Self-Publish your
Art or Photo Book

          I have a friend who is a talented painter. Some of her paintings she sells, yet most she gives to different family members. For some time I have been urging her to use her artwork to create a coffee table art book for her family and friends. It is a way to capture and share the artwork before she gives it away.
          You don’t have to be a professional artist or photographer to create a memorable art book, using the services of a print-on-demand company such as Lulu.com. Perhaps the book won’t have wide or commercial appeal, yet that doesn’t mean your parents, children, grandchildren or dear friends, wouldn’t view the book as a sentimental treasure with heirloom potential.

Convert your Artwork to Digital

         Begin by taking quality digital images of each piece of art. If your photographs are already in a digital format, you have some of the work done. Depending on the type of artwork, a scanner may work for converting the artwork to digital, yet for a painting on canvas, the scanning will over emphasis the texture, and may not be large enough to get the job done.
         When you take a digital photograph of the artwork, capture the image at 300 dpi, which is suitable for printing. A smaller image, such as one used on a website, will produce inferior results. Use outside lighting when taking the pictures, without the sun streaking the picture or shadows interfering with the color. A bright patio might work. Take the picture straight on, not at an angle. For small artwork, try laying it on the floor, and stand over the piece and take the picture. Be careful not to cast a shadow on the artwork while capturing the image.

Insert the Digital Images into a Document File

          Create a word processor document file, formatted for your book and insert the digital images into the pages. After adding text, images and formatting, convert the file to PDF format with embedded fonts, before uploading at Lulu.com. For additional information on formatting, check out the Self-Publishing Handbook.
          If you want to avoid the learning curve involved with self-publishing a book, use the services of a website, such as Shutterfly or Snapfish. Yet, you may discover it is less expensive to create a book at Lulu, which may be a consideration if you want to print off multiple copies of the book.

Self-Publish a Book to Showcase your Craft Projects

          Remember, it isn’t just photographs and paintings that you can capture in your own book; it is an excellent way for any crafter to preserve the memory of past craft projects, and share those images with family and friends.

Why you should Self-Publish a Book