Organize pictures on a weekly or monthly basis
365 photos is a lot! So, we highly recommend organizing them on a weekly or monthly basis. This way, you won’t spend hours arranging everything by the end of the challenge. Instead, it will take just a few minutes, making the process far more enjoyable – especially if you’re taking several pictures a day and only want to display the best ones. Moreover, it’s the perfect way to recap your week or month.
Plan the photo book layout right away
There are various ways to layout your photo book. You can display either one or several photos on each page, and even leave space to add your thoughts. These are just a few examples, but it’s essential to plan your layout in advance, as this will substantially change the number of pages required.
If you decide to have one photo per page, you’ll end up with a lengthy photo book with 365 pages. You can reduce that by putting several pictures on each page. For example, three pictures on each side drops the page number down to 122. While you should use the style you prefer, we recommend going for a mix of a few pictures per page with a small space to write your thoughts. A good balance is to place seven pictures over two pages – leaving you room to write your weekly reflections.
Optimal format, cover, and paper for lengthy photo books
The format, cover, and paper type will depend on the layout you want, as the photo book’s size will change significantly. We don’t recommend getting a softcover, though. This type of cover is easy to crease, which is far from ideal for bulkier books. Instead, get a hardcover as it’s durable yet affordable. You can also get a leather cover – it’s more expensive, but it’s also the most robust option.
The same applies to the photo book’s size, where getting a small one is not advised. Not only will your pictures look too cramped, but the book’s spine will crease for sure. We don’t recommend going for a big 12×12 photo book either. Can you imagine what a monster it would be? You’d need to go to the gym just to be able to lift it up! Instead, go for anything medium-sized (around 10×10) and select the aspect ratio that benefits your layout the best.
Finally, use a thin type of paper. While thicker paper is best for durability, your photo book is already going to be big enough – it doesn’t need to become even bulkier by increasing its page thickness.
Best deals for large photo books
Printing a 365-page photo book is expensive, and only a few companies provide such a lengthy photo album. This means it’s extremely important to go for a photo book builder that provides the best prices.
By charging you with $123.24 for a 10×8 365-page photo book with a hardcover, Blurb comes out as the most affordable photo book builder for your photo-a-day challenge. The company charges $0.25 per page, which means this price can be even lower if you include various pictures on each page. Along the same lines, My Social Book offers photo books with the same parameters for $124.56 and charges $0.27 per extra page.
While Photobook America doesn’t offer the 10×8 option, you can get an 11×11 365-page photo book with a hardcover for $187.69. Bear in mind that this price includes using PhotoBook America’s recurrent coupons that can go up to 65%. Without them, the price jumps to $288.75. Unlike the other two, Photobook America charges $0.75 per extra picture, so the number of pages doesn’t affect the price.
Daniel C.
Inês P.
