Are you a professional photographer with a vast portfolio? Maybe you’re an aspiring photographer looking to showcase your work. Either way, publish your own photography book to show off your photographs in one, neat, professional package.
Digital book printing has become a great resource for photographers – it lowers costs, the printing is high-quality, and you are able to print large and small quantities.
If you are thinking of publishing a photography book, consider following these steps:
Step 1: Compile Your Portfolio
As a professional photographer, you may not adhere to one subject matter for your photography, but rather cover multiple subjects. If this is the case, you have to ask yourself some important questions:
· What is my book’s focus?
· What photos do I want to include?
· How do I want to format my book?
A good point to start for selecting from your portfolio is to organize your images into groups: subject, theme, aesthetic, color, and/or composition. Sorting your photos this way can help you visualize what stands out and what goes together so you can begin to format your print files accordingly, forming the final product.
Step 2: Conduct Market Research
Once the photographs for your book have officially been selected and you have an aesthetic or theme in mind, you can begin researching your market. Start by answering these questions:
· Who is my audience?
Who do you define as your potential buyers? What are the demographics? What are their other interests?
· Where can my audience be found?
Does your audience live on one social media platform more than another?
· Where does the photo book industry stand?
How many photo books were published last calendar year? How many were self-published? How much does a standard photo book cost? Where were they purchased?
· What time of year should I release my book of photos?
Is there a popular time of year to release a photo book? Do books sell more during a specific time period or season? Is there a significant date that would coincide with my book’s release? Are there other professional photographers currently teasing a book release?
Once you have this information, you can start forming a marketing strategy…
Step 3: Create a Marketing Strategy
Research suggests that it’s important to have a marketing plan before the book printing process starts. If you tease your book’s release long before you plan to print, then you can get a ballpark idea of what sales you expect after your initial release, helping you plan print quantity ahead of time. First month sales add a lot of value to how the book industry views your potential for more profits.
One benefit to self-publishing a photography book versus a novel is that you may have access to more opportunities to promote your book than you think. For example, professional-looking photos already get more likes on Instagram and other social media platforms, so if you have a built-in social media following, half the battle is gaining exposure. You can promote your photo book on your social platforms and make it easily accessible to people who are already familiar with your work.
48 Hour Books has marketing tips to help
you form your strategy.
Step 4: Choose Quality Print Options
Photo books are dynamic: they can be printed several different ways and are often used as a piece of art themselves – the star of the coffee table! Because of this, you want to make sure you’re thoughtful about the print materials you choose to best represent the quality of your photographs.
Quality is key for a polished look and for driving book sales. Here are some print options we’ve found to be the most common for photo book printing, available at 48 Hour Books:
· Hardcover book printing:
Since many photography books are used as coffee table books for display purposes, people are more likely to pick them up and start flipping. Because of this, you want to choose a binding that will last over time, minimizing any wear and tear. Hardcover printing is a popular binding choice for photo books for these reasons. If you are looking for a book that is more cost-effective starting out, paperback binding is still a popular option when printing any book.
· Upgraded paper options:
For printed photographs, we recommend a coated paper stock with some added thickness. 48 Hour Books offers 80# and 100# Gloss and Silk (matte) Text paper – both are popular options for photo printing. These paper types are not only recommended for best displaying photography, but they are also recommended for books with a high flip rate.
· Cloth & leather covers:
Other common print options for photography books are cloth and leather covers (hardcover printing). These special covers add a professional, “special edition”-like quality and are often paired with a dust jacket.
· Special cover treatments:
A captivating book cover is shown to generate more photo book sales. Your book cover is the first impression, so of course you want to make it stand out! In addition to cloth and leather covers, dust jackets, and foil stamping, 48 Hour Books offers Diamond 3D Printing – a cost-effective cover treatment that will make your book cover stand out. Highlight your title or a design element on your cover, and it will quite literally shine from the shelf.
View our print options up close, including all of our paper types and Diamond 3D printing, when you order our FREE Ultimate Guide sample book.
Step 5: Obtain an ISBN & Barcode
If you plan to sell your book in stores or online, you will need an ISBN and barcode. Bookstores and distributors use ISBNs when ordering titles, so if you want them to carry your book, you’ll need an ISBN.
Luckily, if you print with 48 Hour Books, we will make publishing a photography book easy for you. Simply request an ISBN on your online order form. We’ll send you the application to fill out, we send it to Bowker (We are authorized channel partners with ISBN.org, so we can help you streamline the process and save a little money, too!), then once we receive the ISBN, we’ll generate the barcode and put it on your back book cover for you.
Unlike other printing and self-publishing companies, we do not own your ISBN – you are the official holder, and you can register your book wherever you please.
Step 6: Find a Self-Publishing Partner
If you have designed a photo collection you want to print, 48 Hour Books is the perfect partner. We offer bookstore-quality printing, with quick turnaround times, multiple binding types, and paper options to best showcase your photographs. Not to mention, our stellar customer service, ready to help you through every step of the process, ensuring you love your finished product!
Are you ready to publish your photography book? Contact us today to get started!
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Iris Fieber April 28, 2024
Need more info and advise on creating a primarily landscape photography book. Could you help?
48 Hr Books April 29, 2024
Hello! We can absolutely help! Please call us at 800-231-0521 and we will connect you with a prepress technician to help answer your questions about setting up your files.
Max Hanna March 31, 2024
I need to purchase an ISBN and bar code because I will be publishing photo books for Oregon inmates.
48 Hr Books April 03, 2024
Hello! You can request an ISBN on your online order form with us. Here's more info: https://www.48hrbooks.com/self-publishing/isbn
Lindsey January 27, 2024
Very eager to get started on self-publishing a photographic journal. Pricing is the biggest concern at this time.
48 Hr Books January 30, 2024
Hi Lindsey! Feel free to call us to discuss pricing: 800-231-0521 We will also be posting an exclusive offer soon, so keep an eye on our social media for that announcement or you can subscribe to our newsletter: https://info.48hrbooks.com/subscribe
Peter Paul Harnisch December 22, 2023
Your newsletter email signup does not work.
48 Hr Books December 28, 2023
Hello! Please try this link: https://info.48hrbooks.com/subscribe If this is still not working for you, please email our marketing department at [email protected] and we will manually add your email to our newsletter contacts.
Paul Fox December 20, 2023
Have lots of subjects, but thinking of concentrating theme on Street Photography
48 Hr Books December 20, 2023
That sounds great - go for it! Let us know if you have any questions once you are ready to print!