How to make a Photo Book online in minutes: The ultimate beginner’s guide

Why making a Photo Book is easier than you think

The best tool for creating a Photo Book isn’t fancy software. It’s the phone in your pocket. With Journi, you can turn your favorite shots into a beautiful keepsake in minutes. 

This guide shows you how, step by step, on both iPhone and Android.

The secret to the best Photo Books: A great story

Before you dive in, take a moment to think about the story behind your Photo Book. This will help you select your best photos and make the creative process even more rewarding. 

What kind of story will you tell?

• A travel adventure: Chronicle an epic trip from start to finish.
• A family yearbook: Bring together all the milestones and everyday moments of the past year.
• A love story: From the first date to your wedding day, tell the story of your relationship.
• Baby's first year: Capture every "first" in a keepsake you'll cherish forever.

Once you have your story in mind, creating the book is the easy part.

Find your style: A quick guide to popular Photo Book themes

Once you know your story, choosing a visual theme is the fastest way to give your book a professional, cohesive look. 

Here are a few popular styles you can achieve with Journi's design themes:

For a clean & minimalist look: Try the “Editorial” theme

Perfect for: Wedding albums, professional portfolios, or a modern family yearbook.

Simply select the “Editorial” theme in the Journi editor. This style puts all the focus on your photos, letting them speak for themselves.

For a fun & playful look: Try “Coral Garden” or “Bees & Flowers”

Perfect for: A kids' birthday party, a family vacation, or a "year in review" book.

In the Journi editor, you’ll find multiple themes with bright, cheerful color options and fun, friendly fonts. Don't be afraid to create vibrant collages and add funny captions.

For a warm & rustic look: Try “Lazy Sunday” or “Beach” 

Perfect for: A family heritage project, an autumn-themed book, or a tribute to grandparents.

These themes feature earthy color palettes and classic, serif fonts. This style gives your book a timeless, nostalgic, and heartfelt feel.

For a bold & adventurous look: Try “Colorful Geometrics”

Perfect for: An epic travel album or a city trip recap.

Use a theme with strong, high-contrast colors. Make the most of Journi's full-page layouts and dynamic map features to create a book that feels as exciting as your adventure was.

Step 0: Before you begin - a quick & easy prep tip

The secret to a stress-free creation process is knowing where to start. 

While you can absolutely select all your photos at once, a little bit of prep can make it even more fun: 

💡Create a "Favorites" album: Before opening the Journi app, quickly scroll through your phone's camera roll and tap the heart icon on your absolute favorite photos. Creating a "Favorites" album is the fastest way to pre-select your "must-have" shots. This gives the Journi AI the best possible ingredients to build the first draft of your story.

Step 1: Gather your photos (from everywhere!)

A great story is often made up of photos from multiple places. Journi is designed for this real-world photo chaos. 

Your first step is to open the Journi app and choose where you want to pull your photos from. You can easily add up to 1,200 photos at once from:

• Your iPhone or Android photo gallery.
• Specific albums on your phone (like that "Favorites" album you just made!).
• Google Photos.
• Your computer, using our desktop website.
• Even from friends and family! Use our "shared album" feature to get their best shots directly into your project.

Step 2: Let AI work its magic (this part takes just seconds)

This is where the magic happens and what makes Journi the easiest photo book maker. 

Once you've selected your photos, Journi’s AI instantly gets to work as your personal designer. 

In a matter of seconds, it:

• Organizes everything chronologically, creating a perfect timeline.
• Automatically optimizes the quality of your images.
• Designs beautiful, varied page layouts to keep your story engaging.
• Automatically adds dates and travel maps, adding even more detail to your story.

Your complete first draft is ready in a flash, saving you hours of tedious work.

Step 3: Personalize your story 

Your AI-powered draft is your perfect starting point. Now, it's time to add the personal touches to make your Photo Book uniquely yours.

• Choose a stunning cover: Go for either a single, high-impact photo that captures the theme of your book. Or, choose multiple cover photos to tell your story.
• Write captions that matter: Add funny quotes, dates, or the story behind a picture. Creating a Photo Book with text turns it into a true storybook.
• Refine the layouts: Love a photo? Drag it into a full-page layout. Want to show a sequence of events? Choose a collage.
• Pick a theme: Select a design theme and color palette that matches the mood of your memories.

When you're happy, just tap "Order," and your beautiful, professionally printed keepsake will soon be on its way to your door.

The perfect gift for people who have everything

Stuck on what to get that person in your life who already has everything they need? A custom Photo Book is the answer. 

Because Journi's AI creates your book in minutes, it is hands-down the best personalized gift you can create, especially when you're short on time.

