I just ordered a personalized photo book from .mac for my scotland photos - and it was very convenient, easy to use. I have a mac, so it was great that I didn't have to put the book together online. I could just do it on my computer - and I was happy that it gave me options on typefaces, layout, etc. So I thought this was the solution to all my agonizing photo problems (ie, ordering prints but never putting them in an album).

So I got the book yesterday in the mail. The delivery was speedy. The outside of the book is beautiful, with a linen cover. It is a bound book, and is quite nice (coffee table worthy). But, to be honest I am a little dissapointed with the quality of the pictures inside. The pictures are slightly grainy and not as crisp as I was hoping for. I want them to be photo-quality, sharp and crisp. They look a little fuzzy, and I am unsure whether this is from the paper, printing method, or if its my camera. My camera is 3megapixels, which I would think would be sufficient for this task, but maybe not?

I want to salvage this, I WANT to make photo books, I think they will be my photo salvation.... But I want better quality than this. Does anyone have any knowledge of personalized photo books? Have you made one- if so where? How did it come out? Any particular book you were really impressed with? Does anyone have any knowledge about the types of paper/printing methods the different sites use? Anyone know if it could just be my camera?
Anyone know of a site that rates the different photo books available?
Thanks everyone!

Several things could be causing the fuzziness. First, what size are the printed photos? I have had pretty good luck with three mega-pixels for 4x6 prints but not so good with 8x10 or larger. My two cameras are now 5 and 6 mp and they work well for 8x10's.

Second, if you are using jpg (jpeg) formats, each time you edit and save the photo, you lose a fair amount of color pixels. It doesn't take long before a good quality photo file becomes a poor quality one. If your camera and software support it, I'd use tiff, raw, or another non-loss photo format for files you are going to copy or edit.

Third, if you are using a telephoto lens and automatic exposure settings on your camera, you are likely to see lens wobble causing blurriness when the telephoto is extended. If the camera has a setting that allows setting exposure, you need to set the shutter speed to be about equal to the telephoto length (i.e., shooting with a 400mm telephoto, you should be using a shutter speed of 1/400 or faster). If you cannot set shutter speed, you may be able to change the film ASA equivalency in the camera to a faster film speed. In average daylight with a 400mm telephoto, I'd use a film speed of at least 200 ASA.

Fourth, make sure you clean the lens on your camera regularly. Fingerprints, dust, and other lens obstructions can cause fuzzy prints.

Fourth, it could be caused by sloppy printing from your supplier. Try taking the same photo file and having one print made of the same size at a Kodak printer. If that print is sharper than the one you got, it is probably a supplier problem.

I hope this helps.

thanks for the detailed response.
Ill have to check my camera settings, and try again. And some of the photos are large, so maybe a better camera is in order

I agree with Dwooddon's suggestions.

You should also look at the resolution and diameter of your images and what the end result is in the book. For printing, you want a 300dpi resolution. At that resolution, you want the image to be as close to the printed size (but not less).

If you have a smaller resolution (i.e., 72dpi), that's going to reduce the quality of the image.

If the image size is 8x10 and you downsize it to 4x6, that can cause the image to look a bit blurry - usually you need to do an unsharpen mask to bring the details back out.

If you find that it was the printing that was poor, take a look at mypublisher.com and lulu.com.

I've used mypublisher and was very happy with the results. I haven't used lulu, but it's received favorable reviews.

Steviegene - If you still have the original jpegs, there are ways to be able to upsize them without losing too much detail. Enough to upsize to an 8x10 on some images.

If you'd like more details, just email me through www.toedtoesproductions.com

toedtoes -- nice website. Is this a new business venture for you? The photos are nice.

Debi

Thanks Debi! Yes, it is a new venture. I just started this year and am completing my second website job now. Just starting out slowly so I don't get overwhelmed - the money goes towards my photography gear.

toedtoes: Very nice photos on your web site. Good luck with your business.

Toed, how cool!!! Love the photos on your web site. My niece does this and is doing very well from it. She is also a graphic designer and does all her own illustrations. I hope things are going well for you. Looks like you are off to a good start!

I used shutterfly.com to do picture books from our last trip. I don't know about the mac, but on shutterfly it told me if a picture did not have the quality necessary to be printed at the size I chose. I did a small snapbook and printed 3 to give to each member of the Tn Trio to commemorate the trip.

Thanks everyone!

BG - Being an illustrator is a great addition, unfortunately I can't draw worth beans (even with a computer) so I must do without it.

For photo books, Shutterfly gets good reviews also.