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Family Photos- loose prints vs. photobooks?



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medola




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 07 2014, 9:50 am
I am trying to make a decision... I have thousands of family pictures and I would like to get them off my computer and printed. There's something nice about being able to hold a photo print in your hand, have the ability to take it out of the photo album and frame it or stick it on the fridge. However, I really don't need to have a thousand prints just to have this convenience, plus I kind of hate when there are pictures missing in an album anyway! So I am entertaining the idea of starting a photo book tradition, and making one or two a year after I print a few with the pics on my computer. It's kind of sad that you can't really "hold" the individual picture but I guess the pros are that I can arrange lots of pictures on a page and thus it's cheaper than printing each (there's always deals), plus they are thinner than a big album so they take up less space in a bookshelf and feel more inviting than a big heavy album in a way. Also bonus points for sharing the link with grandparents so they can print their own or we can give as gifts, and lastly it's a good way to backup our pics.
I know this is not like I am making a commitment forever, but I am thinking whether to take on this photo books project and potentially make a a family tradition out if it.
Thoughts? Opinions? Experience, advice?
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miri36




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 07 2014, 10:21 am
I am very into photos and used to have them all printed and placed in albums. Then I started printing and making albums now I just make albums.

I also like having a full sized pic rather than smaller ones on paper but there is something really nice about photo books and I try to do then every year or after a vacation or big event. I even made books of just beautiful landscapes that I took each on a full page and it's beautiful to look at.
The catch is that it takes a long time. I found choosing pictures is the hardest and creating the book is the fun part. I use Picasa to select my photos then export them to a folder so I can easily upload on any photo book program without having to go through them each time. Make the book and order it when there's a deal. I love mixbook quality and software and I've tried many programs.
Or you can just order those prints when snap fish has pebnyt prints.
Making photo books will take time and you need to really have a drive to do it otherwise your photos will probably stay on your computer forever!
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Chayalle




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 07 2014, 10:22 am
I love photobooks and I love shutterfly. I always have (well, right now I need to do one, so change that to most of the time) a photobook put together on Shutterfly, waiting to be ordered. This way I'm prepared when they send me deals - like 12 hours to get 50% off, and every so often, they give me a free book - all I pay is S & H.
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pobody's nerfect




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 07 2014, 10:29 am
I'm having the same dilemma right now! From 2009-mid2013 I have organized, labeled albums. I haven't printed in soooo long. Now I'm wondering if I should do photobooks instead. The kids LOVE to look at the albums, and they fall apart rather easily. But I take soooo many pics! Not sure what tu do.
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yo'ma




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 07 2014, 10:30 am
I've been putting pictures in an album, not a photobook, but I'm pretty much up to date and I started way before there were photobooks. The other advantage of an album is if you don't have a copy of the picture anywhere and you need it, you can scan it. I guess you can do that with a photobook as well, but easier with an actual picture. I do make photobooks though. I made one for my ds's bar mitzva and an ABC trip to the mall we went on. I also make for the grandparents. In your case, making a photobook is much smarter than starting with albums. You're right, it takes up a lot of space and while it takes time to make the book, it takes time to put the pictures in the albums, never mind the expense of buying the albums. It especially takes time to put the pictures in the albums if you do it the way I do it, all in order, including the time, if possible.
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bigsis144




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 07 2014, 11:38 am
I have the same dilemma, though not quite as many photos as you.

I recently made a photobook (had a nice coupon on snapfish), and like others said, the hardest part was choosing which photos to put in it.

Unlike a photo album, which just has ALL. TEH. PHOTOS. in chronological order, I feel like I have a more "professional" standard for a photobook. Like, each page must have a certain "theme" or connection between the photos, and the book itself must have a "theme". And the number of photos per page kept messing me up -- if I don't want tiny photos, I have to limit the number of pictures on each page, and what if I happened to take 8 really awesome pictures from the beach, but only 3 of the pictures from the zoo came out with everyone looking normal? Do I put "subpar" photos in the book? I might not mind putting those same photos in a more free-for-all album where the purpose is simply the memories, know what I mean?

