Transform your photos into a celebration of once-in-a-lifetime memories with a photo book. Photo books compile your best photographs into an
engaging book format that's sleeker than a scrapbook, and even simpler than a photo album. Here are tips and inspiring ideas to help you create photo
books you'll be proud to share!
Get started with photo books
The HP Creative Studio is loaded with free, professional photo book and scrapbook designs in a variety of styles.
There are a couple of ways to preserve your memories with photo books.
1) Print your own. Select from a variety of designs from the HP Creative Studio website.
The HP Creative Studio has dozens of beautiful, free, and professionally laid-out templates in a variety of themes and styles. It's easy to add your own photos and text, and print on your HP
Photosmart printer at home.
2) Order online. Snapfish has a wide variety of hardbound photo books, storybooks, flipbooks and mini books that you can create online. Upload your photos into dozens
of professionally designed layouts, and Snapfish will deliver it to your door in about a week.
Most any life moment or milestone can make for a compelling theme for your photo book.
Think of each photo as a chapter in your book. Arranged just so, these photos can tell a magical story and having an overarching theme provides the shape of your story. Here are several potential theme ideas:
A new baby or pet
Events: wedding or baby shower, party, family reunion
A favorite hobby or collection
Family recipes
Special occasions like graduations, anniversaries, adoptions, and religious ceremonies.
Before-and-after pictures to record weight loss, a community project, a child's growth or new house construction.
A photo travelogue
One year of photos. Pick a couple of your favorite pictures every month to add to your expandable photo book.
Photos over the years–pictures of your family's Christmas over the past 10-15 years, for example.
Scanning mementos and 3D objects can fill a photo book with unique textures and visual variety.
Consider adding non-photo images or using an HP flatbed photo scanner to capture and incorporate images of 3D objects that wouldn't normally fit flat in a photo book.
Copy an image, pattern, or texture, enlarge it, then enlarge it again, until you find an interesting abstract pattern. You can do the same by reducing the image. Try these:
Add calendars made at the HP Creative Studio to showcase significant events or note the passage of time.
Scan a variety of children's artwork to add a new creative dimension to your story. A nice addition to a school-year memories book!
Tickets or travel mementos make a photo travelogue come alive.
Scanned objects like fabrics, fall leaves, ornaments, seashells, etc. fill your story with delightful textures.
Find the right HP photo scanner for your creative projects.
There are a number of creative ways to add flair, personality, and sentiment to your photo book.
Customize your photos with clip art for a variety of holidays and occasions, such as the Halloween clip art seen here on the HP Photosmart A646 Compact Photo Printer.
Your photo book will truly shine when you make the most of your fabulous photos through in-printer editing and creative touches:
Improve photos with in-printer edits
Most photos can be improved with a little editing—especially cropping and red-eye removal.
1) Many HP Photosmart printers, including the HP Photosmart A646 Compact Photo Printer and the HP Photosmart D7560 Printer, make it easy to do last-minute editing, such as cropping and red-eye removal, using the touchscreen—no PC needed.
Add creative touches
The HP Photosmart A646 Compact Photo Printer offers over 300 in-printer creative effects that you can apply to your photos before you add them to photo books:
1) Use the included stylus to write captions or draw on your photos.
2) Add frames, borders, clip art, and other special effects to customize your photos for any occasion.
3) Print high-quality 4" x 6" and 5" x 7" photos.
Before you begin a photo book: prepare your photos
A little planning and preparation can save you time and trouble when designing your photo book.
Once you've decided on a photo book theme, begin gathering pictures that will tell the complete story. Here are some useful tips to help you prepare and select your photos:
Number your photos in the order you plan to use them (01photobook.jpg, 02photobook.jpg, etc.). This will save you time and ensure that your photos end up in the order you intended.
This will also be a big help as you write your story or captions to go with the photos.
Pick a variety of pictures. You can provide visual interest by using portrait and landscape-oriented photos in your book. Include both close-up and wide-angle photos, group
and single-subject photos to keep your pages interesting.
Give some thought to the first and last photos you plan to use as you finalize your theme and start selecting your photos. These photos will set the tone for the book.
Writing personal anecdotes and observations can make a photo moment come alive.
For some of us, writing can seem like a daunting task. Telling a meaningful story doesn't have to be like pulling teeth. Keep these pointers in mind when you sit down to write:
Imagine that a friend is looking over your shoulder asking what your photos are about, and then write down what you would tell her.
Write the words beforehand rather than doing it "on the spot." This gives you time to consider what you'll write–and time to read it over to catch any typos or errors.
Tell the stories behind the photos. Include information that's not obvious in the photos. Was there a funny story that happened right after the picture was snapped?
Interview other family members to get their viewpoint.
Printable version
There are a number of creative ways to add flair, personality, and sentiment to your photo book.
