The Making of a Travel Book. by Dick Glass

Transcription

1 The Making of a Travel Book by Dick Glass

2 In the Beginning we (more likely our parents) unloaded the rolls of film from our trusty Kodak folding camera, had them developed at the local corner drugstore and mounted the ones that came out in our album.

3 In later years, we used albums with magnetic pages, where we could get a little more creative arranging our pictures. We could even add more pages, if needed.

4 We soon had the option of album pages where we could just slide the the pictures in and out of the sleeves

5 and deposit the pictures that we didn t use in the album, into the ever growing collection of shoeboxes.

6 With the advent of digital photography, we also saw the growing popularity of DIY photo printing and the development of scrapbooking software such as FotoFusion, FotoJet, Canva, PhotoPad, etc,

7 After many years of accumulating loose-leaf binders with hundreds of scrapbook pages, two things happened: I ran out of shelf space and I discovered photo books. I also freaked out realizing that I had almost 5000 images from our 2014 Danube River cruise that I still needed to do something with.

8 Why Make a Photo Book? It s permanent It s portable Easy to use (no TV or computer necessary) Easy to share with link to PDF file Personal satisfaction & it s fun Most of all - there s just something really satisfying about holding that book.

9 Selecting a Photo Book Publisher Software (ease of use, flexibility) Paper choices & quality Cover choices (hard, soft, image wrap, jacket, etc) Book size choices Text engine (placement, editing) Print quality

10 Selecting a Photo Book, cont d Beware of on-line reviews Decide what's important to you. Price is very important if you are making a book over 20/30 pages Deals & Discounts

11 Popular Photo Book Price Comparison Hard Cover Image Wrap 8x10 / 8.5x11 Book Name 1st 20 Pgs. Each Add l 50 Pages 100 Pages 111 Pages 150 Pages 200 Pages Adorama Book** Blurb premium paper Mixbook 8.5x11 Shutterfly* 8x n/a n/a n/a Snapfish 8x n/a * 111 page maximum ** 150 page maximum

12 Plan Ahead It starts before you even leave the house You will be making a Travel Book not a Fine Art coffee table book. Engage your spouse/travel companion in the process, even if he/she isn t a photographer. Collect maps, brochures, etc. before & during the trip. Plan to keep a detailed log of each day s activities.

13 What to Shoot Don t forget the record shots, touristy shots, cell phone pictures, selfies, etc. Remember, you ll be making a photo book about a trip, not just competition winners. Shoot some of the best scenes wide in addition to your normal framing they can be used for 2 page spreads when cropped to a 1 to 2 ratio. in other words SHOOT EVERYTHING

14 My Personal Workflow (not Lightroom) Getting Organized: yes, I know this is a piece of cake in Lightroom I first set up a Master File for the trip with one folder for each date and sub folders based on location, activity or attraction I ve visited. Then I copy all my out-of-camera, unedited images into these folders by date. I now have a collection of image files in chronological order.

15 Image Selection: After all images have been uploaded by date, then I go back and set up a duplicate sub folder for each folder, labeled "book. I next copy & paste those images into the book folder that will most likely end up being used. If I have images that are similar and I m not sure which ones I ll actually use, I copy them both. I keep the edited images in the book folder.

16 Colorado /1 Purgatory Resort Purgatory Resort-Book 8/2 Train Ride Train Ride-Book 8/3 Mine Tour Mine Tour-Book Final Edited Images 8/4 Durango Fish Hatchery Fish Hatchery-Book Rail Yard/Museum Rail Yard/Museum-Book Welcome Dinner Welcome Dinner-Book

17 Fastone Image Viewer/Organizer Durango/Hotel Fish Hatchery Rail Yard Welcome Din. Rafting Wedding Fall River Road Trail Ridge Road Moraine Park Sprague Lake Trail Ridge Rd.

18 Image Editing & Resizing: Normal image size: 12x9 up 300dpi keeps below Blurb s 2gb book limit reduces upload time. Crop potential double spread images to 21 x 9 and save at 300dpi. Crop & resize potential cover images to 22 x 9.5 and save at 300dpi (in separate folder?). You will likely end up with multiple crops of several images.

19 12x9 standard 15x10 (can use for 1½ page for Section Separator) 21x9 crop for two page spread 22x 9½ crop for cover

20 Planning the Book s Physical Properties I was amazed at how many decisions were necessary, before I even uploaded my first image! Book Size: all my books are 8x10 Book Software (if an option): BookSmart or BookWright Cover: hard, image wrap, dust jacket, soft cover? which image to use size, style & color of font for the cover. spine printing or not - wait until book is done Paper: Standard or one of the premium papers. (number of pages may be limited)

21 Page Background Color/Texture: yes or no (decide at the end) Font Size & Style: Should be consistent Narrative: first person or third person; past or present tense - should be consistent Use of Page Numbers: If yes, where on the page. Picture Templates: Use or don't use (I don t too confining) Section Separators: Image size, full bleed, monochrome, pencil sketch, different colored pages, etc. Include: Introduction or preface? Table of Contents? Maps? Title Page?

