Photo books & more fun photos...

I wanted to post some pics of a photo book I put together through Mpix.com. I was really happy with how it turned out. Here is a link to pics I took of the book, and below are a few from that set. Also, here is a brief description of how I put it together and where I got all the elements I used to create it, because I've already had some people asking from Flickr how I put it together... so I thought I'd post the info here as well. :-)

My explanation from Flickr:

I got the background patterns from various places: I got the tapestry looking photos from textureking.com.

I got the damask patterns here.

You can change the colors to your liking with those and you can also purchase a commercial license if you are using these for client books.

The gold pattern was made by my friend Katja.. you can see similar papers here.

I got the ornate photo frames from Scrapartist.com. Here is a link.

Some of the pages in this book i created in Photoshop. Like the pages with the decorative frames around the photos.. i built those in Photoshop with the background and everything and I also added text to the Photoshop files so I could make the font what I wanted. Some pages though with just the photo plain on top of the background, i built that in Mpix's book program. Very easy. You insert the photos and then insert the background file behind it.

My brief review from Flickr (b/c i'm too lazy to type it out again.. ha-ha)

Book printed at Mpix.com. I wanted to start getting photo books made of my photos b/c i literally NEVER print my photos. I know, horrible. But i wanted to do something different then just getting 4x6's and throwing in an album that would probably fall apart (as they usually do). I've used MyPublisher b4 and they are good. But i wanted to try Mpix too. I love the paper with this Mpix book. Thick matte stock. Not flimsy. (i just had 2 more printed and i'm trying the pearl and linen paper this time to see how those papers hold up in comparison to the thick matte paper.. as far as image quality goes.) I want something that will hold up over time.

The colors look great. I set up some of the pages in Photoshop with ornate frames around the photos.. some pages were built right in Mpix's book program. Very easy to use, and they shipped it to me fast! I think this is a good option for personal use.. maybe not for clients. I know alot of people use Asuka books. I've never seen a sample. The Mpix book was very reasonable on price which makes it good for personal use. But it's much better quality than most places that do books (say a Shutterfly, or ofoto). I'm happy with this! This one is for my mom. :-) The backgrounds (damask patterns) i got from various places and used custom colors to my liking.

I've used MyPublisher before and they make nice books as well, for personal use. I'm not sure i would use them for clients, if I was a pro photog. But they are nice and reasonably priced. I haven't ordered from them in a while, so they may have new features since then. I noticed they have bookstore quality printed book jackets now which looks really cool!

I took a quick look at Asuka Books.. and they seemed pretty pricey and seem to cater more towards pro photogs... but i need to look at the price list again. Photographers seem to really really like their books. I would love to see a sample. I could definitely understand using someone like this if you were pro and had clients.

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In other news, also photo related, I'm excited b/c this thursday night I'm going to a Flickr get-together with some Atlanta locals. It's a photographer's guild for Atlanta, and people meet up at this Pub downtown and we take pics.. the restaurant lets them set up studio lights and everything! I'm excited b/c i'm bringing my Alien Bees setup that i got over a year ago that i have YET to use. They are going to teach me how to use it. They use lights since we meet at night, but we also have natural light for a couple hours b4 it gets dark. This is my first meeting to go to. We are photographing this VERY cool lady.. a friend of one of the members. She has some *incredible* tattoos which make for very cool photos! Every week they have models (whether they be a friend-of-a-friend, a member sometimes, or professional models).. so this will be such a treat. I hope i can go to the meetings pretty regularly, you just never know what can come up with 2 children.. but it's my plan to go to as many as I can! :-)

Here are some pics of the book (and a link to ALL of the book photos) and also some more pics from my little photo shoot last weekend (i've uploaded more here). I've SO enjoyed editing those! (i've added a cutie pic of Cam just because. :-)

Comments

[fauve]

wow such a beautiful beautiful beautiful book!!luv how you did this!

[Jewels]

That book is the BOMB, D!

*always wanted to say that*

Seriously, love {love} love it.

Thanks for sharing the linkage. :oD

[tammy kay]

you never cease to amaze me. Seriously you find the most amazing things!!!!
I love the book. What a treasure to keep.

Have a great time at the flickr get together. That sounds like so much fun. Can't wait to see the pictures.

[Emily]

That book is awesome. I love it!

[kelly]

holy cow that book is gorgeous!
you've sold me! :)

[Nicole]

What an amazing book!!! That is so cool!!!

Have fun at the guild meeting - I bet it will be great getting out and meeting up with other professionals/to share ideas. :)

[Jana]

I've already told you at Flickr but I'll say it here too......that book is just ADORABLE! I love the colors & patterns you used but of course it's your fantastic photography & cute kiddos that make it perfect!!

[cory]

Look out girl you might become a digi scrapper after all! Love what you did with the backgrounds. And your boys are so precious. TFS Danielle!

[Kimberly Archer]

Hey Danielle,

Your photography is beautiful. I wonder if you could "find" my best side and make me look great! LOL One of these days when you are heading to the outlet mall in Dawsonville, Ga..........give a shout out! Kudos to the fabulous book!

[Ruth Pannell]

That book is so precious and inspiring. I'm very glad I came across it and it's good to have a personal recommendation about a company. I think any recipient of a book such as this would be extraordinarily proud. I must make one of my own. Thanks for sharing.
Ruth

[Ali]

Hi Danielle,

Are you just using one AB in your setup? I bought a Bee 800 and am trying to get the hang of it...getting lots of shadows. I think I need to drag my shutter more. Any tips?

Thanks!