blurb books: a review

It's no secret to anyone who knows me in-person that I love Blurb. For those of you to whom this may be news, let me elaborate:

Yep, that there's my little collection, living proof of my Blurb commitment. Obsession? Maybe both. I have ordered six photo books using this company (and created another half-dozen more that are still in progress) and it's the only photobook company I will ever use.

 

I've gotten quite a few questions about the books themselves, and since I've got the hang of the system I thought I'd give a systematic review of all things Blurb. Brace yourselves ;)

Pricing: 
I've been very happy with Blurb's pricing for the quality. It obviously varies depending on the size of the book you choose, the number of pages, and whether or not you upgrade from any of the standard cover or paper choices, but even so the prices are very reasonable. A 7x7 square photo book with 20 pages starts at $12.99; 8x10 books of 20 pages start at $19.99. (there are TONS of other sizes/types available; these are the two book sizes I've gravitated towards)

You can calculate cost for specific sizes and page numbers here. The thing I've found about Blurb that I LOVE is that there are always coupon codes or deals going on to get you at least 15% off. (take a look at my sidebar for the most recent deal). My wedding book has 150 full-color pages with a hardcover and dust jacket, and with coupon codes I was able to get it for less than $45 per book. At that price, I was able to get one for each set of parents and grandparents too!

Another bonus; shipping has always been really quick for me--even with the slowest shipping rate I've always gotten my books in about a week. This may be an isolated case, since their offices are in San Francisco and I'm not that far away from them. Don't push your deadlines unless you've tried it before!

Book layout and design: 

There are three options for book design. The most common way is to download their Booksmart software to your computer. This is how I've done the majority of my books, and it's been so great. You have preset layouts for the pages but can customize them even further and even create your own saved layouts for consistency. You lay out the whole book exactly as you want it and then upload it to their servers to purchase and print it.

The quick and dirty way is to use their online software, Bookify. You just upload your photos to the site and go! I used this version for my Yacht photoshoot book and was pleasantly surprised with the ease of use. There's even an option to get photos directly from Facebook or Instagram. I used one of the designer template options for our Yacht book but sort of wish I had gone with the "any way, any size" one; there are a lot more layout options. I'm still very happy with my book, though! I LOVE Booksmart, but Bookify is slowly winning me over. Just can't beat simplicity!

The third and final option is one I've never used, but I feel I should mention that you can create your entire book in Adobe InDesign and use a plugin to upload the entire book that way. Maximum control with that one, and if you know InDesign, it may be the best way to get exactly what you want.

Paper Quality
Full-disclosure: I've only tested out two of their four paper options. However, they were the cheaper two options, so any further upgrade will only make your books prettier (and more expensive...!).

Their four paper options are standard, premium, Proline Uncoated, and Proline Pearl. The standard paper is 80lb bond (copier paper is 20lb). The upgraded paper options are all 100lb, so they're nice and thick.

Standard paper on left // Premium paper on right

To be honest, I can't really feel much of a difference between the premium paper and the standard paper. I've noticed in my standard paper books that the images are a little more pixellated and the colors aren't as bright compared to the premium paper, but again it's only clear if you compare the two. Standard paper might not hold up as long as the premium paper because it's not as thick, but let's face it: These are like yearbooks. You'll thumb through them a couple times a year at max; they'll hold up just fine.

Standard paper image quality compared to digital version:

Premium paper image quality compared to digital version:

Again, the images are a little crisper in premium paper, but it's hard to tell the difference unless you're comparing the two side-by-side

There is a small "Blurb" logo on the copyright page and the last page of your book. You can pay a percentage of the total book price (25%) to remove it if it bothers you, but I find that it's unobtrusive enough to leave every time.

Cover options

Books can be printed in softcover or hardcover; hardcover books can be either imagewrap or dust jacketed. I have done both of the hardcover options, and have been most satisfied with my jacketed books. The imagewrap looks dang professional from afar, but if you compare the image quality between the jacket or wrapped book, there's no comparison. Images are crisper and colors more true and bright on the jacket, no question.

Left: wrapped book; Right: Jacketed book. The difference in quality is a lot clearer in person

I love how you can choose back cover images too; it makes for a really fun coffee table addition! Of course, I can never decide which one to leave out...

And there you have it! Did I leave anything else out? Let me know what else you might want to know!!

