Make Ideas Happen: Photobook Tips Vol 01: Macau

I've always wanted to blog about my "travel library" because I want to inspire others to have their vacation photos printed and not just posted on social networking sites. For me and my sister, flipping through a tangible photo album is way better! I plan to post photos of every book that I made and share tips and lessons I've learned while creating it. I have 13 photobooks as of this writing, thanks to group buying sites, I was able to save a lot of money!

Here's the first photo book that I've created (back in May 2012)

TIPS ON CREATING YOUR FIRST PHOTO BOOK

1. Buy a photobook voucher

Don't have your photobooks printed at photo labs or printing shops in malls. Printing cost is much more expensive. Sign up for accounts at group-buying websites and wait for photobook deals instead. I've purchased coupons from Metrodeal, Groupon and Cash Cash Pinoy and had no problems so far. (Note - there's a current offer in Metrodeal that will end tomorrow, check out this link! (up to 100% off!!!)

2. Buy only ONE voucher

You might get excited when a photobook deal comes & end up buying more than 1 voucher. This voucher comes with an expiry date, the validity period is usually 6 months (or 1 year if you're lucky-but then, if you're a procrastinator like me, it wouldn't really matter haha). I made the mistake of buying two vouchers with the same expiry date because I thought that the deal was just a one-time offer. I crammed over the second book cos I got busy with work and had only one month left before it expired. I think it took me 2-3 months to finish this Macau book (I didn't work on it everyday, by the way. Only on nights that I had enough free time)

3. Buy from Photobook Philippines

I've tried 3 different companies and in my opinion, Photobook Philippines is the best - in terms of quality and service. They respond quickly each time I send inquiries via Facebook. 11 of my photo books were produced by them - except for this Macau book that I'm featuring now on this blog post, hehe. If you'd like to know where I had this book printed, you may leave a comment here and I'll reply via e-mail (it's not on top of my recommendation list though)

4. Start Small

Don't make an album about your month-long US trip if you're just new to making photobooks! You will get overwhelmed, for sure. For my first project, I picked a vacation where we didn't take too much photos -- our day trip to Macau. Good enough for 24 pages. I figured that I will make mistakes on my first project and I wanted to practice first before making albums of my favorite trips.

5. Scan or take photos of your memorabilia

This will reduce your clutter! (I regret throwing away my tickets though - I need them for my Project Life highlights spread!)

6. Keep it Simple

For this project, I decided to go with a minimalist / classic look - no patterns or embellishments whatsoever. Less elements, less mistakes! :) I used a white background for my pages because I wanted the photos to be the focus of the album. I also wanted to create something that will still look nice after how many years. (No regrets like "why did I use that pattern or display font?" hehe) You can experiment with colors and patterns later on your other books, when you're already familiar with photobook design & the software. Just like what I did (my books will be featured on my blog soon)

7. Include names of the places you've been to

..so you won't forget the details! I also copied information from brochures, guides and websites. I had no time to compose my own & I don't want to type something that I won't be able to edit in the future!