Update: Since MyPublisher was discontinued, here is the current way we print our photobooks.
This week has already been heavy with two big construction tutorials and a laundry saga, so we wanted to share something lighter — especially since many of you asked whether we made a family photo book again this year and when we’d share the details. Well, in the words of Madame Britney, “oops, we did it again.” The newest edition of the Petersik Family Yearbook arrived this weekend.
We’re still amazed at how thin but picture-packed these books are. That photo above shows how five years of images (over 2,400 photos!) fit into the same shelf space as one traditional album that might only hold 200 prints.
For the cover we picked a goofy snapshot from our summer trip to Florida — yes, Sherry convinced me to go topless for the cover. Clara’s grin sold it for all of us.
This is now our fourth year condensing 365 days of family photos into one bound volume from MyPublisher (previous yearbooks: 2012, 2011 and 2009/10). The cover photo this year is light, so the white title isn’t as visible from a distance, but it reads much better in hand.
We kept our usual finish and wrapped the spine and back in a color pulled from the cover photo — this year’s is a soft seafoam green.
We time our orders to take advantage of MyPublisher’s “Free Extra Pages” promotion, which rotates every few weeks. That lets us print a 99-page book without paying the usual surcharge for books over 35 pages. This year it saved nearly $80. The final $48 price isn’t nothing, but it compares favorably with ordering prints and buying one or more traditional albums to hold them.
We also like the backup aspect of these photobooks. We keep the files for each book on our computer so we can reprint quickly if needed, and MyPublisher retains files on their end too — meaning we could reorder any past book easily, even older ones from 2009/2010.
I promised this post would be lighter, so here’s a peek inside. At the front we include a summary page that lists notable events from the year. The layout tool lets you add text boxes, so we create two type columns and jot down highlights in roughly chronological order.
And here are some interior spreads. We packed some pages with lots of photos, such as this spread of book tour adventures.
We used comparison pages too — for example, a series of shots of Clara with Sherry’s mom and my parents, each taken on her birthday for the last four years.
Some spreads have fewer, larger photos when those images deserve more space, like two favorite party pictures of Clara.
We also enjoyed revisiting big moments like our move — we’re glad we photographed the empty house before the last door was locked.
This year we made a conscious effort to include more photos of us doing projects. Previously we backed up “blog photos” and “family photos” separately, so many DIY shots didn’t make it into the family folder. Throughout the year we were better about adding project photos to the family album so they’d be included in the yearbook.
As for organization, we use iPhoto. We keep one album named “Family 2013” and add photos to it throughout the year so everything stays chronological. Then we pick our favorites, import them into the MyPublisher software (free to download) and lay out the yearbook.
We also made a special page that hints at why we’re excited for 2014.
At the end of the book we saved a dozen or so pages to create grids of Instagram pictures. It’s not every IG photo from 2013, just our favorites. Grouping them at the end feels more casual and fun — a relaxed wrap-up to flip through.
After four books I’ve gotten better at pacing my pages. In past years I hit MyPublisher’s 100-page max before I reached Halloween photos. This year I even had room for a spare spread to include the last 12 images from Clara’s monthly photo project.
Ahhh, the memories…
How are you commemorating your year? Are you making photobooks, sticking with traditional albums, or trying a new service? We’d love to hear how you wrap up your year and preserve favorite moments.