PORTFOLIO

ABOUT

HOME

INVESTMENT

Photo Book Design

Blog

Info  

Photo Book Design

We all have photos littering our phones and computer hard drives, but not everyone has time to sit down and create something beautiful with them. Let me help you get all of your precious memories into a photo book you can display in your home and enjoy for years to come!

Photo Book Design Services

We all have photos littering our phones and computer hard drives, but not everyone has time to sit down and create something beautiful with them. Let me help you get all of your precious memories into a photo book you can display in your home and enjoy for years to come!

Contact

PORTFOLIO

ABOUT

HOME

TAKE A LOOK INSIDE

TAKE A LOOK INSIDE

choose your design, optional extra

TABLE OF CONTENTS

choose your color & design

MONTHLY DIVIDER

last page(s), optional extra

INSTAGRAM POSTS

FAQ

FAQ

WHAT ARE THE BOOK DETAILS?

NO. 1

You will receive a custom designed 13x11 photo book printed by Blurb. Each photo book is unique, and I offer several options for further customization!

Please note: You are only paying for my design services, not the physical product. I am able to print the book for you, but that will be an additional fee based on Blurb's current pricing. See question
no. 2 for more pricing information!

When printing, I highly recommend using Blurb’s premium paper, Mohawk proPhoto Pearl. I have tested the cheaper paper options and been disappointed in the photo quality. Keep in mind that there will always be limitations to printing on thin paper, and the quality won’t be the same as an actual photograph. However, my own personal photo books are printed on Mohawk proPhoto Pearl, and I have been very pleased with the result!

You want your photographs to look vibrant and true to life. It would be so disappointing to purchase a custom photo book with lifeless images! This is part of the reason I choose to only work with the 13x11 photo book size! You are able to fit more photographs on a page without it looking crowded.

HOW MUCH WILL MY BOOK COST?

NO. 2

HOW MUCH WILL MY BOOK COST?

NO. 2

The exact cost of your book can be tricky to determine! I’m here to help make it as simple as possible. For smaller books I offer a flat rate, and larger books have a less expensive per image price. Your invoice is due at the time of signing the contract. I will begin working on your photo book as soon as the invoice is paid, and the images have been sent to me. Your photo book will be finished within 4 weeks of the images being delivered.

In addition to this design fee, you will want to get an estimate for the cost to print your book. Blurb has a very handy Pricing Calculator, as shown below. To determine the estimated cost of your book, choose the Mohawk proPhoto Pearl paper (Imagewrap, Hardcover) in the Large Landscape (13x11) size. Next you will need to enter your page count (2 pages = 1 spread). This is going to have to be an educated guess! On average, you will have 2-3 images per page (4-6 images per spread). If you plan to send 500 images, you can divide 500 by 2 to get an approximate number of 250 pages. Enter this number into Blurb's Pricing Calculator to get your book estimate! Dividing by 2 should give you a good amount of wiggle room, as some pages will have 1-2 images, and others may have 6-10!

Blurb often runs amazing sales! Personally, I order my books during their 40% off sales. Typically they run 40% off sales 2-3 times a year. The savings are huge, so I recommend waiting to order!

• 1-149 photos: $250
• 150-299 photos: $450
• 300+ photos: $1.50 per photo

HOW MANY PAGES WILL THERE BE?

NO. 3

Blurb requires 20 pages minimum, and 240 pages maximum. My personal photo books have been 216 pages and 222 pages. The number of pages you will receive is dependent on how many photos you send me! I do not guarantee a certain number of pages, because I feel that would stunt my creative design process. Before ordering the book, you will have two free rounds of revisions to make any changes you’d like! Further rounds will be billed at $55/hour.

HOW WILL I GET MY PHOTOS TO YOU?

NO. 4

After you have gathered your photos, you will upload them to a Dropbox folder that I will provide for you! If you have chosen a photo book covering an entire year, your Dropbox folder will contain a folder with the year, and within that folder will be the months. If you want the images in your book to be in chronological order, please make sure you rename the files to "1" "2" "3" etc. 

Alternatively, if you have a photo organization system already in place, I will work with you to make sure uploading your images matches your system and is a smooth process!

CAN YOU OFFER TIPS FOR ORGANIZING PHOTOS?

CAN YOU OFFER TIPS FOR
ORGANIZING PHOTOS?

NO. 5

Absolutely! If you have years of unorganized photos sitting on your phone or computer, this sounds like a daunting task. And I won’t lie to you, it may not be easy at first! But once you have a system in place, it will be easy as pie and you’ll only wish you had done it sooner.

If you have a DSLR and/or use a computer to organize your images, here is a system I'd recommend:
I always think it’s easier to do this process with each individual “event” I photograph. Whether that be a birthday party, a vacation, or just some photos I took of a delicious looking pie! Tackling those “events” soon after they happen will ensure you don’t get overwhelmed by hundreds or thousands of photos later!
   1. Create a “master” folder and title it with the year.
   2. Inside that folder, make 12 more folders and title them with the months. I title mine 1January,     2February, 3March etc. so that the folders stay in the correct order.
   3. Upload photos from your DSLR or phone to a new folder on your computer. Rename this folder     to a descriptive title. Examples: Megan’s Bachelorette, New Spring Flowers, Day at the Park,         Chocolate Chip Cookies…
   4. Sort through the photos and determine which ones you’d like to keep, and delete the rest. This     doesn’t have to be hard, just weed out the ones that are too bright, too dark, blurry, or you just     don’t like it!
Recommended photo sorting software: Photo Mechanic, Google Photos, Adobe Lightroom
   5. Move your descriptive title folder containing the photos you want to keep to its corresponding     Year>Month folder. 

