This morning I added the 14th and final elementary school photo book to the shelf.

Designed by both me and other moms, the creation of this stack was certainly a labor of love. Meaningful teacher gifts and precious family keepsakes all rolled into little 8×10 packages. As I flip through this most recent book I designed, I see a few of my favorite book making techniques in action…

Strong Focal Point

With close to 2,000 photos (!) to choose from this year, it was important to only select the best photos to represent an event and ensure each layout had a strong focal point photo.  This book was 180 pages long so I had no worries that each child would be well represented, even if they didn’t make the cut for a certain event!  In this example, I also utilized a grid design to keep a bunch of photos from looking too busy on the page.

Don’t Forget the Details

I shot a lot of the photos in this book and was careful to include some close-up shots alongside the more expected photos of the kids engaged in their various activities.  When you have a long book, incorporating creative shots like this gives the reader a break from so many faces!

Honor the 3 C’s

While Close-up photos are important, including the other 2 C’s (Context & Characters) from my favorite photography tip always makes for a balanced page that tells a story.  This Open House layout is a good example of capturing all 3 C’s:

Characters: A teacher and some students

Context: The class whiteboard and materials used during the school year

Close-Up: The bulletin board highlighting a message one my favorite books, Wonder.

Include a Surprise

This year I added in some QR Codes linking the reader to special videos captured throughout the year.  Who knows if this technology will exist in the future, but at least for now it is a way to share those moving memories that really bring the stories of the year to life.

Interested in learning more tips for shooting for and designing compelling photo books? Check out my Photo Book 101 self-study class over at Big Picture Classes.  It is chock full of ideas and photos to get your creative juices flowing!