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.
Good to know: every Paperleaf book has room for thirty photos, so there is no prize for keeping more.
My mum reads the captions more than she looks at the pictures.
Leila, who writes every caption by hand
When to stop
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.
- Delete the obvious misses: blurs, pockets and thumbs.
- Star one photo per day, even on dull days.
- Pick the cover last, once the month has a shape.
Start with what you already have
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.
Faces matter, but so do places. Include at least one picture of the room, the street or the view where the month happened.
| Print size | Smallest file | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Square page | 1800 × 1800 px | Single photos |
| Full spread | 3600 × 1800 px | Landscapes and groups |
| Quarter page | 900 × 900 px | Small moments |
A few small rules
Write the year on the spine. It sounds obvious, but without it a shelf of books quickly becomes a puzzle.
Do not wait for a special occasion. The ordinary weeks are the ones people forget, and the ones they most want to see again.
- Leave the cover for last
- Star photos as you take them
- Keep one photo per day at most
Try it this month
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.
Hand the phone to someone else at least once a month. It is the only way the photographer gets into the book.
What to look for
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.
Leave a little space. Not every page needs to be full, and an empty corner gives the eye somewhere to rest.
Quick tip: star photos on your phone as you take them. Picking takes half the time at the end of the month.
Keep it simple
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.
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.
- Delete the obvious misses: blurs, pockets and thumbs.
- Star one photo per day, even on dull days.
- Pick the cover last, once the month has a shape.
Any tips for doing this with twins? I end up with two of everything.
We tried the one-photo-per-day rule last month and it made picking so much easier. Thank you!