A photo book is a simple artifact that helps you capture old memories and preserve them for the future. It’s true that these days, it’s much more efficient and commonplace to store your photos in the cloud, or even on a local hard drive, but there’s something powerful about having them in tangible form.
One of the advantages of creating a photo book as a father is that you can use it as a tool to build stronger bonds with your family – and in the process, finalize a piece of art that could stay in your family for generations to come.
How can you do it?
Building Stronger Bonds With a Photo Book
These are seven of the best approaches for fathers:
1. Choose the right photo book.
These days, there are many options to print your own photo book (or choose one and flesh it out from scratch). It’s important to choose the right approach for you and your family. You might like the idea of creating something tangible, piece by piece, with printed photos. Or you might prefer the opportunity to collect your digital photos and assemble them using an online photo book builder. No matter what, you’ll want to choose an external design that suits your family and encourages you to build more photo books in the future.
2. Piece it together with other items, scrapbook style.
One option to make your photo book even more special is to turn it into a kind of scrapbook. You can include far more than just photos, complementing the visuals and sparking the creativity of the entire family. For example, you can include stickers, trinkets from adventures you’ve had (like ticket stubs), or visual flourishes from markers and other artistic tools. You can also use a permanent marker to make written notes about your experiences.
3. Create a chronological timeline (or go by themes).
The most common way to organize a photo book is chronologically; for example, you might put together photos from an entire year of your family’s history, from January to December. But you can also organize it by section based on theme. For example, you can have a section just for your vacations, a section for birthdays and holidays, and a section for sports or other recreational activities. It all depends on what your priorities are.
4. Dig deeper into your family history.
If you want to connect with the family and educate them about their roots, you could delve deeper into your family’s history. Talk to your parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles about your project and see if they have any older photos to contribute. You could make it a project to digitize old photos and add them to your growing collection. From there, you can create separate photo books or combine them into a singular, massive project. Either way, you’ll get to know all your family members a little bit better – even the distant ones.
5. Go on photography outings.
You don’t have to be a professional photographer to enjoy the art of photography. Taking photos requires an eye for framing, a willingness to explore new areas, and of course, patience. Take your family to a local park or to a point of interest in your city. It’s a great opportunity to enjoy each other’s company, have fun conversations, and learn something new. And when you’re done, you’ll have the finished photos to remember your outing together.
6. Let each family member contribute something unique.
This is a family activity, so make sure that each member of your family has something unique to contribute. Depending on the ages of your children and the levels of interest present in your family members, that could mean allowing others to take photos, encouraging others to arrange the photos, or smaller contributions like placing stickers.
7. Dedicate time each year to make updates.
Whether you go on exciting vacations or just spend quality time together at home, make photo books a recurring and consistent activity. Dedicate some time each year to make updates, whether it’s expanding a single photo book you’ve already started or creating a new one from scratch. In 20 years, you’ll be very grateful you did.
Looking for Inspiration
If you’re not sure how to structure your photo book, or if you’re just feeling uninspired, consider reviewing the work of others who have already gone on this journey. You could join a scrapbooking group, talk to family members or friends who have made photo books in the past, or just search online for inspiration. You don’t have to copy their ideas (nor should you), but you can learn a number of new techniques and approaches to bring into your unique style.
—
This content is sponsored by Larry Alton
Photo credit: Shutterstock