It's yearbook time!

Looking at photos from January 2022 seems like they are more than a year old, yet the time flew by...I can't understand how this is possible, but here we are. I'm not sure how many iPhone photos I took last year, but with masks off, sports on, live events back and better than ever, I'm sure it was a record year for clicks! Now I turn to my 2022 yearbook which I am aiming to order by the end of January. I'd like to use this blog to help you get started if you've always wanted to make a yearbook or if you'd like to make one more efficiently than you have in the past.

Tip #1: Prep with albums. I have 3 new albums on my phone to start to gather the photos I plan to include (and many that will not make it in the final project). The first is called Shutterfly 2022 and will include photos from birthdays, holidays, and major events (like wedding or family reunions). This will be my main album that I'll use to build pages. Think Spring Break, Mother's Day, Fourth of July, etc. The second is called Sports & School 2022 and will include all those team photos I took, action shots, classroom clicks, performances, and those first & last day of school photos I treasure so dearly. This album will also come in handy in the next few years when my kids eventually head into 8th grade (holy moly) and I'm looking for all those school pics to submit to slideshows (I might cry right now). The third album is called Fun Photos 2022. These are the random beach pics, ice cream shots, playdate photos, or the last second "let me get a pic" shot because they are looking cute, and I want the memory. This album will get used sporadically but will end up somewhere in the book to add character. Check, done. Once you have your albums, you can start to add to them.

Tip #2: Switch your scroll! Do you have a favorite social platform that takes up way too much time? Time to turn off the gram, the tok, twitter, the book, etc... and switch your scroll to your photo album. You will have your photos organize in a flash! Here's how to do it. Open your library and start by month with January. Breeze through the photos quickly selecting the best ones you have of your major events that month - New Year's Day, travel, etc. once you have all the event photos selected add them to your Shutterfly 2022 album. Move on to February, March, April etc. I like to do 2 months at a time for my major events. Then I go back to January, February, etc. and add sport and school photos to that album. Finally, I go back and grab any cute pics that don't fit into a category and add to my fun photos album. This might seem unnecessary but having the pictures organized before you upload them to Shutterfly (or your choice of software) makes a world of difference in composing the book quickly. Also, you're not missing anything on the social network you skipped scrolling to do this :). Add as many photos as you'd like (but not all), and you can decide later which ones make the best for the page. One more thing -- if you have shared albums from friends or trips, this must be done separately as they won't show in your monthly photos. Also, don't forget about the shots a team parent may have texted you!

Tip #3: Don't move on till you've completed 1 & 2 through New Year's Eve. I'm not kidding -- get it all done before you get started.

Tip #4: Choose a provider. I've been using Shutterfly 12x12, make your own, simply gallery or simply modern in hardcover for the last 11 years and I think they are perfect. I do not use a theme because my goal is telling the story of our year, not fitting photos into a cookie cutter template. This is your choice though! When you click create, you must click make it manually or you will have a disorganized stack of pages that fill photos incorrectly and make a mess of the goal. Trust me, I have tried. I also tried using their design services having them make my sister a wedding album with the photos that I took and it turned out poorly. No one at Shutterfly has offered to hire me to fix this issue yet, but I will let you all know if they do :).

Tip #5: Load up the photos and get started. This part could be a whole post, but I'll give it to you straight. Get your phone photos into the Shutterfly app in order and start with your main album. If you want to start with a few months, go for it. The book starts with 20 pages and I typically end with 90-100. Add Jan - March photos and create your spreads. I like to use the professional photos we took as my cover photo and the introduction page then begin the album with New Year’s Day or the first event of January. Compile as you see fit - a double page spread or two pages with 1-5 photos arranged on it, then move on to the next page. At this stage, I would not add commentary or any stickers to make the page stand out. I do this as my last step of the whole process. After I pass March or April, I like to add a sports page and a school page with all those photos compiled in a collage. Between 3 kids and multiple teams, it can be a lot of photos, so I try to keep one or two of the team and a solo shot in uniform. Then move on to summer fun. Etc. I end the book with December holidays and a couple of pages of the "fun pics" album. I arrange it into a 5x5 collage and add the random one-off photos from the year. These are fun to look at many years later... I promise!

Tip #6: Go back through the album and add stickers, frames or phrases to your pages to give them a little character. My first album was filled with descriptions, and I found that to be a waste of time when the picture tells the story. I do this last so I don't get hung up on this part and make sure I'm using the same font and aesthetic throughout the book.

Tip #7: Add your title to the front cover, the spine, add a closing photo on the back of the book, proofread and order! I urge you to use a coupon code -- these things end up being in the $200+ before a discount and right around $140-$160 after shipping and tax is added. This is absolutely worth it to me and I hope it is to you as well.

That's it! I love the process of documenting these photos in a place that will be enjoyed for many years and surprising my family with the finished copy in a few weeks. 2022 already feels like ages ago, but this helps seal in the memories for a lifetime. Let me know how it goes or DM me with any questions @northshoreclicks on instagram.