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.
Quick tip: star photos on your phone as you take them. Picking takes half the time at the end of the month.
Picking is a skill. Like any skill, it gets faster.
Priya Nair, Paperleaf print room
What to look for
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.
Try it this month
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.
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.
| 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.
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.
- Back up before deleting anything
- Star photos as you take them
- Pick a fixed day each month
One more thing
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.
Delete duplicates as you go rather than saving them for later. Later rarely comes, and a cleaner camera roll makes picking much easier.
Why it works
If a month feels thin, look again at the photos you took without thinking. The best ones are often hiding there.
Take one photo before the moment and one after. The before and after often say more than the moment itself.
Quick tip: star photos on your phone as you take them. Picking takes half the time at the end of the month.
Start with what you already have
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.
Leave a little space. Not every page needs to be full, and an empty corner gives the eye somewhere to rest.
- 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.
Keep it simple
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.
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.
| 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 |
Make it a habit
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.
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.
- Include at least one place, not just faces
- Keep one photo per day at most
- Hand the camera to someone else
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!
Any tips for doing this with twins? I end up with two of everything.
Such a simple idea and I had never tried it. Doing it tonight.
Lovely post. The bit about keeping the blurry photos made me go back and rescue a few.
We tried the one-photo-per-day rule last month and it made picking so much easier. Thank you!
I printed our first book after reading this and my daughter has not put it down since.
My grandmother cried when she got the book. That is all I wanted to say.
Thank you for not telling me to buy a new camera.
Great question. Start with one photo per child per day and swap them on the second pass.
We have the same problem. Starring photos as we go helped a lot.
We tried the one-photo-per-day rule last month and it made picking so much easier. Thank you!