21. Make a Photo Book
This is a great time to work on some of those personal projects like creating a photo book. Here are some simple steps to follow to get started:
- Decide on a theme for your book – travel, year in review, baby, wedding, etc.
- Decide on a publisher – you will most likely create your book right on the publisher’s website and the way they have you create books will affect many of your decisions regarding size, shape, photos, layouts, backgrounds and fonts. Check out – Shutterfly, Costco, Blurb, and some of the other sites referenced here: https://www.savvymom.ca/article/best-photobook-sites-canadians/
- Select and upload your photos – I like to create a folder on my computer for each photo book project. As I look through my photos, I put a copy of my favourites in this book folder. This makes it easy to upload them to your project.
- Create your pages and cover – most publishers will have you select a book style which determines your background choices, layouts and fonts. Choose a style in keeping with the theme of your book. Think about the flow of your book as you insert your photos. Use text to tell the stories and add detail. Choose one of your favourite photos for the cover and give your book a title. Don’t forget to add the title to the spine of the book if your publisher allows.
- Order your photo book and enjoy!
I offer a 4-lesson course called Create an Annual Family Photo Book which lays out all the steps to create a beautiful book. The course is a series of emails sent directly to your in-box. Please let me know if you are interested in joining this class by sending an email to [email protected]
If you prefer to have me create the book for you, we can work on that project now with no contact. Decide which type of book you would like to create and select your photos. Contact me for a link to a shared Dropbox file where you can upload your folder. We can create your beautiful photo book from there!
22. B&W Project
Find some favourite photos and convert them to black and white. You can do this in Word by pasting your picture then selecting Format/Color/Saturation 0%. There are many free and inexpensive photo editors available – just be careful what you download. I like Snapseed for photo editing on my phone. Did you create something amazing? Print it out and hang it in your home.
23. Create Photo “Art”
Print out pictures of yourself or your children and use them to make art. Make a background on paper or canvas. Paint, draw or make a collage. Glue your people pictures on top. You can also alter your people pictures, remove the head and replace it with another picture. Add props to your pictures. Create different scenarios for backgrounds to tell a story. Time to be creative!
24. Frame Your Pictures
Frame some of your family pictures and put them up around the house. Set them out on the mantle or table top. Hang some on the wall. Let you children select a picture for their bedside table. We all feel more connected surrounded by loved ones.
25. Make a Family Book
Print pictures of the people in your family and collect them in a mini-photo album or duotang. Your little kids will love visiting with family. Bigger kids can use the book to track how often they’ve contacted family. We loved making these when my kids were little.
26. Make a Gratitude Journal
Take pictures of things you are grateful for. Collect them in a book or folder. Add journaling, poetry or stories if you like. Encourage your family members to make their own gratitude journals. Share entries when you are looking to connect.
27. Movie Treasure Hunt
Hold a treasure hunt in your home – gather all your home movies and videos to one location so you can organize them and enjoy them. Here are some things to look for:
- Film – the type you need to watch with a projector
- VHS tapes
- Camcorder tapes
- Video on digital camcorders
- Video on your phone
- Video you’ve downloaded to your computer
- DVDs
Collect all outdated media formats together to have them coverted to modern formats. Collect all digitized video to one location to make a Video Hub. Convert any old file formats to a newer format like MP4. When you have everything collected, we would love to do the conversion for you!
28. Use Action Figures
Use your kids action figures to create fun pictures. Any small toy can be used to create interesting pictures and keep your kids entertained. Take a series of pictures to tell a story. Feeling really creative? Create a stop motion video your kids will love – then help them create their own.
29. Photograph your Kids’ Artwork
Have you collected your kids’ artwork? Is it now in boxes (and boxes!) in the basement? Why not photograph all that art and make a photo book you and your child can enjoy? Here are some tips:
- Scanning smaller 2D pieces creates the best copy
- If you are getting shadows photographing try setting up lights on either side of your space or invest in a small photo box studio
- Keep the background simple – use a piece of black or white poster board under the artwork
- Photograph from above to minimize distortion
- Add metadata to the photos – artists name and date the art was created along with any stories
- Keep the pages simple when creating your book
- Set parameters for your book – Kindergarten Creations or Elementary School Art
- Add an “About the Author” paragraph at the end of your book with a photo of your child
- Once everything is documented, keep only the VERY special pieces of artwork and let the rest go
We love creating these books for little artists! Email me at [email protected] and give your spring cleaning a huge boost!
30. A Day in the Life
It will be very interesting to look back at the things we were doing during the pandemic. Photograph a day in your life as you are staying at home. Set a timer to go off every hour and snap a photo of what you (or your kids) are doing.