Printing photos or photo book
Aug 11th, 2017, 01:38 PM
#1
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Printing photos or photo book
I have l always put together a photo album after each trip. 2 years ago I was able to print 500 photos at Costco for 9 cents each. Now it is 17 cents.
Are there cheaper alternatives?
Is this more cost effective than a photo book? I have never looked into one previously.
Are there cheaper alternatives?
Is this more cost effective than a photo book? I have never looked into one previously.
Aug 11th, 2017, 02:51 PM
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Every so often Walgreen's has a 75 % off on Photo books. It is truly an amazing price.
I have been able to use the special price for several gift photo books and they came out really nice.
From my experience, if you can sort out your photos and make a very rough plan as to the pages etc. it will be really easy to design your photo book when the special is offered.
Sign up at Walgreen's.com and you will get special offers.
Another good thing I have heard from a friend is in case you do not like the photo book when you go to pick it up, you can cancel it and not buy it. Walgreen's is really good about that too. There is no charge to you then.
Good luck in your photo project.
I have been able to use the special price for several gift photo books and they came out really nice.
From my experience, if you can sort out your photos and make a very rough plan as to the pages etc. it will be really easy to design your photo book when the special is offered.
Sign up at Walgreen's.com and you will get special offers.
Another good thing I have heard from a friend is in case you do not like the photo book when you go to pick it up, you can cancel it and not buy it. Walgreen's is really good about that too. There is no charge to you then.
Good luck in your photo project.
Aug 11th, 2017, 02:59 PM
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Shutterfly.com has frequent sales on photo books--this summer I took advantage of an offer of base rate + unlimited extra pages for the base rate price. A true bargain! I printed 3 books that I had queued up on the site waiting for a good sale. They also currently have an offer of FREE printing of 4x6 prints on their app--you pay the shipping/handling charge only. I printed 191 photos from my phone for about $19.
Aug 11th, 2017, 07:48 PM
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>>> Is this more cost effective than a photo book? I have never looked into one previously.
The photo books would probably cost more per page basis.
In spite of this, I have switched to photo books about 10 years ago. The most compelling reason was the volume. Photo books with same number of pages might consume less than 1/10th of the space depending on what kind of album books you have been using. This was painfully clear when I moved my parents to a retirement home with minuscule storage space. They could not keep their albums in the bookshelf.
Another reason is the color. The photo book pictures seem to be more fade resistant. Also, the online viewable version you can create requires no physical storage and the color never fades.
However, it there are gotchas with photo books.
Ones you do entirely online require fast enough computer and fast internet connection. Depending on the provider, they restrict the type of pages you can create.
I use Blurb which require downloading their software. Although I have a quite fast laptop, the editing process is quite slow. Their software is not necessarily straight forward to use.
Before committing to any one photo book, try creating a simple book consisting of front/back cover, two pages with annotations/descriptions you would like to use.
The photo books would probably cost more per page basis.
In spite of this, I have switched to photo books about 10 years ago. The most compelling reason was the volume. Photo books with same number of pages might consume less than 1/10th of the space depending on what kind of album books you have been using. This was painfully clear when I moved my parents to a retirement home with minuscule storage space. They could not keep their albums in the bookshelf.
Another reason is the color. The photo book pictures seem to be more fade resistant. Also, the online viewable version you can create requires no physical storage and the color never fades.
However, it there are gotchas with photo books.
Ones you do entirely online require fast enough computer and fast internet connection. Depending on the provider, they restrict the type of pages you can create.
I use Blurb which require downloading their software. Although I have a quite fast laptop, the editing process is quite slow. Their software is not necessarily straight forward to use.
Before committing to any one photo book, try creating a simple book consisting of front/back cover, two pages with annotations/descriptions you would like to use.
