Children are the most photographed people on earth and the hardest to photograph well. They move, they hide and they pull faces the moment a camera appears. The good news is that you do not need them to cooperate.
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
Start with what you already have
Forget the perfect portrait. Aim for pictures that show what this age was really like.
The photos you will treasure most are rarely the posed ones. They are the ones where the child forgot you were there.
- 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.
One more thing
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.
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.
| 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 |
Keep it simple
Faces matter, but so do places. Include at least one picture of the room, the street or the view where the month happened.
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.
- Star photos as you take them
- Write a few words beside the best ones
- Pick a fixed day each month
A few small rules
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.
It helps to know what the book is for before you start. A book for grandparents wants faces and clear captions. A book for yourself can hold the odd corner of the garden, the shadow on the wall and the plate of food that only makes sense to you.
When to stop
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.
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.
Before you start: make sure your phone is backed up. Deleting is easier when nothing can be lost.
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.
Share the book when it arrives. Leaving it on the kitchen table for a day is often enough for everyone to have a look.
- 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 to look for
Take one photo before the moment and one after. The before and after often say more than the moment itself.
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.
| 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
Leave a little space. Not every page needs to be full, and an empty corner gives the eye somewhere to rest.
Do not wait for a special occasion. The ordinary weeks are the ones people forget, and the ones they most want to see again.
- Pick a fixed day each month
- Hand the camera to someone else
- Write a few words beside the best ones
The bit about writing names on the back hit home. We have a box of strangers in our loft.
We have the same problem. Starring photos as we go helped a lot.
Such a simple idea and I had never tried it. Doing it tonight.
Does this work for older kids too? Mine are 11 and 14 and hide from the camera.
Try giving them the phone for a day. Worked with my teenager.
We tried the one-photo-per-day rule last month and it made picking so much easier. Thank you!
The bit about writing names on the back hit home. We have a box of strangers in our loft.