Camping after dark

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.

Here are the photos that made it into the book. Tap any of them to see it larger.

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.

• Hand the camera to someone else
• Keep one photo per day at most
• Pick a fixed day each month

What we got wrong

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.

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.

The book comes, and for one evening nobody looks at their phone.

Marcus, father of three

When to stop

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.

If a month feels thin, look again at the photos you took without thinking. The best ones are often hiding there.

Reader tip: one family keeps a paper list on the fridge of moments they want in the next book.

Start with what you already have

Back up before you delete anything. It takes a minute and removes the fear that stops people from clearing out at all.

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.

• Include at least one place, not just faces
• Hand the camera to someone else
• Write a few words beside the best ones

Why it works

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.

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.

I thought I needed a better camera. I needed a better window.

Tom Okafor, Paperleaf

What to look for

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.

Leave a little space. Not every page needs to be full, and an empty corner gives the eye somewhere to rest.

Before you start: make sure your phone is backed up. Deleting is easier when nothing can be lost.

Make it a habit

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.

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.

• Back up before deleting anything
• Leave the cover for last
• Write a few words beside the best ones

Try it this month

Be generous on the first pass. You are not deciding what goes in the book yet, only what is definitely out.

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.

I thought I needed a better camera. I needed a better window.

Tom Okafor, Paperleaf

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.

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.

Good to know: every Paperleaf book has room for thirty photos, so there is no prize for keeping more.