Mother’s Day is quickly approaching in just 2 weeks!
Dads if you are looking for a truly sentimental gift OR moms if you want to give dad a hint of what you’d like for Mother’s day – here is an idea that you will LOVE.
While flowers or jewelry are always nice and traditional, putting in just a little extra effort will leave you with a meaningful gift that is sure to make mom cry happy tears.
Here’s my suggestion!
Have a beautiful photo book printed for her with hand-selected images – it’ll be something mom will hold onto and cherish for years.
If you are in, keep reading for how to get started with this project!
Preparing Your Photo Book – Step by Step
Start by collecting photos of mom’s favorite moments from over the years. Search through all of those folders on your computer (and cell phone too) of images from birthday parties, vacations, etc…
Choosing the best images will probably be the most time-consuming part. Keep a steady pace when sorting, as it is very easy to get stuck deciding between similar images. Go with your initial intuition and reaction and move on to the next folder…I promise everything will come together in the end!
Image Variety is Key
What you should pay attention to is gathering a nice assortment of images… vertical and horizontal as well as posed and candid. Also incorporate a blend of color and black & white images (TIP: often times the photo lab’s design software will automatically allow you to change certain images to BW. You shouldn’t have to decide which image to make BW ahead of time.)
For a book of 30 pages, you can easily put aside around 100 images, which you will narrow down once you begin to design. That might sound like a big number but remember you likely have thousands and thousands of photos to choose from.
Where to Print?
There are many companies out there than can print your book, but I’d like to feature one in particular. The company is called Artifact Uprising. They have very simple and elegant products at many different price points. Artifact Uprising was featured in The Oprah Magazineand Real Simple. And if sustainability is important to you then you can feel good about the fact that they provide recycled papers and reclaimed options AND their products are made in the USA.
Easy Peasy Designing for Anyone
I tested out their design software and can tell you do not need to be a graphic designer to put together this photo book. Simply upload your images to their website (after you create a login). They have several professionally pre-designed page layouts to choose from. This book will automatically look like it was put together by a pro! Three words…DRAG AND DROP….they make the whole process sooo easy.
The page layouts I selected allowed me to include 60 total images! Yours might be more or less. Be creative! Pick what feels right.
A Photo Book that Stands Out
The specific product I ordered is called the COLOR SERIES PHOTO BOOK. And I LOVED IT! The cover has a circular cut out which makes this book really unique compared to other photo books I have seen. And you can add text to the cover, which is foil stamped. This lettering often times is an add-on you have to pay extra for but in this case it’s built into the cost of this book. Give your book a title, it can be as basic as The Smith Family and at the bottom Est. 2015 (the year that your family first became a family). Or have fun and come up with something personal to mom!
The Final Product – Classic and Simple
I personally love the navy blue cover with silver foil stamping – it’s a very classy and timeless color combo. But I suggest thinking of where mom might display this book and incorporate the colors of the interior décor of that room. Paying attention to this small detail is yet another thoughtful touch she will surely appreciate!
I highly recommend choosing the largest size 8.5 x 8.5. Even with the largest size, you can get this photo book for under $50.
Artifact uprising is having a sale for a couple days through the end of April 30, 2019. Use promo code FOR HER to get 15% off. Although that’s not very long, be sure to sign up on their website and you’ll be the first to know about future sales!
Need Help?
If you’d like help creating a photo book, please reach out, I would absolutely love to help you with this project.
For families in Central, NJ, if you would like to make this book using both your own photos as well as professionally taken photos of your family….send me a note. Allow me to create a custom package just for you including a photo session, a book or any Mother’s Day photo gifts that speak to you. Packages available for many price ranges. It would be my pleasure to work with you and guide you through this process!
