Photo Book Tutorial

Our Nations Photo Lab Photo Book features archival quality paper with hand-stitched binding and a variety of premium hardcovers. You can fully customize your Photo Book using the tools provided on our Nations Photo Lab website’s design interface. Below you will find a step-by-step guide to help walk you through the process. Also included are visuals and descriptions of the customization tools provided in the design interface.

1. To create a Photo Book, you must first upload the images that you would like to use to your gallery. Here is a helpful link to walk you through this step.

2. After uploading images into your gallery for the Photo Book you would like to create, you will head to the Photo Book product page on the website to begin personalizing your Photo Book, where you can choose the size, orientation, cover, and paper type you would like.

Please note that you cannot change the cover, size, or paper type once you start creating your Photo book. In order to do so, you would need to start over.

The Classically-bound Photo book option opens up like a magazine in the center (the pages bow out from the center). The Lay-flat Photo book (our most popular option) has a 2mm gutter down the center to create the lay-flat style when you open it.

Classic:

Lay-Flat:

3. Once you have selected the specs for your Photo Book, next, you will click the "Personalize" icon to choose a theme. We have a variety of themes to choose from, or you can "Create Your Own" blank theme.

The Blank Theme (Design your own!) starts you off with a completely blank project to build your book page by page. The Blank Theme (Design your own!) splits the left and right sides of the page. The Blank Theme Spread also starts you off with a completely new project; however, the template conjoins the left and right sides of the page.

The Full-Page Photos Theme lets you pre-select the images and pre-place them in the book before entering the main design interface. The Full-Page Photos Theme will pre-place one image per side of a page. The Full Page Photos Spread Theme will pre-place one image that spans from the left to the right side of the page.

Lastly, there are "Classic" and "Modern" designer themes you can choose from that are pre-designed for you.

4. Once you pick your theme, the website will bring you to the Photo Book design interface to start designing and personalizing your Photo book!

Please note that when you open the Photo Book, there is a white vellum page. The initial page of the Photo book starts on the right side of the Photo Book, after the vellum.

Please also be aware there is a ⅛” bleed/trim inside the templates/spreads. 

Questions about bleed and trim?  Click Here!

Need a Photoshop Template?  Click Here!

Helpful tip: Should you see a low-resolution warning pop up, please visit this help center article for more information!

At this point, it's best to familiarize yourself with the icons and customization tools to create a fantastic Photo Book of your own. 

The icons and customization tools can be seen to the left of your screen, laid out vertically.

1. The top icon, “PHOTO,” allows you to access images from your gallery to use in the Photo Book template. Please click the gallery of images you are interested in using within your Photo Book. You can also click on the “Upload Photos” button to upload additional photos if needed.

2. The “TEXT” icon allows you to add text to a page or the cover when choosing the lustre photo wrap cover. If adding a text box, you can select the font type, color of font, and size of the font you would like. 

3. The “LAYOUT” icon allows you to choose different image layouts for each page in the Photo book template. It’s a great tool to use if this is your first time creating a Photo book or are having a hard time deciding on a personalized layout. Please note that ⅛" bleed/trim occurs around the edge of the templates/pages

Once you click on a layout type, you will see different options based on the number of images you want per page. We do not recommend using the "spread" layout option because there is a gutter down the center of the Photo Books. We recommend creating individual pages. The full-page spread option is mainly there for Album99s. For more information, please visit our article on the top 8 differences between Photo Albums and Photo Books. 

Once you have chosen and added a pre-designed layout to your template, please note that the image boxes are still adjustable! You can move the image boxes to other positions within the layout or you can resize them with the transform tool (shown later in this tutorial).

The next few steps are optional, depending on your design preferences. However, below are different design features that our ordering platform has to offer.

4. The “BACKGROUND” allows you to change the color/design of the page's background. We supply a wide range of background designs to choose from. If you do not see a background you like, you can upload an image and set it as the background. 

5. The “BORDERS” icon allows you to add a color border to the image boxes on the page. 

6. The “STYLES” icon allows you to pick a quick background in black, white, or various shades of gray.

7. The "OPTIONS & ADD-ONS" icon allows you to add/remove the Color Corrections and Gloss UV Coating options. It also allows you to choose a foil-stamping font style and foil-stamping color and add foil-stamping text (center or bottom right position). Foil-stamping options are only available if you are ordering the Photo book with a cloth or leather cover!

In order to view the foil-stamping options under this section, you will want to be sure you are on the cover within the Photo book template. 

Please note that you will not see a preview of the text on the cover. 

The following features are when you are manipulating an image on the page.

1. The first icon is a hand, which is the pan/zoom button. It allows you to pan your image from left to right or top to bottom within the image box. The bar allows you to zoom in/out of your image.

2. The "TRANSFORM" icon allows you to stretch or change the image's shape on the spread using the half-circle bumpers in black. Click and hold down on your mouse to start adjusting the size/shape. The Transform tool also allows you to move the image to a different position on the spread.

3. The “ROTATE” icon allows you to change the orientation of your image. 

4. The “BACKGROUND” icon allows you to make an image the background. If you change your mind, you can choose the "Minimize" icon.

5. The “TRASH” icon allows you to remove an image from the page. Click on the image you want to remove; the selected image will be highlighted in blue. Then, click the Trash icon. Or you can click the Transform icon, click and hold the image with your mouse, and then drag the image outside of the page template until it turns red and the trash icon appears, releasing the mouse. The image will disappear from the page.

6. To add pages to your Photo Book, use the page icon with the "+" symbol located underneath the photo book template. To add more pages at the end of your photo book, you must be on the page prior to the very last page for this feature to work. 

7. To remove pages from your Photo Book, use the page icon with the "X" symbol located underneath the photo book template. To activate the remove pages feature, you must have added more pages than the minimum 10 pages/20 side amount. You must always have a minimum of 10 spreads/20 pages and cannot delete pages beyond this minimum.

8. The “REORGANIZE” icon expands all of the spreads across the bottom of the webpage and allows you to reorganize your spreads into a different order/sequence. To move a spread, click on a spread you would like to move. You will see it become highlighted in blue. Then, click and hold down on your mouse and drag the spread over the intended new location in the Photo book template until you see a vertical blue line. Once you see the blue vertical line appear, release your mouse! 

That's it! Those are all of the tools and options you have to personalize your Photo book!

Once you’ve reviewed and approved all of your design edits, click "ADD TO CART" to begin the checkout process.

Please feel free to call or chat with us if you have any further questions while creating your new memories. Our phone line (888-507-5755) is available Monday through Friday, 10:00 am-5:30 pm EST, and our live chat is available Monday through Friday, 10:00 am-5:30 pm EST.