Good photos are mostly about seeing, not about settings. Before you lift the phone, notice where the light is coming from and what sits behind your subject. Those two things decide most pictures.
Reader tip: one family keeps a paper list on the fridge of moments they want in the next book.
We don’t take more photos than we used to. We just look at them now.
Ana, a reader since the first year
Make it a habit
Try this at home first, where you can take your time. It soon becomes a habit you use without thinking.
Small changes in where you stand make big changes in the picture. Move a step before you change anything else.
- 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.
When to stop
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.
Back up before you delete anything. It takes a minute and removes the fear that stops people from clearing out at all.
| 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 |
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.
Delete duplicates as you go rather than saving them for later. Later rarely comes, and a cleaner camera roll makes picking much easier.
- Leave the cover for last
- Star photos as you take them
- Write a few words beside the best ones
One more thing
Share the book when it arrives. Leaving it on the kitchen table for a day is often enough for everyone to have a look.
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.
Why it works
Leave a little space. Not every page needs to be full, and an empty corner gives the eye somewhere to rest.
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.
Good to know: every Paperleaf book has room for thirty photos, so there is no prize for keeping more.
A few small rules
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.
Take one photo before the moment and one after. The before and after often say more than the moment itself.
- 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.
What we got wrong
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.
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.
| 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 |
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.
If two photos are nearly the same, keep the one where someone is doing something. A raised hand, a turned head or a half-finished sentence gives a picture life that a perfectly still pose rarely has, even when the still one is technically better.
- Hand the camera to someone else
- Pick a fixed day each month
- Star photos as you take them
Thank you for not telling me to buy a new camera.
We have the same problem. Starring photos as we go helped a lot.
That is lovely to hear. Say hello to your grandmother from all of us.
Any tips for doing this with twins? I end up with two of everything.
This is exactly the nudge I needed. My camera roll has four thousand photos from this year alone.
Thank you for not telling me to buy a new camera.
This is exactly the nudge I needed. My camera roll has four thousand photos from this year alone.
I never thought about the light from the window. Moved the high chair and the difference is huge.