Aug 11th, 2017, 10:09 PM
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I always make photo books. I uses a Dutch shop for it and have always been pleased with the results. It is time consuming to do, selecting the photos and the page layouts, backgrounds etc but I am always happy with the results. They do indeed take up a lot less space on the bookshelf too.
I do not use their editing software to change anything about the photo, I do all of that before hand as I shoot RAW and have to convert to jpeg for the book.
Editing software on most photobook sites is crude.
Try to find one where you download software and can work offline. Take your time with it, and make sure you check it in preview and check for typos. Once you are ready send it off. If you have a slow internet link send it at night so it can go without disturbing you.
It is a fine thing to do over several dark winter evenings, relieving your holiday as you do so.
I do not use their editing software to change anything about the photo, I do all of that before hand as I shoot RAW and have to convert to jpeg for the book.
Editing software on most photobook sites is crude.
Try to find one where you download software and can work offline. Take your time with it, and make sure you check it in preview and check for typos. Once you are ready send it off. If you have a slow internet link send it at night so it can go without disturbing you.
It is a fine thing to do over several dark winter evenings, relieving your holiday as you do so.
Aug 11th, 2017, 11:44 PM
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Just making a couple of points.
With both prints and books quality can be all over the place. Type of paper used for example can differ.
A high quality book isn't cheap. You don't want to make a mistake. Easiest way to avoid a mistake is to make prints first at the size of the book. If you're choosing between prints and a book this creates a problem.
With both prints and books quality can be all over the place. Type of paper used for example can differ.
A high quality book isn't cheap. You don't want to make a mistake. Easiest way to avoid a mistake is to make prints first at the size of the book. If you're choosing between prints and a book this creates a problem.
Aug 12th, 2017, 10:26 AM
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I suspect that photo books are probably more expensive than making old-fashioned photo albums, but photo books are a lot more fun to do. Plus, it's easy to write about your experience while you're adding the photos, a big improvement over regular albums where you might forget exactly why you included that picture..
I have used both Shutterfly and Apple to make travel books (I have a MacBook). I prefer Shutterfly for two big reasons: First, you can make up your own page designs (Apple requires you to choose templates), which is easy once you get the hang of it. Second, there's always a sale! (Apple has no sales.) To get the best deal, design your photo book and then wait for a 50 percent off deal; you won't have to wait long.
How's the quality? After a sailing charter I took with several friends, I made books for the two other couples. After I received them, I decided that pictures should be edited to be LIGHTER, because they will actually print darker. Before I ordered the same book for myself, I lightened each photo (yes, laborious), and it looked even better. My friends were delighted with their books because they didn't know how much nicer mine looked!
Some marvelous photographers occasionally compare the many photo book services; if you google photo book reviews, you will find them. However, companies do change their offerings all the time.
My travel books are always pretty long, but I made a quick 20-page book for my 2-year-old granddaughter ("Fun Times with Annalise") when Shutterfly sent me a really good coupon. It has pictures of lots of people on both sides of her family, and pictures of our cat and dog, and of her doing things like petting a kangaroo in Miami (Jungle Island!) and swimming in our condo pool. She absolutely loves this book, more than I could ever have imagined.
I have used both Shutterfly and Apple to make travel books (I have a MacBook). I prefer Shutterfly for two big reasons: First, you can make up your own page designs (Apple requires you to choose templates), which is easy once you get the hang of it. Second, there's always a sale! (Apple has no sales.) To get the best deal, design your photo book and then wait for a 50 percent off deal; you won't have to wait long.
How's the quality? After a sailing charter I took with several friends, I made books for the two other couples. After I received them, I decided that pictures should be edited to be LIGHTER, because they will actually print darker. Before I ordered the same book for myself, I lightened each photo (yes, laborious), and it looked even better. My friends were delighted with their books because they didn't know how much nicer mine looked!
Some marvelous photographers occasionally compare the many photo book services; if you google photo book reviews, you will find them. However, companies do change their offerings all the time.