And now until June 30, save 15% on your book purchase with the code BOOKSFORSUMMER

our "wedding faux-to" shoot

I'm on a Boat!

@joshnewton

The other day, Tim and I had the opportunity to be "models" for a shoot in an in-town photography conference. On a yacht.

Yeah, I couldn't say "yes" fast enough either.

Want to know the best part? (as if the aforementioned awesomeness wasn't enough) We got to wear our wedding duds all over again, and take a bunch of lovey-dovey faux-bridal shots. It was like a spur-of-the-moment year-and-a-half anniversary shoot! And did I mention that it was on a YACHT?!?

Pinch me, I must be dreamin'.

There were more than 30 photographers present that night; which was daunting to say the least! Taking posing direction from that many people from across the water was challenging, too, but it was f.u.n.

Want to see what popped up on Instagram afterwards? Enough to tide me over until we can see the rest, that's for sure!

@sarahdipityphotos

@megcourtney1  // @amyrizzutophotography

@xiomaragard  //  @shannoncronin
Many thanks to the wonderful people of United 2013! Can't wait to see the rest! 

Weekend

We had the most wonderfully quiet weekend, as weekends go, and it seemed to just fly by! I was thrilled to have my husband back after three days of business travel (the first of many trips this year), so I just drank in every minute that we had together. In a few short hours it was all over, but we managed to cram in both adventure and relaxation. Behold:

Beach-side bike rides and mimosas.  The weather was unbeatable for late February, and boy did we enjoy it. We jumped on our bikes to enjoy the sunshine and Santa Ana winds along the coast. 

Saturday evening, we got all fancy-pants. We ate and drank from our china. We had a Dexter marathon and opened a bottle of wine.

 

I also pulled my wedding dress out of the depths of the guestroom closet abyss to do some minor repairs and spot-cleaning. Talk about nostalgia!

Sunday after church, we fled to the mission lawn for a picnic! (#22 on my 25 before 25 list).

Other awesome events of the weekend: my bestie got ENGAGED (Whoo!) and our other friends got a PUPPY! Such an eventful weekend for all!

How was your weekend? Do anything fun?

linking here.

a photo a day

One of the goals I have for this year is to learn how to take better pictures (regardless of the equipment I'm using). I got some fun new camera accessories this christmas from the mister and I'm loving how much fun it is to know how to use them!

One way I'm stretching my newfound love of photography is FatMumSlim's Photo a Day challenge on Instagram. I think of it this way: If I can't take decent "everyday" photos using my iphone, how can I take awesome photos with the Rebel? Riddle me THAT. Maximize the tools you've got, that's what I say. So, here's week 1 of my January Photo a Day:

today {Lake Nacimiento morning} // new {day, new semester}

heart // The view from here [ or there; Starr Winery]

movement {or lack thereof} // mine {broken baby ornament waiting for glue}

Street {leading to Painted Cave} // Something beginning with "T" {Tim and teppanaki}

Do you play photoaday? What's your Instagram?

two years ago...

...i said yes. {Yep, September is a big month for us :) }

This blows my mind, because two years is, like,  forever. For fun, I started flipping through pictures taken at or around our engagement {of course, by "flipping" I mean browsing on the computer, because hardly any of those are actually printed, ha}. What. a. trip. We were babies. {okay, 22 and 24. But still}

I'll never forget how difficult and awkward it was to deliver the "I'm engaged!" news to family and friends with the spotty cell service we get at the lake. Haha that was the first and only time I wished the cabin wasn't so "off the grid".

Excuse the lake-y hair and dirty hands. Didn't exactly know I was going to be proposed to right then. Sneaky boyfriend-at-the-time led me to believe it was a regular 'ol lake weekend with a birthday BBQ thrown in. Pssh.

For our "engagement pictures" though, the ones we'd use for our save-the-dates and stuff, we wanted something a bit more professional.  We had some photos taken in the Bay Area {I won the shoot in a promo on facebook}, but only ever saw one photo from that shoot, and we didn't have the rights to use it. Since we needed some sort of picture asap to stick on our save-the-dates, we took matters into our own hands.

Literally.

We took our own photos, using a tripod, remote {with a two-foot-long cord}, and self-timer, on the drive up to have dinner with Tim's mom. And we succeeded.

DIY win. Love it.

But anyway. Tim: Happy Second Engage-i-versary. I will no longer draw attention to it.