Sharing photos with your loved ones is always a great pleasure, especially if you want to give them as a gift. But you can’t just toss the pictures to the beneficiary; you need a better way to present someone’s most cherished memories. Thankfully, we can offer you two options, right off the bat: a photo book created by yourself or a gift voucher that allows your loved one to build the photo book of his/her favorite memories. If you create the book, you can let your creativity soar thanks to various customization options regarding the book’s size, cover, paper type, theme and the pages’ layouts. Moreover, some photo book builders allow contributions by others; therefore you can create the perfect gift with the gift’s recipient’s family/friends or the receiver him-/herself. A gift voucher, on the other hand, offers the above freedom to the lucky recipient so he/she can create the photo book the way he/she wants it.
Photo Book Gift Ideas
Before you start creating the gift photo book, take a moment and think about what the characteristics of the recipient are. If you have a couple of thoughts, there are no limitations regarding the appearance of the book: you can pick any sizes, covers, paper types, shapes etc. Once you have created your photo book, you can choose to present the book as it is, get it gift wrapped or delivered in a gift box. Regardless of its presentation, the most important part is what’s inside the book.
With this in mind, select a theme that goes with the personality of the receiver or one that is completely neutral. As for layouts, try not to overcrowd the pages with photos (the lesser the better), and if you want to include captions, write down things related to the recipient instead of bland quotations. Photos can be uploaded from various places (like Instagram) and arranged in any logical order you want, but avoid modifications and/or use the best photos you can find.
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If you have no idea at all, ask the relatives/friends of the book’s receiver to help you out. If you have chosen the right photo book builder, you even have the option to invite them to collaborate on the book so you can always make the right choices.
Gift Vouchers
You have no idea what to give to the receiver, or you want to avoid awkward moments when you give a gift that the recipient might not like? Then a gift voucher is the ideal choice.
How does a gift voucher/certificate work? Really simple: basically you buy a blank product in advance and give the opportunity of creating anything within the amount of the voucher to someone else. Usually photo book companies offer these gift certificates at predetermined prices ($10, $25, $100 etc.), but sometimes you have the option to determine the voucher’s monetary amount for yourself or (this is unfortunately very rare) buy vouchers for discounted prices.
Gift certificates exist in two formats: physical or digital vouchers. The latter is sent via email immediately after you have paid for it, while the former is printed and sent to you or the recipient via snail mail. Either way, the recipient gets a nice-looking customized message in a letter format with a gift code inside which he/she can use to build the desired photo book.
Photo Gift Boxes
If you prefer creating a gift photo book yourself instead of giving a gift certificate to the beneficiary, that’s a very lovely gesture. But when the big day comes, you can’t just present the photo book the way it is. You either have to wrap it or you have to put the book into a gift box. And most photo book companies gladly help you with the latter.
The advantage of gift boxes is that they are bland. Before you ask, this is a completely justifiable decision of photo book companies; you want to give the photo book as a surprise to the beneficiary, so what better way to hide a gift than in a box that can’t raise suspicions? Therefore, boxes cannot be customized in any way; the only customization option you rarely have is choosing preset designs. And one more thing: gift boxes always cost extra.
Recommended Photo Book Services
MyPublisher
MyPublisher, which exists as a downloadable editor, is capable of quickly creating photo books in landscape shape and 4 sizes with 5 covers and 2 paper types thanks to its handy auto-build feature. However, with the aid of MyStyle, you can apply further modifications too like changing layouts, adding more photos, text boxes, stickers, new backgrounds and so on. The builder does not provide too many photo adjustment options, but the company enhances all photos before printing for free. To make sure you don’t send faulty products to the printery, MyPublisher can look for all kinds of errors before checkout.
Layout Setup
The Stickers Selection
The Available Covers
MyPublisher's Gift Box Selection
The gift complementary selection of MyPublisher is quite impressive: you can choose from 4 different types of boxes (slipcases, presentation boxes, gift boxes and photo window boxes) for $5.99–$29.99 or buy egift cards for $50, $100, $150, $200 or $250.
Mixbook
If you want to give a Mixbook photo book as a gift, you have one option only: a gift card in the amount of $20, $50, $75, $100 or $150. However, do not be discouraged by the limited gift options, because this company definitely allows your recipient (or you for that matter) to create the photo book of dreams in 3 shapes, 7 sizes, 5 cover types and 2 kinds of paper.
Editor with Collaboration Invitation
Adding and Adjusting Stickers
Mixbook's Designs
$50 Mixbook Gift Certificate
Mixbook’s editor is simple and straightforward, has clever features like auto-save and a built-in spell-checker, limits you in virtually nothing regarding customizations and also allows users to invite others to contribute on books. Mixbook has over 300 different themes which you can change any time during the editing process, while photos can be adjusted in various ways, auto-filled into your book or stored in an unlimited file storage.
Collage.com
The eccentric hidden gem of the market, Collage.com provides quality services available from desktop and mobile browsers, a 2-year long refund policy, and vouchers that never expire and can be given to anyone who prefers to create his/her photo book as a gift.
Photo Editing Options
Changing Backgrounds
Mobile Version with Front Cover Collage
Non-Expiring Hard Cover Photo Book Discount
Aside from essential features like auto-save and -fill, and easy photo arrangement, this photo book builder is capable of things that make your jaw drop. You can turn your photos into a nice collage on the front cover and frame them in any shape you want. The builder automatically arranges your pictures in the best layout possible, which you can change with Free Form Mode. Photos can be adjusted in almost any way you want thanks to the Adobe Creative Cloud-like interface, while backgrounds can be freely mixed/changed, which is more or less true for the 2 shapes, 6 sizes and 3 covers.
Best Photo Books of 2023
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