Every Paperleaf book passes through a lot of hands before it reaches yours. We are often asked what happens in between, so this is a look at one small part of the process.
The clip below is what we put on while sorting. It runs long enough to get through a month of photos.
Make it a habit
We have changed this step more than once. Each change came from a reader telling us something was not quite right.
It would be quicker to skip this. We think the result is worth the extra time.
- Include at least one place, not just faces
- Keep one photo per day at most
- Hand the camera to someone else
What we got wrong
Take one photo before the moment and one after. The before and after often say more than the moment itself.
Quiet months are worth printing too. A month with no trips and no birthdays often turns into the book people return to, because it shows what ordinary life looked like before it changed.
I thought I needed a better camera. I needed a better window.
Tom Okafor, Paperleaf
Why it works
Ask someone else to look at your shortlist. They will spot the photo you were about to drop and the one you only kept out of habit.
If you have too many photos of one day, that day probably mattered. Give it a spread of its own rather than cutting it down to one.
Quick tip: star photos on your phone as you take them. Picking takes half the time at the end of the month.
When to stop
Look back at last year’s book before you start this month’s. It reminds you what you enjoyed seeing again and what you skipped past, which makes this month’s choices quicker and kinder.
Share the book when it arrives. Leaving it on the kitchen table for a day is often enough for everyone to have a look.
- Keep one photo per day at most
- Pick a fixed day each month
- Hand the camera to someone else
Start with what you already have
Most people find the first month the hardest. You are learning what you like, and every photo feels important. By the third month you will notice yourself moving faster, trusting your first reaction and spending your time on the handful of close calls instead of on every single picture.
If a month feels thin, look again at the photos you took without thinking. The best ones are often hiding there.
Picking is a skill. Like any skill, it gets faster.
Priya Nair, Paperleaf print room
One more thing
Keep a note of what happened that month as you go. A few words beside a photo are worth far more than you expect a year later.
Keep the phone charged and the lens clean on days you expect to matter. It sounds small, but a flat battery or a smudged lens has cost more good pictures than any missing piece of equipment.
Before you start: make sure your phone is backed up. Deleting is easier when nothing can be lost.
Keep it simple
When a month has a big event in it, such as a wedding or a first day at school, let it take over. There is no rule that says every week needs equal space. The book should feel like the month felt.
It helps to know what the book is for before you start. A book for grandparents wants faces and clear captions. A book for yourself can hold the odd corner of the garden, the shadow on the wall and the plate of food that only makes sense to you.
- Leave the cover for last
- Star photos as you take them
- Back up before deleting anything
Try it this month
A good caption answers the question someone will ask in twenty years. Who is that? Where were we? Why is everyone wet? Write the answer while you still know it, even if it feels too obvious to bother with today.
Delete duplicates as you go rather than saving them for later. Later rarely comes, and a cleaner camera roll makes picking much easier.
The book comes, and for one evening nobody looks at their phone.
Marcus, father of three
A few small rules
Set aside a fixed time for it. The last Sunday of the month works for a lot of readers because the week is quiet and the month is complete.
Keep the rejected photos somewhere safe for a while. Tastes change, and a picture you passed over may be the one you want next year.
Good to know: every Paperleaf book has room for thirty photos, so there is no prize for keeping more.
What to look for
If you miss a month, do not try to catch up all at once. Start again with this month and fill the gap later if you feel like it.
Do not forget the in-between moments: the car park before the party, the coats piled on a chair, the walk home in the dark. They are the parts of a day that nobody photographs on purpose and everybody recognises straight away.
- Star photos as you take them
- Keep one photo per day at most
- Leave the cover for last
Make it a habit
If two photos are nearly the same, keep the one where someone is doing something. A raised hand, a turned head or a half-finished sentence gives a picture life that a perfectly still pose rarely has, even when the still one is technically better.
My grandmother cried when she got the book. That is all I wanted to say.
The bit about writing names on the back hit home. We have a box of strangers in our loft.
So glad it helped. Let us know how the first book turns out.
I never thought about the light from the window. Moved the high chair and the difference is huge.
Ha, the box in our loft is full of strangers as well.
My grandmother cried when she got the book. That is all I wanted to say.
This is exactly the nudge I needed. My camera roll has four thousand photos from this year alone.
This is exactly the nudge I needed. My camera roll has four thousand photos from this year alone.
Such a simple idea and I had never tried it. Doing it tonight.
I printed our first book after reading this and my daughter has not put it down since.