DIY: Five Pro Tips to Succeed in Your Photo Book Cover

The cover of your photo book is the most important element in enticing your readers to flip through your photos. Therefore, creating this cover is very important, and one must follow a few basic rules to get a cover right.

A photo album cover generally features a large format snapshot with a title. It's a chance to have fun! Let inspiration come... These pages that you will turn over the years contain your best moments, you must cherish them.

The quality of the paper output continues to grow thanks to innovations available very simply online, without downloading any software. Thicker large formats are indicated for creating your own wedding photo album, for example.

We now offer you some tips and tricks that are very handy, borrowed from creative professionals. It's up to you to start on the right foot in designing the most beautiful covers by picking from this list, happy reading!

1. What are the basic principles?

Relax and envision in advance what your photo book will look like. You should first figure out which format would best suit you. Choose the photo or photos you instinctively like the most and that are representative of the whole. They will generally need to have been retouched first: resized by cropping, colored by filtering.

We will advise you below if you want something more original:

• If you only have a paper snapshot, taken from your family archives for example, consider scanning it.
• You can also download photos that are not yours as long as they are free of rights. There are sites that offer them, like for example pixabay.com. You can use them to enhance a cookbook, for example.
• The front page of your photo book can also be a logo or a reproduction of an artwork. All subjects are allowed! A new trend is the photo book that preserves the memory of your best posts on Facebook or Instagram.

2. Do you want a cover that's quick to make and pleases everyone?

Do you want to create a successful, simple and consensual effect because your photo book is meant to be passed from hand to hand?

Choose a single large format image. If you make a border, choose a color that is a reminder of the dominant color in the snapshot. You can also choose a complementary color for harmony (yellow + purple, blue + orange, red + green).

The image should be expressive, joyful, clear, sharp, and unified. A contrasting image will be highly visible to all. The title's size should be large enough, with the font in bold and uppercase, and rather centered. Too close to the edges, the effect will be messy.

The most simply designed pages are often clear and legible. It's a bit like choosing your interior decoration: you might tire of too ornate and baroque an aesthetic.

3. Would you prefer a personal and original cover?

You are free to multiply the number of snapshots on your cover pages. The abundant effect is sometimes appreciated to enable all participants in an event to find themselves in it, for example... In this case, think of not forgetting anyone and representing family members an equal number of times in order to spare any sensitivities.

You can also use your inspiration for the title, for instance as a quote:

• "Travel is part of the dream", Xavier Roy.
• "Marriage is the union of two souls, the charming companionship of two thoughts", Tristan Bernard.
• "There is always something left of childhood, always...", Marguerite Duras.
• "Do you remember our meetings - And that evening of azure, Feverish and tender words, oh my beloved, oh my love", Andreï Makine.
• "When our heart goes boom", Charles Trénet.
• "The real house of love is always a hideout", Romain Gary.
• "Dream your life in colors, it's the secret of happiness!" Walt Disney.

4. What possibilities do creation software offer?

Nowadays, software generally no longer needs to be downloaded. Online sales sites offer you to design your cover with one or several photos on your own. Graphics are provided depending on the style you prefer.

You can also download a single image that is already a cover you have fully designed yourself.

5. And scrapbooking?

Some people make their own photo album with limitless imagination, crafting true book-objects close to artwork. Just one recommendation: have fun!

Photo book enthusiasts who want something original without being adept at DIY? If the adventure of scrapbooking tempts you, you can start with a quick and certain result. We recommend visiting a photo book site to create a basic scrapbook at a very sweet price: it will serve as a base for your scrapbook. You are free to make additions to paste on the cover.

Your little treasures can be covered if needed with a plastic sheet or enclosed in a transparent bag:

• Airline tickets, transport titles, entry tickets.
• Paper napkins, business cards, brochures of visited places.
• Labels of all kinds.
• Unique bottle caps.
• Sand.
• Varnished dried flowers.
• Little pebbles and seashells.
• Ribbon knot, tulle, festoons.
• Shapes and letters cut out of fabric, colored paper, lace.
• Baby hair lock, maternity bracelet (birth album).
• Hand or footprints made with paint on thick paper.
• Samples of Christmas garland, wrapping paper.
• Buttons, beads.
• Cotton clouds.
• Silver cardboard (mirror effect).

To go further, some even stick objects in relief on the cover, making your photo book likely to be displayed in the living room or a bedroom!

The inner pages will of course be less worked on because it's important not to overload the work. If you turn your photo book into a light sculpture, the effect is guaranteed!

Tip: to turn a photo book into a quality scrapbook, opt for a large format of course! Your creation will be all the more airy, even aerial. It is recommended to order a spiral photo album if you also want to paste memories on the photos. You will then be able to thicken each page a bit, as your imagination allows.

This activity can finally be done safely with children!