Little black book
October 22, 2014 8:25 PM Subscribe
I'm having some photos professionally taken and I would like to get them printed in a small, ideally pocket Moleskine-sized book. Where can I make that happen?
The book/album will be a gift for someone who doesn't have a lot of space for clutter, and would likely want to keep it on his person as much as possible. The little 3.5"x5.5" pocket Moleskine books are perfect (even the cover, basic black, faux-leathery). I'd be highly surprised if I needed more than a dozen or so pages. I'm picturing a portrait orientation in my head, but I could settle for landscape if that's all that's possible.
I've looked around at the usual suspects for online photo book making: Snapfish, Shutterfly, Lulu, and nobody seems to make anything smaller than a 5x7.
One photographer that I contacted can make order books as small at 5x5, and I might consider that as a compromise, but the price is steep (as is typical for professional albums) -- $450 for 20 pages. I guess my secondary question is: What am I paying for when I spend $500 vs. $30 for the "equivalent" from Shutterfly?
The book/album will be a gift for someone who doesn't have a lot of space for clutter, and would likely want to keep it on his person as much as possible. The little 3.5"x5.5" pocket Moleskine books are perfect (even the cover, basic black, faux-leathery). I'd be highly surprised if I needed more than a dozen or so pages. I'm picturing a portrait orientation in my head, but I could settle for landscape if that's all that's possible.
I've looked around at the usual suspects for online photo book making: Snapfish, Shutterfly, Lulu, and nobody seems to make anything smaller than a 5x7.
One photographer that I contacted can make order books as small at 5x5, and I might consider that as a compromise, but the price is steep (as is typical for professional albums) -- $450 for 20 pages. I guess my secondary question is: What am I paying for when I spend $500 vs. $30 for the "equivalent" from Shutterfly?
Best answer: If you could keep it to 10 pages, and if you would consider a slightly different format, Nation's Photo Lab has accordion photo books in 2.5 x 2.5 and 3 x 3 options. (I think they also offer albums in a 5 x 5 format, but maybe it's larger with the cover? At any rate I think the covers of most albums will make it less pocket-friendly than you want.) I have gotten prints through NPL and I was really satisfied with the turnaround time, the quality, and the cost. Did you search for mini photo books at all? I haven't used them, but My Publisher is offering mini photo books (3.5 x 2.75). I also haven't used them, but Presto Photo has a 5.25 x 3.5 option. (I did see a bad review while googling them though.) Slightly larger, but Adorama has a 6 x 4.5 option.
I think the advantages of professional albums comes from having someone do quality control on the photos through every step of the process: theoretically, help picking the photos, so no mistakes, no problems with orientation, no blurry photos, decent color. Some professional albums are higher quality or have more luxe materials.
posted by jetlagaddict at 8:47 PM on October 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
I think the advantages of professional albums comes from having someone do quality control on the photos through every step of the process: theoretically, help picking the photos, so no mistakes, no problems with orientation, no blurry photos, decent color. Some professional albums are higher quality or have more luxe materials.
posted by jetlagaddict at 8:47 PM on October 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
Best answer: http://www.fiftythree.com/book
posted by judith at 9:21 PM on October 22, 2014 [9 favorites]
posted by judith at 9:21 PM on October 22, 2014 [9 favorites]
Best answer: http://www.artisanstate.com/photo-book/little-black-book.html
posted by rhapsodie at 10:39 PM on October 22, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by rhapsodie at 10:39 PM on October 22, 2014 [4 favorites]
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If you don't mind accordian-style books, this is an option. (2.5x3.5 (typical size of ID/business cards), 130 weight paper, hard cover with "art cloth" finish)
posted by FirstMateKate at 8:45 PM on October 22, 2014 [1 favorite]