A print is not a screen. Light bounces off paper instead of shining through it, and that changes how colours, darks and fine detail look. Knowing a little about paper and size helps every book look the way you hoped.
The clip below is what we put on while sorting. It runs long enough to get through a month of photos.
What we got wrong
Most of this is invisible when it is done right. You only notice it when it goes wrong.
If in doubt, print a single test page first. It is cheaper than a whole book.
- Back up before deleting anything
- Leave the cover for last
- Pick a fixed day each month
Start with what you already have
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.
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.
We don’t take more photos than we used to. We just look at them now.
Ana, a reader since the first year
Why it works
Back up before you delete anything. It takes a minute and removes the fear that stops people from clearing out at all.
Do not forget the in-between moments: the car park before the party, the coats piled on a chair, the walk home in the dark. They are the parts of a day that nobody photographs on purpose and everybody recognises straight away.
Reader tip: one family keeps a paper list on the fridge of moments they want in the next book.
Keep it simple
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.
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.
- Hand the camera to someone else
- Back up before deleting anything
- Include at least one place, not just faces
A few small rules
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.
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
Try it this month
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.
Any tips for doing this with twins? I end up with two of everything.
My grandmother cried when she got the book. That is all I wanted to say.
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.
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!
Lovely post. The bit about keeping the blurry photos made me go back and rescue a few.
Such a simple idea and I had never tried it. Doing it tonight.
The bit about writing names on the back hit home. We have a box of strangers in our loft.