Every family has a photo that does more work than it should. It sits on a fridge or a desk and quietly holds a whole year of memories. This story is about one of those pictures and the people around it.
This is how the two pictures sit together on one spread.
Try it this month
The people in this story asked us not to tidy it up. They wanted it told the way it is told around their table, with the gaps left in.
What struck us most was how ordinary the moment was. Nobody planned it, and nobody would have guessed it would matter.
- Write a few words beside the best ones
- Star photos as you take them
- Leave the cover for last
Make it a habit
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.
On the second pass, look for variety. A month of the same room and the same faces feels flat, even if each photo is lovely on its own.
The book comes, and for one evening nobody looks at their phone.
Marcus, father of three
Why it works
Be generous on the first pass. You are not deciding what goes in the book yet, only what is definitely out.
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.
Before you start: make sure your phone is backed up. Deleting is easier when nothing can be lost.
Keep it simple
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.
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.
- Back up before deleting anything
- Star photos as you take them
- Hand the camera to someone else
One more thing
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.
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.
I thought I needed a better camera. I needed a better window.
Tom Okafor, Paperleaf
What to look for
Watch the light at different times of day in your own home. Most houses have one window that is lovely for an hour every afternoon.
Do not be afraid of imperfect photos. A little blur or a stray elbow often tells you more about the day than a tidy, posed shot.
Good to know: every Paperleaf book has room for thirty photos, so there is no prize for keeping more.
Start with what you already have
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.
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.
- Write a few words beside the best ones
- Hand the camera to someone else
- Leave the cover for last
A few small rules
Make a cup of tea, sit somewhere comfortable and put the phone on do-not-disturb. The job goes faster when it does not compete with messages.
Write the year on the spine. It sounds obvious, but without it a shelf of books quickly becomes a puzzle.
My mum reads the captions more than she looks at the pictures.
Leila, who writes every caption by hand
What we got wrong
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.
If you share a camera roll with someone, agree on who picks which month. Taking turns means each book has a slightly different point of view, and nobody ends up doing all of the work every time.
Before you start: make sure your phone is backed up. Deleting is easier when nothing can be lost.
When to stop
Delete duplicates as you go rather than saving them for later. Later rarely comes, and a cleaner camera roll makes picking much easier.
Try not to edit every photo. A little brightening is fine, but heavy filters date quickly and make a year of books look uneven when they sit together on a shelf. Let the light of the day show.
- Leave the cover for last
- Include at least one place, not just faces
- Hand the camera to someone else
Try it this month
If a month feels thin, look again at the photos you took without thinking. The best ones are often hiding there.
Think about how the photos sit next to each other. Two busy pictures side by side can fight; a busy one beside a quiet one usually works.
I thought I needed a better camera. I needed a better window.
Tom Okafor, Paperleaf
Make it a habit
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.
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.
Quick tip: star photos on your phone as you take them. Picking takes half the time at the end of the month.
Why it works
Leave a little space. Not every page needs to be full, and an empty corner gives the eye somewhere to rest.
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.
- Hand the camera to someone else
- Back up before deleting anything
- Pick a fixed day each month
Keep it simple
Take one photo before the moment and one after. The before and after often say more than the moment itself.
Hand the phone to someone else at least once a month. It is the only way the photographer gets into the book.
My mum reads the captions more than she looks at the pictures.
Leila, who writes every caption by hand
I printed our first book after reading this and my daughter has not put it down since.
That is lovely to hear. Say hello to your grandmother from all of us.
I never thought about the light from the window. Moved the high chair and the difference is huge.
Lovely post. The bit about keeping the blurry photos made me go back and rescue a few.
I never thought about the light from the window. Moved the high chair and the difference is huge.
Saving this for the end of the month. Last Sunday it is.
I never thought about the light from the window. Moved the high chair and the difference is huge.
Thank you for not telling me to buy a new camera.