How many photos is reasonable as a starting point? I got them down to 1,000 from almost 4,000. Do I need to keep going or can I start loading?
ETA: this is just for 2019
Oh boy, that’s a lot! I went through my 2020 photos today and ended up with 330 uploaded to Shutterfly. It feels like a lot, but I think that’s about normal. 1000 would be overwhelming to me!
I realized why I have such a hard time with this. I used to make books for vacations which are so much easier since I can easily organize the trip by days or particular sights. I started my book today and I don’t know how to group the photos! I’m doing it sort of by month/season but they are so random, it’s overwhelming. I’m off today and tomorrow and my goal is to finish it, but it will probably be 15 hours of work.
How many photos is reasonable as a starting point? I got them down to 1,000 from almost 4,000. Do I need to keep going or can I start loading?
ETA: this is just for 2019
Oh boy, that’s a lot! I went through my 2020 photos today and ended up with 330 uploaded to Shutterfly. It feels like a lot, but I think that’s about normal. 1000 would be overwhelming to me!
I realized why I have such a hard time with this. I used to make books for vacations which are so much easier since I can easily organize the trip by days or particular sights. I started my book today and I don’t know how to group the photos! I’m doing it sort of by month/season but they are so random, it’s overwhelming. I’m off today and tomorrow and my goal is to finish it, but it will probably be 15 hours of work.
Yeah I know I won’t end up using 1,000 but it’s hard to pick which ones until I play around with it on a page. I’ll keep going though. Ugh. This is hard.
Post by cricketwife on Dec 29, 2020 18:38:23 GMT -5
I don’t usually go on this board but I wanted to say that livinitup, gave awesome advice. Also, as encouragement, I have always felt sooooo burdened by the fact that I don’t have albums for my kids. So during quarantine, I started a book for each year for the last 5 years. I just sent the last two to be printed yesterday and it feels so good. Yes, done is better then not done! I feel so relieved that I have something for us all to look back on. I accepted that some of the books are crappy, but I will get joy from them over the years and hopefully my kids will too. My original goal was one printed book (duplicate) per kid for each year, but it got to be $$$ and a lot of volume of books so I just did oneboom for the family. I figure when we’re old or dead they can divide the years and still have a good idea of their childhood 🤷♀️. I did Shutterfly because I’ve used it for years so they had a lot of my photos and I figured they will be around in the future. Ive also started two books that are unfinished , one for each child, that is going to be birth - high school graduation. Basically a two-page spread for each year of their life. So I wanted the company to still be around in 13 years. That said, I’m not very impressed by the quality of the Shutterfly books. I ordered the largest size and a lot of the photos look a little blurry to me - not majorly, but definitely not crisp and my originals are plenty big. So I may try someone else for 2021. I plan to try to keep up with it during the year, but even if I don’t, it’s not bad to do one year all at once. It’s just a lot to do a bunch! So like anything, there’s huge inertia to starting, but once you get going, it’s not too bad. Honestly, I loved the stroll down memory lane. And each time I’d get frustrated with the process, I’d just stop for then and pick it up an hour, a day, a month later. Do it! And also give yourself to not do all of it! If you don’t do 17 years, that’s ok. I left off 2015 because it was just too much for me. One is better than none. Two is better than one; anything is better than nothing. Have fun!
Post by icedcoffee on Dec 29, 2020 22:29:24 GMT -5
I am not off to a good start. LOL
I was able to get the daycare pics to upload by first downloading them to my computer and then uploading to Shutterfly, but I got an error on every picture that the resolution was low and wouldn't print nicely.
So then I just decided it's fine we don't need those and just imported direct from Google Photos and that fixed the resolution issue, but it's not pulling the date of the picture with it. It's saying they're all December 2020 so they're all just in a random order which is a problem when you have over 700 photos.
icedcoffee , oh no! I’m sorry you’re having trouble. Photobooks are a TON of work. I have two baby books I started and never finished. I also stick with Shutterfly for that reason. I really need to finish those books before something happens to SF! One of them I started like 3 years ago. 🤦🏽♀️
Your post actually helped motivate me!
To answer your previous question, I like 8x11 books. I have both 8x8 and 8x11 and the wider pages allow for bigger pics. After all that work, I want to see more of it! I’m going to try out the lay flat pages this time, assuming I actually finish a book! 😂
How many photos is reasonable as a starting point? I got them down to 1,000 from almost 4,000. Do I need to keep going or can I start loading?