My travel books are always pretty long, but I made a quick 20-page book for my 2-year-old granddaughter ("Fun Times with Annalise") when Shutterfly sent me a really good coupon. It has pictures of lots of people on both sides of her family, and pictures of our cat and dog, and of her doing things like petting a kangaroo in Miami (Jungle Island!) and swimming in our condo pool. She absolutely loves this book, more than I could ever have imagined.
Aug 12th, 2017, 11:46 AM
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pthomas156: <i>How's the quality? After a sailing charter I took with several friends, I made books for the two other couples. After I received them, I decided that pictures should be edited to be LIGHTER, because they will actually print darker. Before I ordered the same book for myself, I lightened each photo (yes, laborious), and it looked even better. My friends were delighted with their books because they didn't know how much nicer mine looked!</i>
It's important to calibrate your screen or monitor (whatever you are using to view digital photos) to make sure it's not too bright or too dark compared to the printer you are using. Each printer you use may offer a profile you could use to calibrate your screen. But that could be a technical challenge.
A simpler calibration to make sure you are pretty close is to adjust the "gamma" of your screen - to make sure it isn't too dark or light compared to a printer. How you do this depends on what kind of computer you are using. I found that until I gamma corrected my laptops, my screen was too bright, so my pictures looked lighter than they would print. So...my printed pictures were too dark.
Once I adjusted my display to correct the gamma (a bit darker), my prints have come out very close to what I see on the screen - or close enough.
Here's a little more info - I apologize that this can seem a bit complicated:
http://www.photoscientia.co.uk/Gamma.htm
It could be that the pictures you are shooting are too dark - you may need to change how you take digital pictures. You might need to adjust the compensation of your exposures on the camera so they come out a little brighter. I know I've had to in some cases. The display on your digital camera may not match your screen, either! Unfortunately, in the digital world, no two screens are exactly alike, so it's hard to know what is "correct." Some trial and error is needed to get it right between your camera, your laptop or tablet or whatever, and a printer. The most important one to be "correct" is the printer, though...
It's important to calibrate your screen or monitor (whatever you are using to view digital photos) to make sure it's not too bright or too dark compared to the printer you are using. Each printer you use may offer a profile you could use to calibrate your screen. But that could be a technical challenge.
A simpler calibration to make sure you are pretty close is to adjust the "gamma" of your screen - to make sure it isn't too dark or light compared to a printer. How you do this depends on what kind of computer you are using. I found that until I gamma corrected my laptops, my screen was too bright, so my pictures looked lighter than they would print. So...my printed pictures were too dark.
Once I adjusted my display to correct the gamma (a bit darker), my prints have come out very close to what I see on the screen - or close enough.
Here's a little more info - I apologize that this can seem a bit complicated:
http://www.photoscientia.co.uk/Gamma.htm
It could be that the pictures you are shooting are too dark - you may need to change how you take digital pictures. You might need to adjust the compensation of your exposures on the camera so they come out a little brighter. I know I've had to in some cases. The display on your digital camera may not match your screen, either! Unfortunately, in the digital world, no two screens are exactly alike, so it's hard to know what is "correct." Some trial and error is needed to get it right between your camera, your laptop or tablet or whatever, and a printer. The most important one to be "correct" is the printer, though...
Aug 12th, 2017, 12:18 PM
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A simple way to adjust the brightness of the screen without fully calibrating it is to use something like the calibration strip at the bottom of this page: https://www.pentaxuser.com/
Aug 12th, 2017, 01:11 PM
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But you aren't just "adjusting brightness." I have a permanent adjustment set on my laptops that isn't the brightness controls (which work independently). That calibration strip is something you use with gamma adjustment. Through trial and error, you use a strip like that to make sure your gamma is pretty close.
I use Ubuntu Linux - don't remember how to do this in Windows or Mac, but people can look it up.
I use Ubuntu Linux - don't remember how to do this in Windows or Mac, but people can look it up.
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