Ideas for your next family photo book
There’s no better way to commemorate and celebrate your family’s special moments than through a photo album that will be treasured for generations. What should the next photo-related project for your family be? It could be a milestone celebration or a family-related heritage project. We’ve compiled 11 original ideas to help you begin creating.
1. The Family Yearbook
Create a family yearbook to commemorate the year that was. From the mundane to the magnificent, there are no rules around the moments you can and cannot include in your yearbook. Highlight those that are most important to you. We love this precious photo book put together by Olivia’s parents, documenting her very busy first year of life.
2. The Family Pet
An integral part of any family, who said the household pet wasn’t deserving of their very own photo book? A strong fixture on any animal lover’s camera roll, a photo book is a perfect way to make use of all those pictures. There’s never a dull moment with life’s loyal companions, so create a keepsake to remember your time together long after they’re gone. Me and my dog Bruno by Evy beautifully documents the friendship between Bruno and his owner – from his early days as a puppy through to summer days at the beach.
3. Family Abroad
Do away with the DIY scrapbooks of bygone years and give your travel memories a permanent home in a high-quality, long-lasting photo book. Whether it’s a once-in-a-lifetime adventure or your family’s annual trip to the beach, any journey with loved ones is worth reliving time and time again. Get inspired by this photo book that celebrates a family’s life abroad in Singapore or this epic mother-son road trip through Central Oregon.
4. Project 365
Get involved with this popular photography project and commit to taking one photo a day for a whole year and then turning it into a beautiful photo book. The sky is the limit when it comes to the 365 photography project; you could stick to a theme for each photo or capture life’s everyday moments. This is a great project for kids to get involved with. For that one moment a day, it’s a regular reminder to take in your surroundings and appreciate the little things.
MILK Tips: Use our autofill feature to bring your 365-photo book to life easily. Choose two photos for each spread, and then witness the past year’s images come back to life on paper.
5. A Special Anniversary
Celebrate your (or maybe your parent’s or grandparent’s) love in an anniversary photo book. Fill it to the brim with all your favorite memories you’ve shared. Include text to narrate the story of how you first met, give an insight into your favorite date, or fill the pages with things you want your special someone to remember with each passing year of your relationship. We couldn’t be more enamored by this beautiful photo book by Jordan, which is full of scanned copies of love notes written by a loving husband of 59 years to his wife. Or this 50th-anniversary book created by Andrea, which documents the loving, decades-long relationship of Catherine and George.
6. A Milestone Birthday
From a first birthday to a 21st, 60th, and everything in between, life’s milestone birthdays are worthy of a little extra celebration. Honor a loved one by collating all the photo memories of their life to date. Or, if there was a big party to mark the occasion, you could create a photo book full of all the photos from the event.
MILK Tip: Get the recipient’s closest friends and family to contribute a birthday message or words of wisdom as an alternative to a card.
7. Family Photo Shoot
If you have invested in a photographer to capture family photos, it’s certainly worthwhile to ensure they’re displayed in a high-quality format to match. Creating a professional-style photo book that you can proudly place on your coffee table will provide your family and visitors enjoy the memories for years to come. We love this annual series of photo books by Alison, capturing three years of beautiful photo shoots: 2017, 2018, and 2019.
8. Art Book
If you’re a house of budding creatives, consider putting a photo book together to highlight your family’s artwork. Whether it be photography, paintings, or drawings brought home from kindergarten, a photo book of your artwork will be more sentimental than any professional coffee table book. Discover our guide on how to create a children’s art photo book, or explore these beautiful customer projects for inspiration: 2019 by Alexis Winter and Photography by Ann Cutting.
9. Family Heritage Book
Preserving your family history in a long-lasting, readable format is no easy feat, but the result will be worth it. This is the perfect project for those who have amassed decades (or centuries!) worth of family records, documents, and photos. Rather than getting lost amongst the chaos of the modern day, share and preserve your storied history for future generations in the format of a beautiful photo book. Get inspired by this incredible project by Deborah, which includes everything from birth certificates to scanned photographs and newspaper clippings.
10. Family Recipe Book
Spare future generations the trouble of trying to decipher handwritten recipes and instead make a photo book that can withstand many cooks and years of use. The ultimate addition to any culinary toolkit, your family’s revered recipes deserve the best. Document your culinary creations with our timeless designer templates that allow for descriptive instructions and beautiful photography. Check out this family recipe book by Amy for inspiration.
11. Celebrate a New Addition
Few things compare to the anticipated arrival of a new family member. Mark the occasion with a timeless photo book full of memories that take you right back to those earliest days. We love this album by Natalie of newborn Tommy, a beautifully designed keepsake they can treasure forever.
There you have it: 11 unique ideas to inspire you to start creating your next project. A family photo book is a worthy format for celebrating life’s precious moments, no matter how big or small. Select your format of choice, upload your photos, and let our intuitive Design Studio and designer templates lead the way.
