Whether you are making a photo album which you will later to give to someone as a gift, or if you are simply putting together an album of memories for you and the family, it is important that the finished product looks as best as it can. In order to get the album just right, you first need to ask yourself some questions about what it is that you are looking for, and how you are hoping that it will turn out.

Last year I made two of these albums using the service Mixbook – the best place for photobooks in my opinion, and here are the questions which I asked myself when planning the book.

What Are You Aiming For?

Most photobooks are made in order for people to remember something, a great vacation, a perfect night or even a collection of the photos from that year. It is here that you need to start your planning, asking yourself what story it is that you are looking to tell. This is going to be important for many reasons, the first is so that you can select the right photos, secondly so that you can pick the right design and finally so that you can put the photos in the right order, to fit in with the story that you are telling.

Buy or DIY?

Another important factor to consider is whether you will complete the album buying all of the materials yourself, or if you will use an online company like I did. In truth both have their benefits and you will find that doing it online creates a highly professional and all-in-one service when it comes to your photo album. Completing an album yourself  isn’t a bad alternative at all and in fact, doing so ensures that your album has true originality and a certain character which you won’t get with something more polished.

Are The Photos of High Quality ?

If you make a photo album and you have images which have poor quality then I can honestly tell you that you will be running the risk of ruining the entire feel of the album and ultimately diminishing its quality. Make sure that you have enough high quality images before you get started on your book. In some cases, especially with digital images, you can have them cleaned up and have the quality improved, so make sure that you fix the images before getting started.

What Extras?

If you have high quality images and a well thought out photo order, you already have the basis for a good photo album. To transform this into a great looking photo album, you will need to add some details to make it stand out. You could add annotations which describe the photos in the book, you can add design touches, color patterns and a whole host of tiny details which will change the overall look of your album. Once the basics are done, turn your mind to the frills.