Create Your Own Photo Book

Create Your Own Photo Book

by Petra Vogt
Released May 2012
Publisher(s): Rocky Nook
ISBN: 9781457166617

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Book description

These days, photographs live on hard drives and DVDs in the company of several thousand other images, coming to light on a computer screen only for a short moment, if ever.

In that respect our computer is a one-image-at-a-time exhibition of our photographic work. But as photographers, we like to print our best images, frame and show them at home or at an exhibition, or present a collection of prints in a portfolio.

This book will guide you through the process of creating a printed and bound portfolio of your photographs, or even a bookstore-quality coffee table book. Learn about every step of the process, from selecting a book publishing service all the way through designing and proofing your photo book. You'll get practical advice on how to work with software provided by services such as Blurb or Viovio, and will learn about relevant concepts of book design, color management, and digital printing.

Create your Own Photo Book is the perfect guide for the aspiring amateur photographer as well as the seasoned pro.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Table of Contents
  6. Foreword
    1. How to Create Your Own Photo Book
    2. Private or Commercial
    3. Navigating Your Way Through the Service Provider Jungle
    4. Choosing the Right Software
    5. How to Use this Book
    6. Thanks
  7. Our Team of Experts
  8. Chapter 1 Getting Started
    1. Why Make a Photo Book?
    2. Photo Albums – The New Generation
    3. Ideas Gallery
    4. Overview of a Photo Book Project
  9. Chapter 2 Choosing a Service Provider
    1. Why Your Choice of Service Provider Is So Important
    2. Selection Criteria
    3. Print Processes
      1. Digital Offset Printing
      2. Printing on Photo Paper (“Real Photo” Books)
      3. Other Print Processes
      4. Which is the Best Print Process for My Project?
    4. Print Quality
      1. Binding
    5. Software
      1. Wizards and Templates
      2. Image Processing Options
        1. Frames and Backgrounds
        2. Editing Text
        3. Inserting Graphic Elements
        4. Creating a Layout using Photoshop
        5. Creating Layouts using Dedicated Layout Software
    6. Price
    7. Other Factors
      1. Bar Codes and Logos
      2. Special Requests
      3. Preview Options
      4. Customer Service
      5. Reordering
      6. Speed of Service
      7. Service Provider Options Overview
  10. Chapter 3 Shooting and Selecting Your Photos
    1. Shooting Specifically for a Photo Book
      1. Suitable Subjects
      2. Image Composition
    2. Scanning Images and Other Printed Materials
    3. Third-Party Image Sources
      1. Royalty-Free Image Databases
      2. Commercial Image Databases
      3. Sources for Maps and Other Specialized Images
      4. Using Clip Art
    4. Preselecting Your Images
      1. Image Management: Sorting Your Images
      2. Image Management Software
    5. Sample Photo Book Image-Management Workflow
      1. Import and Keyword Your Images
      2. Exporting Your Images
      3. Selecting Images Based on Content
    6. Optimizing Your Image Settings
      1. Resolution: 300 dpi
      2. Color Space
      3. File Format: JPEG
      4. Image Optimization
  11. Chapter 4 Layout Basics: Formats and Features
    1. Choosing the Right Format
    2. Bindings
      1. Staple Binding
      2. Spiral Binding
      3. Adhesive Binding
      4. Sewn Binding
      5. Screw-type Binding
      6. Leporello Binding
    3. Types of Covers
    4. Extras
    5. The Right Number of Pages
    6. How to Develop a Storyboard
      1. The Central Theme
      2. Designing Each Page
      3. The Overall Sequence
      4. Using a Storyboard to Document Your Structure
  12. Chapter 5 Your First Photo Book
    1. Using Wizards to Create a Photo Book
      1. Example #1: Creating a Blurb Photo Book
      2. Example #2: Creating a Layout Using iPhoto
      3. Check Your Results!
    2. Quick Layouts Using Templates
  13. Chapter 6 Custom Layout Techniques
    1. Photo Book Software Basics
      1. Text and Image Boxes
      2. Moving an Object
      3. Layers
      4. Inserting Page Numbers
    2. Creating and Saving Your Own Templates
    3. Using Other People’s Layouts for Inspiration
    4. Layout Design Guidelines
      1. Basics: Arranging Graphic Elements and White Space
      2. The Interplay of Page Elements
      3. Two Important Rules: The Golden Ratio and the Rule of Thirds
      4. Gestalt Principles
      5. Using a Professional-Style Layout Grid
    5. Choosing a Suitable Layout
    6. All About Cover Design
  14. Chapter 7 Processing Your Images Using Photo Book Software
    1. Scaling and Cropping Your Photos
      1. Cropping an Image Changes Its Message
    2. Image Processing
    3. Decorative Effects
      1. Transparency and Opacity
      2. Artistic Effect Filters
    4. Isolating Image Details Using Transparency Effects
  15. Chapter 8 Decorative Borders, Frames, Image Masks, and Corners
    1. Decorative Frames
      1. Colored Borders
      2. Decorative Frames, Image Masks, and Corners
    2. Shadow Effects
    3. Using Graphic Elements in a Layout
  16. Chapter 9 Backgrounds
    1. Choosing the Right Background
    2. Using Ready-Made Backgrounds
    3. Using Your Own Backgrounds
      1. Adjusting Background Transparency
  17. Chapter 10 Text
    1. Adding Text to a Layout
    2. Text Design
      1. Tools for Applying Global Text Settings
      2. Text Design Guidelines
    3. Choosing a Font
      1. Rules for Choosing a Font
    4. Selecting a Font Color
    5. Text and Text Box Transparency
      1. Transparent Text
      2. Transparent Text Boxes
    6. Picture Text
    7. Ornamental Initials
  18. Chapter 11 Quality Control
    1. Previewing Your Book
      1. Color Management
    2. Final Corrections
      1. Correcting Text
      2. Layout Corrections: Trimming
        1. Layout Corrections: Text and Image Box Alignment
      3. Other Corrections
      4. Final Checklist
  19. Chapter 12 Ordering, Troubleshooting, and Selling Your Book
    1. The Order Process
    2. Troubleshooting
    3. Sharing a Preview
    4. Selling Your Work
      1. Provider Sales Channels
      2. Selling Your Book Through a Retailer
      3. Retail or Provider Platform?
    5. Saving a Project
    6. Reordering
  20. Chapter 13 Sample Photo Book Projects
    1. Family History: Adams: A Family Album
      1. The Photos
      2. Preliminaries
      3. Choosing a Provider
      4. The Layout
      5. The Results
      6. Lessons Learned
    2. Travel Book: Facing Route 66
      1. The Photos
      2. Preliminaries
      3. Choosing a Provider
      4. The Layout
      5. The Results
      6. Lessons Learned
    3. Photo Portfolio: New York
      1. The Photos
      2. Preliminaries
      3. Choosing a Provider
      4. The Layout
      5. The Results
      6. Lessons Learned
    4. Children’s Book: The Adventures of Captain Rob
      1. The Project
      2. The Photos
      3. Preliminaries
      4. Choosing a Provider
      5. The Layout
      6. The Results
      7. Lessons Learned
    5. iPad Photo Book: Luna: My First Year
      1. The Project
      2. The Photos
      3. Preliminaries
      4. Choosing a Provider
      5. The Layout
      6. The Results
      7. Lessons Learned
  21. Index

Product information

  • Title: Create Your Own Photo Book
  • Author(s): Petra Vogt
  • Release date: May 2012
  • Publisher(s): Rocky Nook
  • ISBN: 9781457166617