One thing we often discuss in my family is how the switch to digital photography means that we don’t have as many printed photos as we did before. While this is good for clutter purposes, if you’re at all like me, it also means that most of your photos stay on the computer. I’m not good at printing them out! One thing I have been working on to at least make books for special events. The new “Make My Book” service from Shutterfly makes this incredibly easy.
Shutterfly invited me to try their service and share it with you. The idea of “designing” a whole book can seem pretty daunting. I studied graphic design in college and I still find it to be a bit overwhelming. However, Shutterfly makes it super easy with their “Make My Book” service. To use it, all you need to do is upload your photos – you don’t even need to sort through them all. They can pick out the best photos for you! You have the option to select the basic design of the book and the level of photos you would like them to include (every single photo vs. only the best ones) and then they get to work designing your book. Once it’s ready, you have the option to review it and make any changes. You only pay the $9.99 design fee, if you opt to order the book.
When Shutterfly reached out to me about creating a book, I knew I wanted to put together a book of our honeymoon for my husband. We were married last May and (like so many of my other photos), these ones have just been sitting on my computer. However, I thought this book would make the perfect Valentine’s Day gift and was so happy with how the book turned out. I uploaded a ton of photos (around 400) and they were able to pare down and select the best ones, but still offer a variety. I was then able to go back and add in a couple that had some sentimental meaning. I found the process really simple and it saved me a ton of time. I have made several books for special occasions and I’ve always had to set aside a few hours to sort the photos and then put them into the book – even when there are lovely templates. This “Make My Book” service saved me so much time and I was as happy with the design as if I had designed it myself – can’t beat that!
If you have a folder of vacation photos sitting on your desktop, now is the time to “Make My Book.”