So I think I would say albums in general, and photobooks for special occasions where you KNOW you've got the photos you need.
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medola




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 07 2014, 12:12 pm
Ok I guess in my mind I already decided to give the photobook route a try. I have one wedding loose photo album made and one "loose" photo album from when my oldest (5) and toddler were younger.. The last time I printed a few pictures was maybe 2 years ago.. I dont know, I have this sudden urge to chronicle everything lol but I am just not sure where to start? Should I make the one first with more current pics (new baby pics) or start with older pictures? And any suggestions how to sort through the pics on my computer and easily mark the ones I intend to use? Is it easiest to make a separate folder and drag the "best shots" , or rename all the best ones with a "1" in front of the file name or something? I just don't want to make too many digital copies because they are already taking up so much memory... Any tips?
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mandr




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 07 2014, 2:37 pm
I only print photobooks. I have a bookshelf without about 15 Shutterfly and MyPublisher books. I organize them by size. It's so much more exciting to flip through choice pictures arranged in a nice format, rather than a billion single prints. Also, with pictures you have to keep tilting your head when the orientation changes, but with photobooks, I make everything face one way!

I've never paid for Shutterfly books yet - I just pay the $7.99 shipping and handling.
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miri36




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 07 2014, 2:44 pm
Use picasa to organize your photos. It's easy to view them and select . The little green button in the lower left hand corner will select the photo (from different folders) and all the selected photos will be in that little box. Then from there you can either upload them directly through picasa to snapfish or shutterfly (through the shop button) or I "export" it to put them in a separate folder. After you finish with whatever you decide to do with them, you can delete that exported folder and won't have lost anything.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 08 2014, 1:05 am
My preference is photobook for those hundreds of miscellaneous photos that you like to flip through for memories, and separately also prints of the nicest/favorite ones for hanging and sharing. Which is not to say that my most recent photobook is less than 2 years old, or that I actually have current photos displayed... That's just my preference. I did buy some nice frames recently though...

I use folders in my computer to organize.

Problem is not everything even makes it to photobook-worthy but I still can't bring myself to delete pics that didn't quite work out...
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picklelover




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 08 2014, 3:49 am
I do both! I Iove photo books but it takes sooo long to get around to it. Have to find the time to choose which photos I want in it etc.
So what I do now is both!
I print all my photos and stick them into albums.
And for special occasions, after baby's first year, after a vacation etc, I'll put together a photo book so it's much less to choose from and I don't have to worry too much about the ones that won't go into the book, because I have it also printed and put into the album.
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HonesttoGod




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 08 2014, 10:21 am
I started doing photo books because it is easier than havign a ton of prints then sitting and putting them all in albums and labelling etc.

I usually just do whatever is on offer so I have some big ones and a couple of small 4x6 ones that I got for free.

The problem starts when it is too much work to do. So I am missing about 3/4 that I need to do but I just don't have time.

But I also like to have some actual prints to hang on the walls etc. Also I found that with albums eventually the pages tear, plastic rips but with a photobook if a page tears a bit you tape it and it is done.

My kids love to look at the photobooks we have.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 08 2014, 1:46 pm
If you use a site like Shutterfly or Snapfish it is really not hard at all. You can just upload the pictures you want and have the program automatically place it in a template. There's always the option of getting fancier, but this would be the basic equivalent of an album. I really enjoy making them special but the last time I just wanted to have it already so I went with the default and it was very nice even if not as personal.

The other advantage is that if it gets ruined it is very easy to reorder the same one. It gets saved into your account. If you have one that's particularly special (such as a new baby album) you can just get two right away and then not worry if one gets passed around the family too much - and the kid will probably want to keep a copy at some point, too.
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fbmommy




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Sep 17 2014, 12:46 pm
I like to use photobooks for major events e.g. major vacation to Israel or son's upsherin.
I have all the pictures on computer, even the not so nice ones. One plus in using photo books is that you can even use the pictures that didn't come out so great, because you can put have those smaller and the nicer ones bigger.
Still undecided about the rest of the year. Have tons of pics and not sure either..
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