Blurb Review and link to trip report

[Docarino]

I just got my Disney photobook in the mail and I'm so pleased with it that I just had to share. I had it printed through Blurb and the quality is so good, even better than the last book I printed with them. I make all my book pages in photoshop- I've made my own templates and arrange several photos on a page and then save each page as a jpeg and upload the single jpeg for each page as a full page bleed. I previously have used shutterfly for my photobooks but I wasn't happy with the quality of printing so with my last book, I switched to Blurb. I printed my last book through them with their matte finish, on their premium paper, and I liked it a lot better than shutterfly. Well, this time, they have a new finish, lustre, which has a hint of a sheen to it and looks even better than the matte finish. I am really pleased with it! The prices for their large book, on premium paper, are comparable or even a little cheaper than Shutterfly's prices for a smaller book. The one downside to Blurb is that, if you actually make the pages with their software, I find their software to be a little cumbersome. But if you make the pages and just use full page bleed, it works well.

On that note, I have started a trip report on the trip report board- I'm about half way through and should be done soon. I'd love it if people would check it out because I've learned so much from you all here!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2497690

 

[SrisonS]

Thanks for the review about Blurb. I've been thinking of doing a book through them in the distant future. Do they easily give you the option of allowing other people to buy your book??? Or is it a totally separate service???

 

[Docarino]

Thanks for the review about Blurb. I've been thinking of doing a book through them in the distant future. Do they easily give you the option of allowing other people to buy your book??? Or is it a totally separate service???

It's a very easy option to have someone buy your book- you just have to enable the option and fill in a page worth of information- citizenship, address, SSN etc. Then you can set the price for your book and you make 100% of the profit.

By the way- SrisonS- were you at Hollywood Studios on May 29th? I thought I recognized you from your flickr site- I love your work, especially the Human Element set).

 

[SrisonS]

I am now officially famous. Woo-Hoo!!!!! ... Yes, I was there for Star Wars Weekends. Depending on when you saw me, I might've had my poster in my backpack's tripod holder. Does that sound familiar???

Thanks for the reply (and compliments). I hope someone eventually buys your book. Hey, you never know.

 

[Docarino]

Not positive about the poster- you (or whoever it was) were walking away quickly but I thought I recognized you, your camera and your bag from pictures you've posted. It makes me feel a little like a stalker to be following other people's photostreams so closely but I learn so much from seeing what everyone else does.

And I can't stop looking at my book! I've printed a lot of photobooks before but always been a little disappointed that the printing decreased the quality/appearance of my photos. I can now say that the printing showcases the pictures so well- now I'm the limiting factor, not the printer!

 

[Marlton Mom]

Thanks for posting this really awesome trip report. The photography is absolutely beautiful!

I love it when a trip report is matched with photographs and your narrative does a great job explaining what you were planning and how that impacted your pictures.

Thanks again for the absolute treat!


Marlton Mom

 

[SrisonS]

Just checked out your report..... WOW!!!!!!!!! Amazing pictures!!!!!! (I was on my phone for the other replies) And I'm completely in love with those tiger pictures, btw.

I don't know where you thought your skill level was before, but we're all gonna start learning from you now. Can't wait to see the other pics.

 

[Docarino]

Thanks, guys, it's so nice to get some feedback. As far as skill level before, I'd say that a year ago, I was just taking snapshots. I've read a lot of books in the last year and I feel like I understand exposure and my camera pretty well now and I've learned a lot about PP. I love reading about how other people process their shots and I like checking out the exif data as well. Right now, I'm trying to push myself creatively and think more about composition as I take the shot because I still tend to take pictures quickly and then modify the composition with a lot of cropping.

I love the tiger shots too. I was so excited because I have never seen them awake before. I went right around 5 pm and they were up!

Marlton Mom- I owe you some thanks, too. I read your fireworks plan and report 2 or 3 times before I left. I was really nervous about taking a tripod to the park so it helped to hear someone else's experience!

 

[Bstanley]

Docarino,

First, Great Pictures! - really good work.

Second, Thanks! for the book idea.

I wasn't aware of the 'make a book' kind of photo services/product. Having just returned from a once in a lifetime kind of trip that involved a group of people I know what I'll be buying them for Christmas.

Very kewl start to the day!

 

[Docarino]

Bstanley- thanks! And I definitely recommend making photobooks- I starting making them in 2005 when I realized that it would take up too much space to make prints of all my pictures. Now I make about 3 books per year with all the year's good photos (plus an extra book if I take a trip to Disney!)

Also, my trip report is finished- including the story of how I broke my camera and a few shots from the final day taken with my brother's $100, fully automatic point and shoot!