necessary to follow these tips. Doesn't exist in this case certain rules. You need to listen to your desires and fantasies, as well as observe a sense of proportion and adhere to a sense of taste. If a person does not yet have his own ideas, then he can search the Internet for examples of photo books;
7. Background. After choosing a style, you need to move on to choosing a background. The composition of the book will be formed against the selected background. The background can consist of photographs, natural landscapes, seascapes. A textured background like wood, paper, or textiles is welcome. Many people prefer a plain or combined background, as well as a gradient background. All pages of a book may have the same tone or be completely different in this regard. You can also search for a suitable tone on the corresponding web projects;
8. Preparing pictures. At the next stage of work, you need to start preparing photographs that are supposed to be placed in a photo book with your own hands. If necessary, the images are processed. This means that it is necessary to carry out color correction, improve sharpness, and remove existing defects. But when making your first book, when you still lack the necessary skills, you can skip all this work.

How to make a photo book in Photoshop

As an example, you can try to create a photo book, the page dimensions of which are 20 by 20 centimeters and the number of spreads is equal to eighteen. It is advisable to choose a hard and varnished cover.

Book layout
In Photoshop (Adobe Photoshop), a new document of the desired size opens. The internal spread parameters are 200 by 400 millimeters. These parameters were taken from a special table posted on the website of one photo center. This will be the first spread of the book being created.

Now you need to open the prepared photographs and place them on the first spread, having first opened the file where the first spread is located.

Now all photos are transferred (inserted) to the spread. We should not forget about decorative elements, which are placed interspersed with photographs, but so that they look appropriate and concise. You can use details from the scratch set in the form of twigs, flowers and other prints. For a New Year's book, clipart with snowmen, Christmas trees, and snowflakes is suitable. You can print the text or verse yourself.

The middle of the spread is crossed by the fold of the sheet, so it is better not to place faces here.

The finished spread is saved in the menu and work begins on the next spread.

If you are too lazy to make a photo book with your own hands, you can go to the website http://mandarinbook.ru. The specialists of this project will make an excellent photo book for a small amount that will delight you for many years!

When I first came across the design of my own photo book,I had a lot of questions. Finding answers to these questions took a lot of time. Then I came across an article by a wonderful girl who explained in detail how to create a photo book with your own hands. Thanks largely to her, this hobby appeared in my life. I’ll try to repeat her feat - describe the entire process of creating an individual design for your unique photo books.

It all starts with what you have to think about

1. What type of photo book will you choose. In this article I will talk about custom design of Premium photo books. For "Premium" photobooks, the internal unit turns out 180 degrees. This allows you to use all the space without loss and place images at the joints. Features of a "Premium" photo book

2. Select a photo center where you can print Premium photo books. This must be done from the very beginning, because... On the websites of these photo centers you can find out the sheet sizes of your future photo book.

3. Let's start choosing the size of the photo book sheets (choose from the sizes that the photo center offers). I would like to clarify that the sizes of photo book sheets for self-creation in different graphic editors (including Photoshop) are different for all photo centers!!!

4. Now, you must decide on the content (subject). What event or holiday is your photo book dedicated to: a vacation at sea, a birthday, an anniversary, a wedding, the first bell at school, or maybe just the past summer. In addition, it will be interesting if the book contains not only your photographs, but also text (your memories, poems, notes from diaries, entries from your little ones’ albums), memorable little things (such as postcards, notes, a theater or cinema ticket, souvenirs ). Such pleasant little things can always be photographed (scanned) and added to your photo book.

5. After this, you need to choose the style in which your future photo book will be. What do I mean? If you are going to make a photo book about a child, then it will be natural to use bright and cheerful colors, and if it is a wedding or anniversary, then soft tones will be more suitable. But this is your individual choice. There are no rules here. Everything is decided by your preferences and imagination. Examples

6. The next stage is choosing the background on which the entire composition of your photo book will be built. This can be a background from a photograph, a nature background, a texture background (wood, paper, fabric), a plain background, a gradient and much more. The background can be the same on all pages of the photo book or different on each spread. All this can be found on various Internet resources.

7. After choosing the background, we prepare the photographs that will be used in the design of your photo book. If necessary, we process them (color correction, sharpening, eliminating photo defects, etc.), but for the first work you don’t have to do all this.

Hello!

Photobook is not just an album with a set of photographs and a cover, it is much more. A photobook made with soul,shows your emotions, feelings, experiences, and a self-made photo book makes it unique and most beloved. Of course, you can contact a photo salon and they will offer you a standard design, or you can use special programs (nowadays virtually every photo laboratory has them). But believe me, the capabilities of Photoshop are many times greater than any standard program that will be offered to you. Of course, not everything will work out right away; mastery will come with experience. And one day you will be able to make your own photo book With independently. Make it one of a kind and unique. I suggest you try to make a photo book with your own hands, bring new colors into your life, create your own little bright world!

You can make a photo book yourself from scratch, there is a section for this on the site, or you can first take advantage of our experience and use templates from VIDEO - LESSON on filling out photo book templates.

To begin with, let us briefly recall

How to make a photo book with your own hands.

First you need to decide on the following points.

1. Type of photo book.
   It all starts with what you have to think about. What type of photo book will you choose? In this article I will talk about custom design of Premium photo books. For Premium photo books, the internal unit turns out 180 degrees. This allows you to use all the space without loss and place images at the joints. You can find out what Premium photo books are
2. Choosing a photo center.
   We choose a photo center where you can print Premium photo books. This must be done from the very beginning, because... On the websites of these photo centers you can find out the sheet sizes of your future photo book.
3. Photobook size.
   Let's start choosing the size of the photo book (choose from the sizes that the photo center offers). Here it should be clarified that the sizes of spreads for independent creation of photo books in different graphic editors, including Photoshop, are different for photo centers!!!
4. Theme of the photo book.
   Now, you must decide on the content and topic. What event or holiday will your photo book be dedicated to: a vacation at sea, a birthday, an anniversary, a wedding, the first bell at school, or maybe just the past summer.
5. Decor.
   It will be interesting if the book contains not only your photographs, but also text (your memories, poems, notes from diaries, entries from your little ones’ albums), memorable little things, such as postcards, notes, a ticket to the theater or cinema, souvenirs. Such pleasant little things can always be photographed or scanned and added to your photo book.
6. Style.
   After this, you need to choose the style in which your future photo book will be. What do I mean? If you are going to make a photo book about a child, then it will be natural to use bright and cheerful colors, and if it is a wedding or anniversary, then soft tones will be more suitable. But this is your individual choice. There are no rules here. Everything is decided by your preferences and imagination.
   
7. Background.
   The next stage is choosing the background on which the entire composition of your photo book will be built. This can be a background from a photograph, a nature background, a texture background (wood, paper, fabric), a plain background, a gradient and much more. The background can be the same on all pages of the photo book or different on each spread. All this can be found on various Internet resources.
8. Preparing photographs.
   After choosing the background, we prepare the photographs that will be used in the design of your photo book. If necessary, we process them (color correction, sharpening, eliminating photo defects, etc.), but for the first work you don’t have to do all this.

If your choice was the Photoshop program, then on the site you will find many lessons on creating photo books in this wonderful editor.