Stage One – Selecting the images

First of all, before you can go about making the book design you need to select the images to be included.

Using light-room, I narrowed the 1000 or so images I had down. I approached this through different shoots at a time, as I believed that this  made it easier to collect my main images from each shoot. The first step I took each time in doing so was to ‘reject’ all of the images which I definitely didn’t want to keep, which is done through holding down (Ctrl + X.) Any other images I considered keeping were ‘flagged’ (Ctrl + P).

After completing this first stage I then proceed to select from my narrowed down bunch of images. This is done through an initial number rating system. I had a key, ranging from 3-5; 3 being any image I thought was still acceptable on second review; 4 being any image I believe I strong enough to possibly serve a part in a photo-book; and 5 being an image which is very strong and one I am therefore completely sure about keeping. To rate, all you need to do is press down (Ctrl + 3/4/5). It is a good idea to experiment with the rating system and play around with any of the images if necessary.

The final stage of this process is to narrow down the best images, from those rated 4 and 5. Click on the filter on the Library setting One way of doing this is to select a colour, then click on one of these at the bottom right, next to the number rating. One important consideration at this point should be to see how different images might link together in terms of the type of story you are trying to tell. For example, as I am making a photo-book contrasting  loosely the styles of Martin Parr with Henk Wildschut I was therefore wanted to include a balance of each of these to styles, as to have a suitable body of work for each. Other considerations need to be thought of, for example the amount of portraits, still-life’s, landscapes you want your book to include. This can possibly be done by colour coding different images based on what criteria is relevant.

Once you are happy with your final images, check the number based on the amount you want to have in your photo-book. It is better to include slightly more in the final selection then not enough because you will then have more images to play with in the actual designing process. For example, if you want to create a 40 page photo-book, then have approximately 70 images in the final, leaving enough to experiment with the designing process

It is better to complete this process in different stages over a slightly longer period of time, whether that means taking anywhere from an hour or a day of each time. Taking time over this process allows ideas to develop subconsciously. It ensures all the appropriate images are included, powerful enough and relevant to creating a well developed narrative.

 

Making the photo-book

The first step is to make sure you are in the collection of your final images. Then move away from the ‘Library’ seciton onto the ‘Book’ mode, which will  take you to a plain book layout of the cover and a couple of inside pages.

Then select the type of book you want to      use. The choices are

Five different book types of …… small square; stanndard landscape; standard portrait; large landscape; large square

Three different covers …. hard cover image wrap; hard cover dust jacket; soft cover

Four paper types …. Premium Luste; Premium Matte; ProLine Uncoated; ProLine Pearl Photo

 

To create the layout there are three different types of layout options that you can use;

Manual – this shows the entire book layout as you go along.

Single View –  allows you to see one page at a time

Page View – seeing two pages at a time, as the viewer would expect to see it

All three options have their own advantages and drawbacks. A good idea is to keep alternating the modes you work in. For example when arranging a page it is  a good idea  to work in ‘Single View’, when linking a page together it is better to work in ‘Page View’ and when sequencing the overall narrative together/adding pages it is best to work in ‘Manual’.

There are many different ways of arranging images on the page. One way is to include all images on the right hand page, leaving the left blank. This is considered the classic method. The options however are limitless and you can play around with sequencing using different templates. Another option, which I have gone for, is to mix the sequencing up. Personally I think that this is a good idea to mix up the sequencing because it adds a degree of uncertainty to the narrative progression. Also at times it might be a good idea to have two images across the page to make a link, whilst at other times at might be better to leave a  page black to create a mini-interlude to break the narrative up.

Another tip is to look for different links in images. Consider the theme of the narrative and decide how relevant to different images are and what they add. There should often be relevance to two images side-by-side, whether that is a similarity or contrast.

One of the main advantages of making the photo-book within light-room is the degree of flexibility which it provides. It offers various features to make the book making process as easy as possible such as, dragging the images to different pages, dragging the layout up, and editing images on the go. In contrast to the online blurb feature I used last year this is much better because it it is far easier and quicker. Furthermore, it allows a much greater degree of creativity; the opportunity to play around with different images and sequences.

Once the sequencing process is finished, you now have to order the photo-book. Lightroom is linked to the online photo-book maker, ‘blurb’. To order the book, it needs to be done online. The content of the book and layout will be fully compatible with the official blurb website, which is activated through pressing the ‘send to blurb’ button. There will be an easy step-by-step process  through which to order the book.