If you like editing your photos, follow steps 1-4, and then continue below:
   5. Import your photos to your favorite editing software.
Recommended photo editing software: Adobe Lightroom, Darktable, Apple Photos, Pixlr
   6. Edit away!
   7. Export the photos to a new folder titled “Edited”. At this point you can either delete the           unedited photos (to free up space), or keep them. Personally, I keep my RAW photos in a separate     folder!
   8. Move the “Edited” folder into your descriptive title folder, and then move the descriptive title     folder containing the photos you want to keep to its corresponding Year>Month folder.

Absolutely! If you have years of unorganized photos sitting on your phone or computer, this sounds like a daunting task. And I won’t lie to you, it may not be easy at first! But once you have a system in place, it will be easy as pie and you’ll only wish you had done it sooner.

If you have a DSLR and/or use a computer to organize your images, here is a system I'd recommend:
I always think it’s easier to do this process with each individual “event” I photograph. Whether that be a birthday party, a vacation, or just some photos I took of a delicious looking pie! Tackling those “events” soon after they happen will ensure you don’t get overwhelmed by hundreds or thousands of photos later!
  1. Create a “master” folder and title it      with the year.
  2. Inside that folder, make 12 more folders
  and title them with the months. I title      mine 1January, 2February, 3March etc. so    that the folders stay in the correct order.
  3. Upload photos from your DSLR or phone
  to a new folder on your computer. Rename
  this folder to a descriptive title. Examples:
  Megan’s Bachelorette, New Spring Flowers,
  Day at the Park, Chocolate Chip Cookies…
  4. Sort through the photos and determine    which ones you’d like to keep, and delete    the rest. This doesn’t have to be hard, just
  weed out the ones that are too bright, too    dark, blurry, or you just don’t like it!
Recommended photo sorting software: Photo Mechanic, Google Photos, Adobe Lightroom
  5. Move your descriptive title folder          containing the photos you want to keep to    its corresponding Year>Month folder. 

If you like editing your photos, follow steps 1-4, and then continue below:
  5. Import your photos to your favorite        editing software.
Recommended photo editing software: Adobe Lightroom, Darktable, Apple Photos, Pixlr
  6. Edit away!
  7. Export the photos to a new folder titled
  “Edited”. At this point you can either        delete the unedited photos (to free up        space), or keep them. Personally, I keep my
  RAW photos in a separate folder!
  8. Move the “Edited” folder into your        descriptive title folder, and then move the    descriptive title folder containing the        photos you want to keep to its                corresponding Year>Month folder.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN BASIC EDITING?

NO. 6

 *Basic Editing is an optional add-on service
My past career as a wedding photographer gives me a keen, artistic eye when it comes to shooting and editing photos. But not everyone feels confident in their editing skills! This is where I come in. Send me all of your unedited images, and I’ll apply a little bit of magic to them.

I offer cropping, straightening, and basic color correction for your photos. This includes things like brightening, contrast, noise reduction, temperature/tint, highlights, and more. This is where you’ll have to trust me as an artist! I have over nine years of editing under my belt, and I will use my creative eye to enhance your photos while still keeping it natural. I have lots of tools in my arsenal that help me achieve a simple, clean look. Please see the before + afters below to get an idea of what you may receive with my Basic Editing.

Please note that while I will do everything I can to enhance your photos to their best potential, sometimes there is only so much I can do! For example, if you send me a very dark photo, it will be impossible for the edited image to resemble a photo taken in gorgeous natural light. The key to a beautifully edited photograph is an image taken in the correct lighting. Basic Editing is meant to enhance, not work miracles!

CAN I TWEAK ONE OF YOUR DESIGN OPTIONS?

NO. 7

Yes! If you're not feeling any of the pre-made designs, I can work with you to get the design you love. If you have a completely different idea from the ones listed, I am open to hearing about it! I will do my best to make it a reality for you. Depending on the design this may be an additional cost, which would be discussed prior to the beginning of the design process.

All designs are allowed two free rounds of revisions each. Each additional round is billed at $55/hour.

HOW DO THE REVISIONS WORK?

NO. 8

This is where you can tweak your book to make it truly your own! Once I have completed all the layouts in your book, I will upload it to a private website where you can virtually flip through and leave me comments directly on those specific pages. You might leave a comment saying “Can we swap the first and second photo around?” or “I’m really not a fan of this layout, I’d like to see a different one here!” or “I’ve decided I don’t like photo number 3 anymore, let’s scrap it”. Make as many changes as you’d like - the options for customization are only limited to your imagination!

For your other designs (cover, monthly dividers, and table of contents), I will design it to your specifications and send you a mockup through email for your approval. 

All designs are allowed two free rounds of revisions each. Each additional round is billed at $55/hour.

WILL YOU PRINT MY BOOK FOR ME?

NO. 9

Some people would rather not deal with the process of making sure their book is uploaded and ordered correctly. For an additional $25, I will do all of the work for you! After approving your design, just kick back, relax, and wait for your beautiful new photo book to arrive on your door step!

Otherwise, following approval of your design, I will send you the PDF of your book and the PDF of your cover design for you to upload to Blurb yourself!

I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS... HOW DO I CONTACT YOU?

I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS...
HOW DO I CONTACT YOU?

NO. 10

If you’re not ready to fill out the order form below, please send any questions to me at emilyjcanterbury@gmail.com!

PHOTO BOOK ORDER FORM