Your phone is a better camera than you think. Most disappointing photos come down to light, distance and a dirty lens, not to the hardware. A few habits fix nearly all of them.
The clip below is what we put on while sorting. It runs long enough to get through a month of photos.
What to look for
None of this needs an app or an accessory. It only needs a moment of attention before you press the button.
If you try only one thing this month, try this one. It takes no time and the difference shows up on the first page of the book.
- Leave the cover for last
- Hand the camera to someone else
- Keep one photo per day at most
Start with what you already have
Be generous on the first pass. You are not deciding what goes in the book yet, only what is definitely out.
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.
The book comes, and for one evening nobody looks at their phone.
Marcus, father of three
A few small rules
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.
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.
One more thing
Hand the phone to someone else at least once a month. It is the only way the photographer gets into the book.
Try to include everyone. It is easy to end up with a book full of the children and none of the person holding the camera.
- Pick a fixed day each month
- Write a few words beside the best ones
- Leave the cover for last
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.
Leave a little space. Not every page needs to be full, and an empty corner gives the eye somewhere to rest.
We don’t take more photos than we used to. We just look at them now.
Ana, a reader since the first year
Try it this month
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.
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.
Good to know: every Paperleaf book has room for thirty photos, so there is no prize for keeping more.
Keep it simple
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.
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.
- Hand the camera to someone else
- Write a few words beside the best ones
- Pick a fixed day each month
When to stop
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.
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.
Picking is a skill. Like any skill, it gets faster.
Priya Nair, Paperleaf print room
What we got wrong
Share the book when it arrives. Leaving it on the kitchen table for a day is often enough for everyone to have a look.
If a month feels thin, look again at the photos you took without thinking. The best ones are often hiding there.
Before you start: make sure your phone is backed up. Deleting is easier when nothing can be lost.
Why it works
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.
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
- Include at least one place, not just faces
What to look for
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.
Some readers keep a short list of rules on a sticky note beside the computer. Ours says: faces first, then places, then anything that made us laugh. It is not scientific, but it stops the session turning into an evening of second-guessing.
Picking is a skill. Like any skill, it gets faster.
Priya Nair, Paperleaf print room
My grandmother cried when she got the book. That is all I wanted to say.
We have the same problem. Starring photos as we go helped a lot.
Thank you for not telling me to buy a new camera.
Saving this for the end of the month. Last Sunday it is.
Ha, the box in our loft is full of strangers as well.
Saving this for the end of the month. Last Sunday it is.
Does this work for older kids too? Mine are 11 and 14 and hide from the camera.
Thank you for not telling me to buy a new camera.