There’s nothing better than a photo album to preserve and share life’s precious moments. Here are some ideas to create one with your own special touch.
The key to creating a beautiful photo album is to be ready to take photos during the event. Remember that to tell the story, you’ll need photos for the background, photos framed differently, photos taken from different angles, as well as a series of shots. This will make your job easier once you’re in front of the computer and sorting through the photos to choose for your album.
Show what’s happening behind the scenes. Leaving a few pages for the wedding preparations (dressing and putting on makeup) will give the album an offbeat yet intimate feel. Don’t forget to take a close-up shot of the hands exchanging rings. Alternate between black-and-white photos (which are always romantic) and colour ones.
Nine months gives you lots of time to take photos. You will be tempted to take more pictures after four months when the tummy starts to grow. Your child will probably be very curious, and touched, to see their parents during the first months of this new adventure. A photo of Mom making the shape of a heart with her two hands on her round tummy is a classic cover shot, and it’s always touching. Finish with the preparation of the baby’s room, and if you can, Mom as she’s leaving to go deliver the baby.
Capture those first moments, and don’t forget to include pictures of those tiny hands and feet. They will blend in sweetly. Rather than relying on the drawings offered by your page layout software, use a photo of your new baby’s future blanket. Try to create a theme by using the same colour as that of the baby’s blanket in all the photos. A section of photos with the new baby and Mom and Dad posing skin-to-skin is always fun to look at.
So that your travel album will be different from all the others, prepare your own backgrounds for the pages. To do so, take detailed photos of flowers, sand or pebbles. You could group some neutral images of stretches of sea or deserted land. Why not glue in a bit of cloth or some grains of sand, or a Polaroid taken on location?
Start with a personalized cover, such as a close-up of the words “Happy Birthday” written in snow, in sand, or on a cake. Beyond a certain age, it can be touching to show photos from years past. Don’t hesitate to leave a blank page for children to add their choice of photos or a drawing.
In the style of a guestbook, leave space for all the co-workers and people who played a significant role in the retiree’s career to write a message. Don’t forget to leave a few pages for the person to jot down future passions and projects.
Ask your grown kid’s friends for help to put together photos from their years at university. You will create a surprising souvenir of happy times.
The album should be part of the surprise! This will require preparation: allocate a double page to each guest and ask them to add four photos and a short message for the guest of honour. It’s sure to make for a very original book.
This book should contain detailed recipes for and photos of the dishes, along with messages and anecdotes from the chef.
Whether it’s about building your house or organizing a golf tournament, stories are usually told in chronological order. Why not tell the story in reverse? Start with the finished product (e.g. the completed house or the trophy in the winner’s hands) and go back in time to surprise the readers.
