Tips on using photos in scrapbooks

Experiment with page arrangements. Move your photos around to see what order makes the most sense for your scrapbook story.

Remember that more isn't necessarily better. You can create a compelling scrapbook page with just one terrific photo.

Photos are the foundation and inspiration of a scrapbook layout. Here's how to pick photos that will tell a memorable—and manageable—tale.

Work around a theme
Choose a theme before sorting through your pictures, or perhaps take your inspiration from a single photo. Either way, make sure your theme is focused—such as "Camping Trip to Tahoe" instead of "Vacations."

Narrow your photo choices
From the 50 photos you took while camping in Tahoe, choose a handful of favorites. Or look for smaller themes within your larger theme. Ten great pictures of the kids fishing may be a scrapbook tale in itself.

Find inspiration in your photos
Let the magic of your pictures encourage creative scrapbooking ideas. For example, if a photo of your daughter catching her first fish reminds you of something she said that day, hand-write her quote next to the image.

Or, perhaps a series of fireside marshmallow roasting pictures encourages you to fashion a frame or photo border from marshmallow-roasting sticks.

Black-and-white photos lend scrapbook layouts a feeling of elegance and timelessness.

Black-and-white photos can add elegance, contrast, and allure to your scrapbook pages:

• Without color to distract the eye, black-and-white photos can bring more attention to your subjects and highlight the details in an image.
• Create an appealing contrast by adding a black-and-white picture to a colorful scrapbook layout.
• A solitary black-and-white photo can offer a contemporary look to a spare layout.
• Shoot photos in black-and-white, or easily convert any color photo to black-and-white using photo editing software.

Scan fresh flowers or wedding dress lace to create a unique wedding scrapbook background.

Expand your creativity beyond the offerings of the craft store, and make your own totally unique scrapbook pages using a scanner!

• Scan and enlarge a photo to copy and use as a background page.
• Scan and incorporate fabrics (like the lace of a wedding dress or a baby’s favorite blanket) to create textured backgrounds.
• Scan pages of a favorite book to print and use as background pages.
• Scan and incorporate 3-D objects. Seashells, buttons, maps, toys, leaves—you can scan pretty much anything. After scanning, enlarge, print, and use images of the objects as artistic background pages.

Learn more about scanning 3-D objects.

Scrapbook layouts at the HP Creative Studio come with a variety of page embellishments.

You'll find dozens of free scrapbook designs at the HP Creative Studio—from traditional to modern—for every season and every reason. Just upload your own photos, print, and create.

The layouts come complete with frames, borders and other page embellishments so you can add your own artistic touches and personalize your scrapbook.

Print 12“ x 12” square scrapbook pages with a wide-format HP printer.

With a large-format printer like the HP Officejet 7000 Wide-Format Printer, you aren't limited to 8.5" x 11" pages. You can print scrapbook pages on various paper types and sizes, including 12" x 12" and up to 13" x 19".

HP's thick, durable, satin/matte Advanced Photo Paper Glossy has been expressly designed for your professional photography, fine art, graphic design, and poster needs. And it comes in large, 13" x 19" sheets.

Learn how to pick paper for your wide-format scrapbooking needs. And get more tips for printing 12" x 12" and 8" x 8" square scrapbook pages.

Print and incorporate Snapfish photos into your scrapbook layouts—without a PC-using the HP Photosmart 7520 e-All-in-One.²

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Use the wireless HP Photosmart 7520 e-All-in-One to access your photos on Snapfish.¹ Use the large touchscreen to upload, download, and print your photos—no PC required.²

Plus, this versatile e-All-in-One also offers the following helpful features:

• Print, scan, copy, fax
• 4.3" color touchscreen
• ISO print speed up to 14 pages per minute (ppm) black, 10 ppm color³
• Automatic photo tray holds up to 20 pages
• Lab-quality photos from 5 individual inks
• 25-sheet automatic document feeder