ETA: this is just for 2019
Shutterfly only lets you add 1,000 for a book. I only know that because my process has been to upload up to the max and then choose the best option to actually add in to the book.
I couldn't figure out how many actual pictures I've used, but I've done one for every year since 2017. That one had 49 pages, 2018 had 69 pages, and 2019 it was up to 77 pages. I do some pages with just one photo, but most are 3-5 per page.
Edit - I do 10x10 books.
I also take a very long time to put them together and sit with it. For like, months. I feel like I need time away to then go back and make sure I'm happy with it. I wish I could share an example as inspiration! I definitely have mistakes, but I really love how they come out, and I get better every year.
How many photos is reasonable as a starting point? I got them down to 1,000 from almost 4,000. Do I need to keep going or can I start loading?
ETA: this is just for 2019
Shutterfly only lets you add 1,000 for a book. I only know that because my process has been to upload up to the max and then choose the best option to actually add in to the book.
I couldn't figure out how many actual pictures I've used, but I've done one for every year since 2017. That one had 49 pages, 2018 had 69 pages, and 2019 it was up to 77 pages. I do some pages with just one photo, but most are 3-5 per page.
Edit - I do 10x10 books.
I also take a very long time to put them together and sit with it. For like, months. I feel like I need time away to then go back and make sure I'm happy with it. I wish I could share an example as inspiration! I definitely have mistakes, but I really love how they come out, and I get better every year.
Shutterfly's website is definitely not the most user friendly. I feel like there are a lot of things they could do to make it better.
I think I found a process that works though. I've been uploading 1 month at a time. Somehow if I upload to "my photos" instead of to the book itself there are not issues with resolution. No idea why. The fact you can't upload direct from google photos and keep the date is nonsense also.
I'm 6 months in. I could see how this can drag out. I think I'll try to get through the year this week and then print when they have the first "free extra pages" sale. I really don't need perfection. Just something we can pull off the shelf and flip through when we feel like we never do anything fun. LOL
Also--if I actually complete these it could make an easy gift for my mom to just print an extra.
I was ready to throw my computer out the window yesterday so I'm glad I continued. Ha.
Post by arehopsveggies on Dec 30, 2020 10:36:59 GMT -5
Each kid gets a book each year. Some photos overlap of course but they like having a book that’s more focused on them individually. Some years I feel like quitting and just doing one instead of 2
I basically choose a week and tell myself I can’t do anything else till it’s done, and then after a few days/ week decide it’s as good as I’ll get it. Then I save them for when I have a free book code from Shutterfly
I have a few half done vacation books. We’ve only done 2 vacations in 6 years but those books overwhelm me- Too many photos to pare down!
icedcoffee , wow, you are fast! I'm 6 months in and I've been working for 2 days straight. <sob>
I don't know. The shutterfly website is soooo slow right now. This is painful. I have the pictures for the year laid out on pages, but I need to go in and add text and layout. I'm getting there though.
Hmm...ok. I tried another computer and it's still slow. Will aim not to upload so many pictures for the next one. Our internet speed is fine, I think. It's painful, but I am ALMMOST done. I think.
Do people do the lay flat books? Or just regular with Shutterfly? I did lay flat because I have a few spreads, but it's a bit pricey. Wondering if I should go through and remove the few spreads I have and just order a regular book.
If I keep it lay flat then 2019 is DONE. It's not perfect, but I'm channeling my inner livinitup and saying it's good enough. I think I learned a few things that might make the next one a little easier.
The free additional pages is the best time to order, right? My book is currently $115. Eek.
In certain ways, Shutterfly absolutely makes this harder than it needs to be.
icedcoffee Congratulations! I don’t use the lay flat to save on $ but my dad did on one vacation book and I only noticed it slightly better. He wanted all the bells and whistles. I’ve also done “over the crease” layouts and the bump in the middle didn’t make much difference. I am so glad you are done! Spend the money, let it have a bump, or slightly change a few layouts. You are close now!
livinitup, Thank you! Maybe I'll leave my spreads as is then. I was worried at that cost I can't order copies for our parents, but maybe I will leave it and order lay flat for myself and if I order them as gifts I can just print them normal. I really don't want to change anymore layouts around. I'm over it!
livinitup , Thank you! Maybe I'll leave my spreads as is then. I was worried at that cost I can't order copies for our parents, but maybe I will leave it and order lay flat for myself and if I order them as gifts I can just print them normal. I really don't want to change anymore layouts around. I'm over it!
