If you are searching for a new and creative way to showcase your photos, you absolutely have to make a professional photography portfolio book. They are currently one of the trendiest products in the photography world and are a great way to raise awareness for and advertise your work.
While making a photo book might seem straightforward, the process is much more intricate than meets the eye. However, lucky for you, this article shares four simple tips to help you achieve jaw-dropping results. From picking out the right photo book style to selecting the right type of paper, you will know exactly how to impress your clients after reading our guide.
One excellent platform for creating stunning portfolio albums is Saal Digital. It’s a cutting-edge printing company known for its high-quality products, knowledgeable support staff, and unbeatable low prices. Furthermore, it’s a market leader in the online printing industry and one of our top picks for everything printing related.
Additionally, Saal Digital’s innovative design software is incredibly easy-to-use, and you can customize and order small photo booklets effortlessly through their online store. They also boast a free downloadable program for creating and editing projects offline and a mobile app for both Apple and Android devices.
With that said, it’s time to dive in and discover our top tips for creating your very own professional-looking photography portfolio books.
Check out the video above by Saal Digital Corporation to learn more about creating a small photo booklet with Saal Digital.
Table of Contents
- Tips for Creating a Small Photo Booklet: Choose the Right Book Format
- Tips for Creating a Small Photo Booklet: Choose the Right Amount of Pages
- Tips for Creating a Small Photo Booklet: Choose the Right Paper
- Tips for Creating a Small Photo Booklet: Only Include Your Very Best Work
- Final Thoughts on Creating a Professional Photography Portfolio Book
- Recommended Photography Gear
Tips for Creating a Small Photo Booklet: Choose the Right Book Format
Our first small photo booklet tip is to ensure you select the best book format to match your photos. There are three primary photo book styles, each of which pairs well with specific genres of photography: portrait, landscape, and square.
Portrait orientation is taller than it is wide, and as you might have guessed by its name, it is ideal for portrait photography and photos with people. Portrait photo albums are also a fantastic choice for fashion and wedding images. Since it is better for social media platforms like Instagram, portrait orientation has recently seen a huge boom in popularity.
In contrast, landscape orientation is when the dimensions of a picture are wider than they are tall. Landscape orientation small photo booklets are perfect for nature photography, travel photography, street photography, and group portraits.
Lastly, while not as common as portrait and landscape orientation, some people also like the look of square images. Squares are good for zoomed-in images where you want to display a lot of detail—for example, wildlife, product, and macro photography.
Tips for Creating a Small Photo Booklet: Choose the Right Amount of Pages
Another important thing to consider when designing your small photo booklet is choosing the appropriate amount of pages. You want to have enough images to show your versatility and skills as a photographer, but not so many that people start to feel overwhelmed or lose attention.
Finding this “sweet spot” can be extremely challenging, but after many years of experimentation, we have found that somewhere between 10 and 20 photos work best for us. At Saal Digital, their custom portfolio albums start at ten pages and have a maximum of 75 pages.
Two more awesome features of their small photo booklets are their interchangeable inner pages and covers. Every page (and the cover) comes pre-perforated with holes, and the book is held together by easy-to-remove pins. This gives you the flexibility to update your portfolio in real-time by rearranging the order of your photos or adding/removing images.
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Tips for Creating a Small Photo Booklet: Choose the Right Paper
Different types of paper also greatly affect a photo's final look and feel. In the same way that unique photography genres look better in a specific orientation, they also look better on different paper types. Some of the most sought-after page options include:
- Glossy Photo Paper
- Matte Photo Paper
- Premium Matte Paper
- Silk Photo Paper
- Metallic Paper
- Art Line Paper
- SoftTouch Matte Paper
Every distinct paper type has its own individual attributes that add or detract from an image. Colors, reflection, texture, and finish are all things to consider when deciding which paper is best for your small photo booklet. For example, silk photo paper is very good for portrait and wedding photography thanks to its natural-looking colors and honeycomb structure.
Tips for Creating a Small Photo Booklet: Only Include Your Very Best Work
Lastly, you only want to add your finest pictures to a small photo booklet portfolio. As tempting as it can be to throw in every image you love, it's critical to sit down and decide which ones are truly the cream of the crop. Unfortunately, because of today's fierce competition, having only one subpar image can be the difference between securing or not securing a new client.
Similarly, you also want to double-check you have a strong variety and don’t have too many duplicate images. For instance, imagine you are a landscape photographer. You wouldn’t want to only include images of mountains, but maybe also deserts, lakes, glaciers, etc. This will make you more marketable as a photographer and help you land more gigs.
Final Thoughts on Creating a Professional Photography Portfolio Book
Even though online portfolios are increasingly common these days, having a hard copy of your work is still incredibly important. And with that in mind, there’s no better way to show off your photos than investing in a professionally-made photography portfolio book.
They are beautiful, portable, and, best of all, don’t require any sort of internet or device. I always keep multiple different small photo booklets in my office, home, and car because I never know when I will run into a prospective client. So, what are you waiting for? Head over to Saal Digital to start designing your own today!
Not interested in a small photo book? No worries! Check out the list below for more fun and creative ways to display your favorite photos.