Best photobook to meet my needs.

[feezle]

I am going to be designing a photobook of our trip in September and i need some assistance from those of you who have created them before. Each company is different and has a different application and without trying them all you cant really see which company allows you to do what. I have downloaded a couple of them and im going to browse through when i have a chance, but does anyone know off hand which companies allow you to use custom backgrounds? I'm going to be taking some pics while we are there with the intention of messing with the opacity in PS and useing them as backgrounds. I just need to know which moderately priced company doesn't make you used the canned backgrounds.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

I use Smilebooks.com for just the reason you specified.

http://www.smilebooks.com/

I go to town with Photoshop and make my pictures perfect (to me, at least... ) and like being able to use semi-transparent, full color, B&W pics or whatever looks best as backgrounds and insets. The books are excellent quality, heavyweight paper, you can put full or partial shots on both front and back cover, text on the spine, they have lots of canned backgrounds and textures, etc.

I'm sure there are other great companies out there but this one has become my personal favorite. Plus, there is ALWAYS a promo code available at any given time for at least 25% off - the day one code expires, they put out a new one.

One thing to keep in mind for any company you use or whenever you make prints from your creations is to turn off any "Auto Enhance" features as these features will undo your Photoshop efforts with less than stellar results. With Smilebooks.com, you download the software to your PC, make the perfect book, and then upload and order it. Before you start doing anythihg, go into the options in the software and turn off the "auto enhance" feature. That way, what you see on the screen is what you'll get in the books.

Happy creating!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Thanks for sharing info...I always buy the Disney Photopass Books and would love to try this myself!

 

[labdogs42]

Hmmm...I design my pages in a program called StoryBook Creator plus, then upload them as full bleed pages to any of the many photobook sites (I usually use Shutterfly). You can do the same thing with Photoshop.

Smilebooks looks cool. I hadn't stumbled on that site before. I'll have to check that one out, too!

 

[feezle]

That sounds perfect! Ill check it out!

 

[feezle]

Hmmm...I design my pages in a program called StoryBook Creator plus, then upload them as full bleed pages to any of the many photobook sites (I usually use Shutterfly). You can do the same thing with Photoshop.

Smilebooks looks cool. I hadn't stumbled on that site before. I'll have to check that one out, too!

How do you get the correct sizes to make the pages to upload them? If I can just design them in photoshop, that would be awesome and save me a step.

 

[DVCBELLE]

I really like Picaboo - it gives me a lot of flexibility and you can use any picture for the background.

 

[windycitymom]

I like Heritage Makers storybooks. You can create your own and have the flexibility to change transparency, create round corners on the photo, adjust the size of your photo, you can also make your photo b/w or sephia tone with just one click, add borders, and use over 40,000 pieces of graphic art. You can also add as much (or as little) text as you like. You can also upload your own artwork too. The book is created and stored online so there is nothing to download - which means you can work on it on any computer you want.

 

[cseca]

If you like to do some or heavy journaling as well try blurb.com
They are expensive but the product is great.
I've used them several times from 2008. Starting from our engagement pictures to wedding journals and now for my baby's vacations.
I like to journal along with pictures so I remember what was going on then. And if God willing I will pass them on to our kids when they marry

 

[feezle]

Thus far I'm liking the picaboo interface the best but I am intrigued by trying something like the Storybook Creator Plus and then uploading to wherever I can get the best deal. Unfortunately, I'm not seeing that option on most of the sites, unless I'm missing something, they usually want you to use their software.

 

[DVCBELLE]

Thus far I'm liking the picaboo interface the best but I am intrigued by trying something like the Storybook Creator Plus and then uploading to wherever I can get the best deal. Unfortunately, I'm not seeing that option on most of the sites, unless I'm missing something, they usually want you to use their software.

On Picaboo - once you save it and share it online then as you are viewing the pages - you can save them each individually. I do this and then upload it to the one with the best deal at the time!!

 

[feezle]

On Picaboo - once you save it and share it online then as you are viewing the pages - you can save them each individually. I do this and then upload it to the one with the best deal at the time!!

That is an awesome tip! Does it cause a problem that Picaboo uses different dimensions for their books than most of the other places that I've seen?

 

[DVCBELLE]

That is an awesome tip! Does it cause a problem that Picaboo uses different dimensions for their books than most of the other places that I've seen?

No I didn't have any problems with that at all - I just watched to make sure there was nothing cut off in the preview of the book and if it was I would have redone it but I don't think I ever had to.

TO get it to save - you have to click on the one page preview online...just wanted to make sure you knew that.

You can also print your pages yourself and get them bound at staples

 

[feezle]

Thank you very much! I think i found my solution. You guys rock!