Petra Vogt - Create Your Own Photo Book: Design a Stunning Portfolio, Make a Bookstore-Quality Book

Design a Stunning Portfolio, Make a Bookstore-Quality Book

Design a Stunning Portfolio,
Make a Bookstore-Quality Book

Petra Vogt

Petra Vogt (en.fotolotsin.de)

Editor: Jocelyn Howell
Copyeditor: Cynthia Anderson
Layout and Type: Petra Strauch
Cover Design: Almute Kraus, www.exclam.de
Printer: Everbest
Printed in China

ISBN 978-1-933952-92-5

1st Edition 2012
2012 Petra Vogt

Rocky Nook, Inc.
802 E. Cota Street, 3rd Floor
Santa Barbara, CA 93103

www.rockynook.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Vogt, Petra.
Create your own photo book : design a stunning portfolio, make a bookstore-quality book / by Petra Vogt. -
1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-933952-92-5 (softcover : alk. paper)
1. Photobooks. 2. On-demand publications. I. Title.
TR501.V64 2012
771--dc23 2012005317

Distributed by OReilly Media
1005 Gravenstein Highway North
Sebastopol, CA 95472

All product names and services identified throughout this book are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. They are used throughout this book in editorial fashion only. No such uses, or the use of any trade name, are intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with the book. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the copyright owner. While reasonable care has been exercised in the preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

All photographs, screenshots, example layouts, and illustrations by the author unless otherwise noted.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

To Werner,

With you it is fun to open and design every new page

in the book of our lifeeven the ones with steep cliffs and

stormy seas. Thanks so much for everything!

Photo books conserve memories, present our best work, and provide a platform for the stories we want to tell. A simple book can be created quickly and easily without extra guidance, but a high-quality book that begs to be looked at over and over requires a little more knowledge and expertise.

This book aims to help you produce your own perfect photo book. The process begins while you are shooting, but doesnt end as soon as you make a print. I have included precise guides and real-world tips for all the individual steps involved, including things like adding decorative visual effects and skillfully formatting text. I teach courses on creating photo books and, over the years, have found answers to nearly all the questions that have come my way. I have also included lots of tips to help you avoid making common mistakes, whether you want to preserve family memories using a digital compact or create a pro-grade book as a commercial product.

This book covers the complete range of photo book formats, from personal scrapbooks through professional portfolios, all the way up to commercial, artistic coffee-table books with their own ISBN numbers. The final chapter details some real photo book projects to give you some ideas to get started.

In addition to explaining the different types of books you can produce, I will also guide you through the often complex world of photo book service providers. Here, I emphasize what is possible rather than telling you explicitly who to approach or what to do. Once you have gained some experience, you will most likely end up using a number of different providers for various aspects of your work, whether youre looking for a provider who can produce a book with a particular page count or cover size, or simply because you want to try something new.

This book introduces a wide range of free and commercial photo book software for all levels of expertise, and leaves you to decide which best suits your own particular project. Descriptions of individual programs and online sources are listed in the appendix.

Unless otherwise stated, the software mentioned is available for both the Windows and Mac operating systems. Programs that work on only one or the other are labeled appropriately. Most aspects of the book creation process are covered by Windows, Mac, and sometimes even Linux-compatible software.

The callout sections that accompany the text will help you to find your way. They contain warnings, tips, and discussions of interesting sub-topics, and are divided into six different categories:

EXPERT ADVICE Advice from specialists about a specific aspect of photo book creation

TIPS & TRICKS Tips for improving your efficiency and enhancing the look of your photo book

WARNING! Indicates typical pitfalls and problems to watch out for

PRO-GRADE SOFTWARE Introduces functionality provided by pro-grade software that enhances the options offered by the photo book software discussed in the text

WORKAROUND Shows you how to produce specific effects that your service providers software isnt actually designed for

GOING DEEPER Provides additional information on a topic that is relevant to the current main theme

I would like to thank everyone who has helped me turn the idea for this book into reality, including everyone who allowed me to use their work as examples. I would also like to thank Martin Groth, Rolf Katzenberger, Ute Vogel, Uwe Wagner, and especially Marianne Koepke for their eagle-eyed proofreading and creative input. Susanne Hock was a great help with my InDesign and print questions, and Monika Leirich generously shared her experiences with epubli. Christian Laakmann at myphotobook gave me some invaluable insights into the subjects of color management and print processes. Thanks also go to Deborah Klein for her help running the myphotobook workshops, which gave me firsthand experience with the questions and pitfalls that crop up during the photo book creation process. I would also like to thank Matthias Rossmanith and Gerhard Rossbach at Rocky Nook for all their help and support, Jeremy Cloot for his able translation, and Petra Strauch for her great layout. A special thank you goes to my husband, Werner Pluta, for his patience and support during the entire course of the project.

Hamburg, January 2012

Dietmar Bhrer is a master book printer. He lives and works in Berlin, Germany and is publisher of the photo magazine brennpunkt (focal point). He is coauthor of more than 40 epubli books and is a member of the German Photographic Association, DGPh. In 2011 he was honored for his work with the German Federal Cross of Merit.