You probably know, I love a good sunset and my camera roll can attest to that; there are many photos of pretty sunsets, skylines and other landscapes that I stumble upon. I don't always have a chance for them to be printed or displayed. SAAL Digitial gave me an opportunity to create a professional photo book.
SAAL Digital have one of many lines of professional photo books that lay flat and look beautiful. I just knew this would be the perfect place to display these cherished photos of mine. I decided to create a coffee table book with all my favorites landscapes.
Using SAAL Digital software, it was really easy to create the perfect photo book. Before jumping into the software, I decided to pre-choose the photos from my camera roll and place them all into a folder on my phone. I downloaded everything on to my computer and then hopped onto the downloaded software to create my photo book.
I choose the 8" x 12" Professional Line Photobook with the leather cover. I initially let the software autofill the book with all my photos. I hated it- it cropped each photo different, almost always cutting off the best part of the photo. I cleared the autofill option and decided to choose photos that would fill a both pages.
As I started to choose the photos, the software was able to determine if the photo was good quality or if it would end up grainy. I appreciated those suggestions because I didn't want to open up the photo book to all blurry photos.
After choosing the 22 photos for the book, I went back and then started to crop and make sure they were aligned the way I wanted; some I cropped out houses or other distractions, some I left the distractions because they made the photo distinct.
I spent a few nights making this and making sure everything was perfect. The last thing I needed to do was to choose a cover. I had picked the pebble leather option but I wanted to add a photo to the front. I had lots of photos still to choose from. I started choose different photos I didn't use in the book to see what would work best. I realized quickly that a vertical photo was not my favorite option, the horizontal ones looked much better and they wrapped both the front and back over of the book.
The winner ended up being a bright yellow and orange sunset from Ocean Gate but there was just something off. I flipped the photo horizontally to have the pier appear on the right side of the book and the sunset on the left side. It was perfect- exactly what I wanted. There was just one last thing missing- a title.
I wanted something meaningful and I immediately started scouring Pinterest for something. Pinterest provided me with some great contenders for the cover. I finally settled on this
time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life
Landscapes and sunsets, to some people look like nothing special, often mundane. To me, these are the times where something beautiful can happen and usually does, if you have patience to watch what happens. All these photos I chose, were moments that were nothing but I made them something special and I think that is something underrated.
I went through the book one last time, making minor changes here and there. I submitted it for printing and then I actually forgot about it until I got an email from SAAL stating it was being shipped 5 days later. I got so excited to see the finished product.
It was being shipped by DHL and you betcha I was stalking the DHL tracking website to see the updates. It was set to arrive on a very rainy day. I was nervous because with it being a book, I didn't want to have it damaged by the rain. With DHL, I was able to leave them a note saying there was going to be a bag on the front porch for them to put it in. They took it one step further and put the box in their own DHL bag and then provided me with a proof of delivery photo. I was seriously impressed by their delivery.
I couldn't wait to get this inside and look at what I created. It was better than I expected. The quality was really high and it was beautiful. The photos I chose were colorful and vibrant; I was worried that the colors would not translate well to print. I was blown away by how beautiful the photos looked and how they came out. Each page was better than the next.
My parents were blown away by the photos and how beautiful they were. I think we all were shocked about the quality of the book and the fact that I took all these photos on my phone.
THANK YOU SAAL Digital for giving me the opportunity to create something beautiful. In exchange for my honest review they provided me a $150 credit to make this book. I have no other affilation with them and I do not receive any commission from any sales.
If you are looking for a photo book that is simple and easy to create AND looks really beautiful and professional, take a look at SAAL Digital.
Do you make photo books for special events?
[[We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone]]
-gabrielle
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