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.
Picking is a skill. Like any skill, it gets faster.
Priya Nair, Paperleaf print room
What we got wrong
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.
- Keep one photo per day at most
- Back up before deleting anything
- Pick a fixed day each month
One more thing
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.
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.
The book comes, and for one evening nobody looks at their phone.
Marcus, father of three
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.
Back up before you delete anything. It takes a minute and removes the fear that stops people from clearing out at all.
Reader tip: one family keeps a paper list on the fridge of moments they want in the next book.
Keep it simple
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.
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.
- Star photos as you take them
- Keep one photo per day at most
- Include at least one place, not just faces
Try it this month
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.
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.
We don’t take more photos than we used to. We just look at them now.
Ana, a reader since the first year
When to stop
Do not wait for a special occasion. The ordinary weeks are the ones people forget, and the ones they most want to see again.
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.
Reader tip: one family keeps a paper list on the fridge of moments they want in the next book.
I printed our first book after reading this and my daughter has not put it down since.
Any tips for doing this with twins? I end up with two of everything.
Does this work for older kids too? Mine are 11 and 14 and hide from the camera.
My grandmother cried when she got the book. That is all I wanted to say.
That is lovely to hear. Say hello to your grandmother from all of us.
Does this work for older kids too? Mine are 11 and 14 and hide from the camera.
We tried the one-photo-per-day rule last month and it made picking so much easier. Thank you!
I never thought about the light from the window. Moved the high chair and the difference is huge.