Why I Document Travel Memories with Blurb

Three weeks of an epic summer adventure in Europe are now organized into a lovely Blurb photo book. I enhanced each page with a little narrative and collaged photos. I had the freedom to design the book to my liking through a variety of page template options. It’s really beautiful.

And, the book was completed within two weeks of landing back at home. This is definitely a personal record for me. My new goal going forward is to capture vacation adventures in a Blurb book within the same time frame.

Why? Because what I know now will make the process so much easier.

It’s Not My First Blurb Book

This actually isn’t my first Blurb book. One night, a few years ago, I heavily researched which photo book service would best fit my needs. I wanted freedom to include as many photos as I saw fit along with the option to type in more than a few sentences here and there. I decided on Blurb.

During this time, my father was dying and I began to contemplate my own mortality. The disorganization of my photo files weighed heavily on my mind. Without me, my daughter and husband would never find them all. And would they organize them? It would be too hard. And what about all of the stories that pair with each life event?

In an emotional panic, I tackled the first two years of my daughter’s life which were spent in Hong Kong. Being born there plays a bit role in her self-identity and I wanted to capture our adventures there. We lived in a beautiful hotel, I pushed her up the hills of Central and she learned Mandarin before English. Things like this.

The book is almost 200 pages long and while I’m pleased to have it done, I was—and still am—tremendously surprised by the peace of mind I feel knowing it exists.

My Blurb password is included with our important documents. This book, like others, is still in my account and ready to be printed again on a moment’s notice should the original become lost or damaged.

I’m telling you this, because capturing adventure and special moments in a photo book have impact that transcends far beyond the pages.

How I Use Blurb Now

We started traveling again after my dad passed. My photo files have again accumulated and it’s time to make more books.

However, until I looked into making my Europe book, I didn’t realize there was one feature I unintentionally ignored during the three or so years that I’ve been using Lightroom to edit photos.

You can create books in Lightroom and send them directly to Blurb with one click. 

I never bothered to dive into the Lightroom “Book” tab because there is so much to know about Lightroom as it is. What a mistake.

Make a collection in your Lightroom sidebar. Drop in any photos you’re considering using in a book. When it’s time to make the book, drag and drop the ones you like into a page template. Type text into designated areas. It’s possible to edit the photos before or after placing them into the collection as well as while working on the book. So easy.

Lightroom also shows the cost of the book based on the paper chosen and cover wrap. And, if you’re not sure what kind of paper to use, order a swatch kit. The cost is $7.95 which is then credited toward the cost of your book.

Tips for Using Lightroom with Blurb

Completely excited by this option, I watched one six minute how-to video on Adobe.com and dove right into building my book with Lightroom. But, then I discovered a great hour-long tutorial on Lynda.com, a photography site that I have a membership to. I suggest you either start with a short book to get the hang of how it works or watch a more in-depth video for a longer project. This will help you better understand the process and really maximize the bookmaking process.

When working on the book in Lightroom, be sure to select the text safe and page bleed guides which will display where the margins are so that everything prints perfectly.

You may also use Adobe InDesign.

More Summer Memories to Archive

My next book is about the really epic family vacation to Grand Cayman we took last week. It will be full of crystal clear and blue Caribbean water, swimming horses, tropical fish and more.

What memories would your summer photo book include? (Another cool option is to take vacation photos and make a nice travel magazine using Blurb! Follow the hashtag #CaptureAdventure for more inspiration.)