My only suggestion would be to make sure you don't have faces in the middle of the spreads, where the spine would be. I didn't pay attention to that in my youngest's baby photo book and the pic from his 1st birthday has my head split between two pages...lol
Post by kitchenreno on Jan 4, 2021 11:02:08 GMT -5
I do one per year per kid. I guess that leaves me screwed someday when they move out IF they take them with them.
When I first started, I tried to make it one of their Christmas gifts for that year, but then that meant it was missing some end-of-December photos. Now I make them after the year is done. I haven't done 2019 yet, mostly b/c it was an epically shitty year. I really need to motivate to do 2019 and 2020. All the advice in this thread has been super helpful!
I use Snapfish and find they always have good deals on photo books. The quality is good enough for me.
On my computer I organize all my pictures into folders based on events, then I only upload one folder at a time to work with. Then I usually do one folder each month of misc photos. It makes it feel easier to manage for me.
I do 9x11 for each "yearbook" and for big vacations (overseas, longer than a week). For smaller vacations that I want to give their owns books, I do 8x8. I order from Picaboo, because I've been using it for at least 10 years and I'm used to it. Back then I tried Shutterfly and hated it, I have no idea if they are better now but they must've improved some lol.
My yearbooks are routinely coming up on the 160 page limit, so the free extra pages sale is the only time I buy. I'm currently halfway through 2018, so yeah I'm pretty behind. I fell behind a year for every kid I had lol. I'll get there though.
I was able to get the daycare pics to upload by first downloading them to my computer and then uploading to Shutterfly, but I got an error on every picture that the resolution was low and wouldn't print nicely.
So then I just decided it's fine we don't need those and just imported direct from Google Photos and that fixed the resolution issue, but it's not pulling the date of the picture with it. It's saying they're all December 2020 so they're all just in a random order which is a problem when you have over 700 photos.
I don't know guys. I'm ready to quit. Eff this.
That's got to be so annoying.
My system isn't the easiest, but it works for me. Every Jan, I download my pictures into monthly albums (onto an external hard drive from my phone, and double check fb for any missing pics). Then I upload them one month at a time onto shutterfly and do 1-2 pages for each month (unless there's a special occasion that gets 1 or 2 pages of its own...for example, we have about 100 pics from the first few days in May when we brought our new puppy home. So those days will get their own page or two, and the rest of May will get another day or two). I tend to have anywhere from 20-100 pics per month, so uploading them one month at a time (and hiding the pics I've already used) and organizing the pages by month works well for me. So I end up with a photobook for each year. I also make additional ones for really special occasions, like our first and only trip to Disney.
Has anyone noticed the new Shutterfly update for phonebooks where you can't add more graphics? You now have to select one style and only use the graphics that are included with that. What a damn shame! That ticks me off. I usually just select any free style and then add more backgrounds and graphics for seasons/holidays/events.
Anyone use any other service for photo books? I've been doing Shutterfly for literally a decade, but this latest update is awful. I want pumpkins on my halloween pages, damn it!
ETA: I figured out that this might be an error on my end, so I apologize for anyone that I confused. When in the new software, adding embellishments isn't available. Using the old software, it is possible.
I’m surprised only one person recommended Chatbooks. I love them because they are so simple. One picture per page, and you can add a caption or not. That’s it. Really cuts down on messing with backgrounds, layouts, etc. As someone who is easily overwhelmed by several options, Chatbooks are perfect for me!
Has anyone noticed the new Shutterfly update for phonebooks where you can't add more graphics? You now have to select one style and only use the graphics that are included with that. What a damn shame! That ticks me off. I usually just select any free style and then add more backgrounds and graphics for seasons/holidays/events.
Anyone use any other service for photo books? I've been doing Shutterfly for literally a decade, but this latest update is awful. I want pumpkins on my halloween pages, damn it!
WHAT?! I am not happy about this. I have done a photo yearbook with Shutterfly every year since 2008 with additional books for major vacations. I spend hours and hours on it each year in January. I haven’t started this year’s book yet and I am pissed to hear this. I spend so much time picking out baseball graphics for my son’s baseball pages, pumpkins for Halloween etc. Crap.