• For a birthday: Did a friend's birthday sneak up on you? Open the Journi app, create a "shared album," and have all their friends add their favorite photos. The AI will instantly create a collaborative masterpiece that looks like you spent weeks planning it.
• For an anniversary: Forgot your anniversary was coming up? Select your best photos as a couple from the last year and let the AI build a beautiful "Year of Us" book. Add a few heartfelt captions, and you have a deeply romantic gift ready to order in minutes.
• For Mother's Day or Father's Day: A book filled with photos of the kids is always a winner. You can genuinely create this heartfelt keepsake during your lunch break and have it ready to go.

6 pro tips for making your Photo Book look amazing

Wondering how to achieve professional quality for your Photo Book? It's all in the details. 

Here are a few secrets from the pros (us!):

1. Design a stunning cover: The cover is your book's first impression. Pick a single, powerful photo that captures the essence of your story or include multiple shots to add variety. 
2. Think like a storyteller: Create a narrative arc. Start your book with an "establishing shot" (like a photo of the airport for a travel book or the outside of the house for a Christmas book). Build up the story and end with a powerful concluding photo.
3. Vary your photo styles: Make sure you include a mix of photos. Combine wide landscape shots with close-up details, posed portraits with candid moments of laughter. This variety is what makes a book dynamic and interesting.
4. Use maps as chapter breaks: Journi's automatic map feature is the perfect, elegant way to signal a new chapter in your story. Use the map of a new city or country as a beautiful visual break before diving into the photos from that location.
5. Let your photos breathe: Don’t be afraid of white space. Sometimes a single, powerful image on a page has more impact than a crowded collage.
6. Go with a premium Layflat option: For a truly professional feel, upgrade to layflat binding. It allows your Photo Book to lie perfectly flat, ensuring your beautiful photos are displayed without any part of the image being lost in a curved center spine. It's the ideal choice for a premium coffee table showpiece.

Why Journi is the best Photo Book maker for beginners

When it comes to creating a Photo Book, there's the hard way and then there's the Journi way. 

Our app is designed to eliminate the biggest pain points for beginners:

• Too many photos? No problem. Our AI instantly sorts up to 1,200 photos at a time.
• No time to design? Journi is the ultimate AI photo book creator, designing your entire book in seconds. Then, you can customize your book as much or as little as you want. 
• Not a creative pro? Our professionally designed themes and easy-to-use editor make you feel like one. 

This is why over 9 million people trust Journi to bring their memories to life.

Your Photo Book, your way: Customize your creation

With Journi, our AI takes care of the heavy lifting, but you're still the creator. 

You have the final say on every detail to make the best personalized Photo Book.

• Covers: Choose between a classic, durable hardcover or a light, flexible softcover.
• Paper: We use premium, sustainably-sourced paper with a beautiful semi-gloss or matt finish.
• Layouts: Easily adjust the layouts on every page to best fit your photos.
• Maps: Our app automatically creates beautiful maps of your travels to help you visualize your journey.
• Texts & fonts: Add captions, quotes, and memories in a font and color that matches your style.

Photo Book creation FAQs

What is the best way to make a Photo Book online?

The best and quickest way is to use an AI-powered app like Journi. It automates the most time-consuming parts (sorting and layout) so you can create a beautiful book in minutes, not hours.

What is the best app to use to make a Photo Book?

For speed, convenience, and high-quality results, the Journi app is a favorite for over 9 million people. It's the best online photo album maker for creating digital Photo Books directly on your phone.

What is the difference between a photo album and a Photo Book?

In a traditional photo album, you manually insert individual photo prints into sleeves. In a Photo Book, your digital photos are printed directly onto the pages, allowing for professional layouts, themes, and custom text, just like a real book.

How long does creating a Photo Book online really take?

While our AI creates your complete first draft in under a minute, the total time is up to you! If you love the AI's design, you can go from opening the app to placing an order in less than 5 minutes. It’s common for people to spend a fun 15 - 20 minutes adding captions and personal touches to their project to make it perfect.

Will my phone photos look good enough in a printed book?

Yes, they will look fantastic! Modern smartphone photos are very high-resolution. More importantly, Journi's system automatically enhances your images, improving brightness and colors to make them look their best in print. We also have a built-in quality warning that will alert you if you're trying to print a photo that is too low-resolution.

How much does a photo book cost?

Creating an account and designing your book with Journi is completely free! You only pay when you're ready to print. The final price depends on the size, cover type, and number of pages you choose. Our Softcover Photo Books are a wonderfully affordable starting point. You'll always see the final, transparent price at checkout before you order. Check out our pricing right here. 

What if I make a mistake in my book?

Don't worry! Your project is automatically saved in the app. You can review your book as many times as you like before you order. We highly recommend doing a final "flick through" to check for any typos in your captions before you hit the print button.