22 Ok, So Let s Make a Book Blurb will be the publisher BookWright will be the software Hard Cover Image Wrap - 8x10 Premium Luster Paper No Templates - we ll design our own layouts Page Color - we ll decide at the end

23 Book Sections Cover make the reader want to see what s inside Introduction (1 st 3 pages) what, where, when, why Section Separators don t let the reader get lost Pages show & tell (don t skimp on tell ) Finishing Up very important review steps

24 Designing the Cover Decisions Which Image probably already have an idea Image should have enough blank space for text Text size, font style, color and placement Print spine or not (wait until book is completed)

25

26 Cover Image: 22x9½ Book Size: 196 pages Cover Font: 48pt Spine Width: 1 Spine Font: 24pt Font Style: Century Back Cover Spine Front Cover

27 Introduction Pages (first three pages) Title Page Introduction Table of Contents 1 Introduction Table of Contents Map Picture Introduction Table of Contents Map Picture 2 3

28 1 st Book

29 2 nd Book

30 3 rd Book

31 4 th Book

32 4 th Book - additional introduction pages

33 5 th Book

34 6 th Book

35 Separating the Sections Lets the reader know where you were and/or separates attractions within the same locale. Makes the book easier to follow. Keeps the narrative flowing. Separation Techniques (keep consistent in book) Use a double page spread Use a map Make the image monochrome Edit images creatively sketch, painterly, etc Use different page colors for each section

36 Double Page Spread with 1½ Page Image Full bleed - left Be aware of the binding area Full bleed - right

37 Use a Map Screen Capture from Google Maps 3D Image

38 Pencil Sketch & Monochrome Single Page Pencil Sketch Monochrome Double Page Oversize Image

39 Different Color Pages (use for entire section) Sagrada Familia

40 Pages Show & Tell Show Vary the number & size of images on a page Tilt images to add interest overlap images Use double page full bleed & partial page bleed pages Symmetry & inverted symmetry on facing pages Start new section with left page or double spread

41 Tell The mission of a travel book is to share your entire travel experience with the reader. After reading a successful travel book, the reader should feel that he was along on the trip. A collection of beautiful images without a compelling narrative is not a travel book! Even if an image isn t technically good if it s use would enhance the story, it should be used.

42 BookWright Work Space Completed Pages Binding Images Not Yet Used Trim Line

43 Two on a Page

44 Three on a Page

45 Four on a Page

46 Five on a Page

47 Six on a Page

48 Tilt Corner Radius

49 Double Page Full Bleed

50 Picture in Picture a good way to use supporting images that don t warrant their own page....and can fill in less interesting areas of an image

51 When you forget to shoot wide enough..

52 Horizontal Full Bleed Vertical Full Bleed

53 Good Way to Use Complementary Vertical Images

54 Vertical & Horizontal Full Bleeds on Facing Pages

55 Facing Page Symmetry

56 Facing Pages Inverted Symmetry

57 Last Page of the Book - Credits

58 Finishing the Book No matter how meticulous you think you were, you ve made mistakes guaranteed! After publishing a couple of books that I thought were perfect, but weren t I now use the following sequence with good (not perfect) results: 1. Decide whether to add color/texture to pages 2. Add page numbers 3. Review image placement, borders, etc. 4. Correct book errors: text overflow, low resolution, etc. 5. Have two people check spelling then run spell check Repeat #5 Repeat #5 Repeat #5

59 Page Background Color or Not? Page Background Color Picker

60 Add Page Numbers Page Number Selection Menu

61 Wrong image on top Should be Tower Bridge Dummy! Missing Title Forgot to title this section & two more in the same book!

62 Fix Errors Before Uploading Text overflow Image off page Low Image Resolution

63 Fix Errors During Upload Text Overflow Image Off Page Low Image Resolution

64 Spell Check

65 Spell Check Won t Catch These Typo s You Meant to Type and, ant, arch there, those road, rubber BUT Spell Check Ok d a, an, arc thee, hose rod, rubbed been, brother seen, stream, shirt this, that be/bee, brothel see, steam, sh#t his, hat..and there are hundreds more like this!

66 Some Final Thoughts Travel books are all about our trips or vacations with family and friends. Its purpose is to preserve those memories, entertain and educate the reader and while we will undoubtedly have included a number of winner images, it may be helpful to think of these books much in the same way as an entry in our Long Essay competition. The best gifts in the world are in the memories we make with the people we love

67 The Final Page Thanks for Watching