picture / coffee table books

[bubbawny]

HI Folks:

So I'm new to Lightroom 2.' and an amateur photographer/hobbiest.

I've been organizing my pics from a tripto Hawaii into those I'd like to include in a coffe table book as a present / momento for my wife.

So I have about 1'' photos ready to go, but am not sure how i can integrate what i've done with not just photo selection, but develop settings, too, into a coffee table book.

I was at the iStore the other day and was asking this question and the gentlemen at the store showed me the layout tools in Aperture.

I do undertand that today, Lightroom does not have this capability directly.

So my question is: How can I approach making a coffee table book?

Many of the sites i've found online want you to use their software (web or other) to make the book.

How can I ensure that the pictures I've developed in Lightroom 2.' don't get whacked in using their software?

Are there any programs that integrate with Lightroom to make Coffee Table books?

Do any of you have any vendor recommendations for printer shops that do good work re: coffee table books?

Thanks guys!:mrgreen:

 

[Rick L.]

The way to get your LR edits into your images is to "bake" them in (so to speak...) by exporting them to a file. In LR, all of your edits are non-destructive to the original file. When you export you make a new file that includes all of the changes you made in LR. You can export to many formats - including .jpg, .tif, etc.

I've never made a book out of my images, so I can't make a recommendation there. However, many companies offer the service - what you'll want to do is research what format they'll want your pictures in before you export. I'm guessing that .jpg (at full resolution) will be what most want and what will be easier (faster) to upload if you use an online service. If I were to do this, I'd probably start by researching MPIX.

Hope that helps...

 

[Replytoken]

You might want to take a look at Shared Ink ( www.sharedink.com ). Their printing quality is quite good, and you just need to load up your files. Their layout is basic, but the quality is better than many of the web publishing companies, and no software is required. There are many reviews of their services if you want to read more opinions.

--Ken

 

[achrysos]

Hi Bubbawny

Well, the first thing you have to do is make sure that you're happy with your edits in Develop and then Export them (from the Library). For ease of organisation I usually put the images that I'm going to include in my book in a separate collection folder.

I have a Mac, so I have used iPhoto to create books with my LR exported images (and I think that Aperture use the same book making services - they're actually very good). But as a Windows user you'll have to look at either web based (e.g. snapfish) or sites which provide you with downloadable software you can use to to create your book on your machine and then upload when you are ready.

For this I have tried Mpix.com and blurb.com. I must say that I was not too keen on the Mpix product, but that was over a year ago and I know that they've recently gone 2.' but I don't know if their quality would have improved (comments anybody??).

blurb.com is quite good and I was happy with the product (although living in Hawaii it took AGES to get to me!) - although not too keen on their page templates, and there are lots of them.

You can certainly try both of their s/ware products for free with no obligation. With blurb you are confined to the templates they have (but there are many) and with Mpix you have the freedom to create any style of page as well as the templates provided.

Photo books are great! Good luck. I'd be interested to know if you (or anybody else here) can find an alternative to these two.

Antonio

 

[Richard Earney]

Blurb seem to be generating a lot of buzz as mentioned by Antonio.

 

[bubbawny]

thanks guys. I read a review that My publisher is pretty good. but it seems expensive for their deluxe book.

i'm not looking to go cheap here. but i'm not Mr. Money Bags either. Especially since your first print essentially becomes your proof. I'm not sure if any of these services do any color management or proofing for you. so that's why i'm a bit nervous about using their services.

but i really would love to start building a collection of coffee table books that show of my photography and help make memories easier to view with family.

there was an old review from before i found (2''5) that compared Apple, Kodak, and a couple others. it's such an old review that i'm not sure it's relevent.

so i'm thinking maybe i try one of each (blurb and my publisher) as both of their forums are mostly filled with what appear to be very happy customers.

thanks for the advice guys. i'll let you know how it turns out. perhaps i'll start a blog about my experiences or a WIKI on the process. i'd like to share what i learn with others.

 

[achrysos]

With regards to colour management - I think you're safest if you export from LR with the sRGB profile (that's what blurb recommend - not sure about the others).

I saw MyPublisher also but kept away as I didn't think that the prices were competitive - too expensive.

Good luck and let us know where your blog is.

Antonio