10 Photobook Ideas for Friends & Family

It doesn’t take long to take a photograph. You could probably have twenty new shots added to your camera roll – refresh your Instagram feed with #Autumnalvibes and move onto another subject – before you finish reading to the end of this sentence.

The result? We’re all walking around with more photos than we could fit on our shelves, walls, mantelpieces, sideboards, bedside tables, and desks. And, all too often, we’re left to forget about quite how important those moments – buried somewhere between The Cloud our social media feeds – really are.

That also means that we’re permanently walking around with a readymade, meaningful, one-of-a-kind gift that could make our friends’ and families’ years. Here are just ten of the most special photobook ideas, from us to you.

Mother’s Day / Father’s Day

If you’ve never drawn up a complete blank before when it came time to come up with the perfect gift for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day before, then we’re not sure we believe you.

Our mums and dads are notoriously hard to buy for – but that’s not an invitation to turn up with nothing more than a bouquet or box of chocolates. There’s a certain pressure to stray onto the sentimental side of gift giving, even if it’s not in your nature.

With a photobook, you can celebrate the events of the past year – or longer. You can give them something personal and unexpected; something they’ll look through over and over again without having to scroll back through your Instagram – or request access to your Google Photos folders.
Milestone Birthday

We all know the big milestones – the big ‘one-zero’, the first of the teenage years, eighteen, twenty one and, from there onwards, the big round numbers. But, how do you celebrate a milestone? And we mean really celebrate them, without resorting to the usual jokes about ageing, fine wine, and cheese?

Think about it this way: the milestones are as important as they are because of the time that’s elapsed since the last one, so what better way to celebrate a milestone than by celebrating everything that has brought them to this moment?

Printing one, five or ten years’ worth of memories into a birthday photo book will put everything into an entirely new perspective – one that is bound to go down well, whether the celebrant is turning thirteen or thirty.
Leaving Home

Goodbyes are never easy, particularly if that goodbye promises to leave a big, person-shaped hole in your life. All the advice says to celebrate the years you’ve spent together, rather than wallowing in the act of saying ‘Goodbye’ itself.

Besides, one of the best ways to send someone off into the wide open world is to arm them with a constant reminder of who they are, where they come from, and who’s standing behind them. Putting together a special photobook of all your favorite memories will mean that they always have at least one comfort to turn to, even when home feels a long way away.
Bachelor / Bachelorette

Speaking of the big send-offs in life, there aren’t many opportunities to celebrate a new chapter in life as big or momentous as a bachelor or bachelorette party. A literal ‘goodbye’ to singledom, coming up with the right gift for the happy bride- or groom-to-be is your opportunity to tug at the heart strings – and maybe embarrass them a little, too.

Whether you want to go the sentimental route and pull together all of the happy couple’s social media posts than span from their first few dates to their engagement, or simply put together a collage of their single days, the photobook is the perfect choice.
Wedding

Almost every couple makes that investment into a professional photographer for their wedding, but what about the hundreds (and hundreds) of photos taken by the guests? Some will end up on social media, and the rest will be stored in shared albums that are all too easily forgotten.

Don’t let all those candid shots go to waste. Collecting them together and compiling them within a wedding photobook makes for truly special addition to their collection of wedding memories.
Honeymoon

Do not let the honeymoon snapshots go to waste. Sure, they’ll probably get one or too framed for the wall and office but, these days, we take more photos on our phones than there are framed in the world.

Collect them, and put them into a book that they can take off their shelf whenever the feel like taking a trip down Newlyweds Lane.
Anniversary

Working out a new way to celebrate your relationship each and every year isn’t always easy, no matter how starry-eyed you consider yourself. It gets even harder when you’ve got a handful of anniversaries – first date, first kiss, first home, the proposal, the wedding – to celebrate.

However, we’re willing to bet that each and every year that passes sees thousands of new photos added to your camera rolls, creating the perfect opportunity to create a series of photobooks – all of which will, overtime, celebrate a different phase of your journey together through life.
Pet Pics

If we asked you to guess who or what dominated the most storage space on your phone – or the most real estate on your Instagram feed – we’re confident that a healthy portion of our readers would name some furry friend or other.

Dog, cat, hamster, goldfish – we are rightfully besotted by our pets, and don’t need much excuse to show them off, or get their photos professionally printed within a special photobook just for them.
New Baby

Babies generate a never ending merry-go-round of memories. First bath, first smile, first solid food, first toddle across the room…If there’s ever a time when more photos are taken, we’re not aware of it.

Any new parent will agree that letting those photos get buried under more and more photos isn’t an option. The solution? Getting them regularly printed and organized within personalized photobooks for the whole family.
Just Because

Why do we need an excuse to celebrate the photos we manage to get of our wonderful lives? Theme or no theme, reason or no reason, a photobook is always an option…