A trip produces hundreds of photos and, often, very little story. Back home, the camera roll is full of landmarks and empty of the moments that made the trip feel like yours.
Before you start: make sure your phone is backed up. Deleting is easier when nothing can be lost.
My mum reads the captions more than she looks at the pictures.
Leila, who writes every caption by hand
A few small rules
Think of each day as a short chapter. A beginning, something in the middle, and an ending.
The people you travelled with matter more than the places. Make sure they are in the pictures.
- Pick a fixed day each month
- Hand the camera to someone else
- Back up before deleting anything
Start with what you already have
Do not wait for a special occasion. The ordinary weeks are the ones people forget, and the ones they most want to see again.
Delete duplicates as you go rather than saving them for later. Later rarely comes, and a cleaner camera roll makes picking much easier.
I thought I needed a better camera. I needed a better window.
Tom Okafor, Paperleaf
Make it a habit
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.
Print sizes matter less than you think. A small photo surrounded by white space can feel more special than one stretched to fill the page.
Reader tip: one family keeps a paper list on the fridge of moments they want in the next book.
Lovely post. The bit about keeping the blurry photos made me go back and rescue a few.
Thank you, that really made our day.
My grandmother cried when she got the book. That is all I wanted to say.
I never thought about the light from the window. Moved the high chair and the difference is huge.
So glad it helped. Let us know how the first book turns out.
I printed our first book after reading this and my daughter has not put it down since.