Photobooks

[TromboneAl]

I've made some nice photobooks in the past using mypublisher.com. The books, paper, and print quality are stunning.

I was starting to make one with our photos from 2011, but then realized that once Lena gets her iPad, photobooks will be obsolete. It's nice to have a tangible creative product, but I can't quite justify the time, effort, and expense of making a book.

 

[ERD50]

It's nice to have a tangible creative product, but I can't quite justify the time, effort, and expense of making a book.

But if it is going to be as creative, you will still spend the time and effort, right? You need to crop/fix and position everything.

Sometimes it's nice to have the physical thing though. But if you decide that, you could always have those printed, you already did the work.

-ERD50

 

[TromboneAl]

True, but there's a bit more time and effort with mypublisher.com. The software is OK, but there is no manual, just a quick start guide, so if there any problems you have to contact tech support. If the resolutions aren't right, the image might look good on your computer, but not in the final book. So you have to be careful.

You have to do a lot more proofing also, because you don't want to spend $40 and then find that you made a mistake (e.g. same photo twice),

 

[toofrugalformycat]

Ok, I'm ignorant. How will the iPad make a photo book obsolete? How is looking at them on the iPad different than looking at them on any other computer. Duh. As you may guess, I do not have an iPad.

 

[TromboneAl]

Ok, I'm ignorant. How will the iPad make a photo book obsolete? How is looking at them on the iPad different than looking at them on any other computer. Duh. As you may guess, I do not have an iPad.

Well, I've always felt that looking at pictures on a desktop or even a laptop is less cozy or intimate than sitting on the couch with a book. I'm guessing the iPad will be much more like a book.

But you have a good point. Maybe I'm just being old fashioned, remembering times sharing photo albums sitting with family.

 

[toofrugalformycat]

Well, I've always felt that looking at pictures on a desktop or even a laptop is less cozy or intimate than sitting on the couch with a book. I'm guessing the iPad will be much more like a book.

But you have a good point. Maybe I'm just being old fashioned, remembering times sharing photo albums sitting with family.

That wasn't my point at all. I just wondered if there was something special about iPads, because I don't have one and don't know.
For me, having the physical object (the photo book) is not only much nicer than looking on a screen, it seems more likely to be usable in the future than any electronic version. In my career, I was unable on more than one occasion to persuade management to spend the money to upgrade our electronic archive to a newer format. Data was lost. A lot of data. I'm sure somewhere on the planet there exists, or could be recreated, hardware to read the obsolete formats, but who would bother, and they may be unreadable by now anyway. So I would say, print out your photobooks, especially with captions with names to faces, if you anticipate anyone might want to see them in future. Oh yes, and do continue to upgrade your computer files to the latest hardware and software as needed, but good luck with keeping up with that for the rest of your life.
Maybe the internet will prove me wrong. I hope so.

 

[Katsmeow]

I have an iPad but I still like photobooks. I've generally done them at Shutterfly. I also have a digital scrapbooking program - My Memories - where I can make books or calendars and have them printed.

 

[donheff]

I have a few photobooks that people gave me as gifts. I think they fill a different niche than an iPad. The can be left around and anyone can pick them up to flip through them. They are well organized around a specific topic. You could do much of that on the iPad but you will likely keep more photos with less organization in the electronic environment.

As a side note, running your photos through a screen saver is a great way to frequently see your favorite shots. Of course the PC needs to be in an accessible location - ours is at a built in desk in the kitchen adjacent to the kitchen table. My grandson loves to sit in my lap and watch them go by -- especially pictures of himself, of course. You could probably set the iPad up to cycle through photos like an electronic frame. Prop it up on a table and enjoy.

 

[pimpmyretirement]

The book is also a physical backup of what I assume are some of your most cherished memories. Electronic data is much easier to lose.

 

[Nords]

The book is also a physical backup of what I assume are some of your most cherished memories. Electronic data is much easier to lose.

I was just thinking which I'd like to evacuate in advance of a fire.

Our photo albums and desktop computer would fill up our Prius. I don't think we've opened the photo albums in years...

 

[donheff]

I don't think we've opened the photo albums in years...

Same here. That is why I switched to the screen saver approach. We see them all the time. I have a lot of photos from the 80s that I have never scanned in. Someday I hope to scan at least the best of them so we can add them to the screen saver file.

 

[TromboneAl]

The book is also a physical backup of what I assume are some of your most cherished memories. Electronic data is much easier to lose.

I'm not so sure of that. Literally all of my digital photos are backed up to DVDs. One of those is in the bank's safe deposit box, and I regularly mail an offsite backup to Jenny for safekeeping.

For someone who lost all his photos in a house fire, I think the digital versions, if managed properly, are less likely to be lost.

 

[TromboneAl]

But you guys have a point, the books can be fun.

Here's a page from one that I made for my family:

An idea for a Christmas present is to have your siblings email you their 30 favorite photos, and then you put them in a book.

 

[TromboneAl]

Actually, I think I'll ask my three sisters to each send 20 photos from 2011, and I'll put together a "Year in the Life" album.

 

[eytonxav]

I suppose there will always be those that prefer the look and feel of a book they can hold in their hands and flip the pages vs electronic media, but if your short on space, I guess ebooks win out.

 

[W2R]

I was just thinking which I'd like to evacuate in advance of a fire.

Our photo albums and desktop computer would fill up our Prius. I don't think we've opened the photo albums in years...

After multiple hurricane evacuations, I threw out all photo albums after removing the photos. Photo albums are very bulky and heavy, and serve very little purpose for me that I can perceive - - - the back of each of my photos has time, place, and people annotated already.

I put the photos (and diplomas and other nostagia) together in one rubbermaid under-bed storage unit that is about 3' x 1.5' x 0.5'. It is not very heavy and easy to grab and go during evacuations or emergencies.

Your digital photos are probably on your portable external hard drive and laptop, and so already part of your grab and go plan.

 

[FIREd]

In an emergency, I would rather throw a 2TB backup drive in my backpack than a pile of photo albums (my wedding album alone weighs 17 lbs!!!).

Anyways, I think that pictures look stunning on the iPad and I like the fact that you can zoom in and out.

 

[mh]

When I listen to Internet radio on my apple tv it runs a slide show from my Flickr account. I get a lot of added enjoyment from my photos that way and I can switch to my brothers Flickr stream for an evening If I want. For me, the radio / slide show feature alone is worth the $90.

I have a few photobooks that people gave me as gifts. I think they fill a different niche than an iPad. The can be left around and anyone can pick them up to flip through them. They are well organized around a specific topic. You could do much of that on the iPad but you will likely keep more photos with less organization in the electronic environment.

As a side note, running your photos through a screen saver is a great way to frequently see your favorite shots. Of course the PC needs to be in an accessible location - ours is at a built in desk in the kitchen adjacent to the kitchen table. My grandson loves to sit in my lap and watch them go by -- especially pictures of himself, of course. You could probably set the iPad up to cycle through photos like an electronic frame. Prop it up on a table and enjoy.