How to relive your summer with a photo book

A summer photo book is one of the best ways to relive your summer memories and keep the sun shining all year long. Whether you spent your summer making memories with the kids or headed on a sun-soaked travel adventure with your besties, dive into our list of ten photo book tips and ideas and get ready to celebrate your summer story.

1. Select your snaps

Before diving into the design of your summer photo book, start by selecting the photos that capture the essence of your summer. Once you’ve uploaded your best moments, think about how you’d like to arrange them. You could choose a chronological order, letting the story of your summer unfold in sequence.

Our top tip for your summer travel photo book: If your summer was bursting with events, group your snaps into categories. Think: holiday destinations, special events, family time, or delicious foodie moments that made your summer extra tasty.

2. Save time with a themed photo book

Designing your own photo book doesn’t have to be complicated. Our themed templates are perfect to use as a foundation to create your summer story. Simply upload your photos to the editor and get started. Play with the fonts of your captions, add text or funny quotes, explore the illustrations and clip art library, and have fun with your design.

Our top tip to save time creating your photo book: Use our handy smart assistant tool to instantly arrange your snaps and automatically remove duplicates and blurry pictures.

3. Go bold with your photo book cover

Your photo book cover is the first thing you’ll see when you revisit your summer memories, so go bold. Do you have a playful shot where you’ve experimented with perspective – like pretending to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa or capturing the sun in your hand? These fun photos are perfect for a cover that grabs attention and brings an instant smile to your face.

Our top photo book cover idea: Keep it simple, and let the photo do the talking. Whether it’s a stunning sunset, a favourite family moment, or an iconic landmark, a bold, impactful image will make your cover unforgettable.

4. Create characters for your photo book

Everyone brings their personality to the group when you go away with friends or family. Celebrate what makes the people in your life unique by creating funny characters for your summer photo book. Was your best friend the ultimate early bird on your summer travels? Or was Dad the king of the unwakeable nappers on your family holiday? Write it in your summer travel photo book.

Our top tip for adding personality to your photo book: Start by giving each person a nickname that reflects their holiday persona. Label a photo of each character at the beginning of your book, and then weave their story throughout with captions and anecdotes.

5. Map out your summer adventures

If your summer was all about exploring new places, include a map of your journey in your summer travel photo book. Whether you embarked on an epic adventure or enjoyed a city break, plotting your travels adds a wonderful visual element. Use Google Maps to trace your route, take a screenshot, and easily upload it to your photo book.

Our top creative photo book design tip: Add clip art to pinpoint your key locations and sprinkle in captions, quotes, or fun details about each stop along the way. It’s a simple way to bring your journey to life and add a personal touch to your summer story.

6. Showcase your best shots

We all have hundreds of photos in our camera rolls, but a handful will always stand out as our faves. Give these favourites the space they deserve by featuring them across a double-page spread in your summer travel photo book. To add a creative twist, try incorporating a few smaller photos alongside your main image to create a stunning collage effect that tells a broader story.

Our top tip for a premium photo book: For those supersized moments, go the extra mile with an XL photo book. The larger format is perfect for showcasing your best shots in all their glory, turning your summer memories into a beautiful coffee table centrepiece.

7. Use the layflat option for a seamless design

When it comes to displaying your showstopping summer moments, our premium layflat format is a game-changer. Think of those breathtaking landscape shots from your travels or that perfect group photo where everyone is captured at their best. The seamless double-page spread elevates these special images, making your summer memories more vivid and unforgettable.

Our top landscape photography tip: For dramatic sunset beach scenes or amazing mountain vistas, the premium layflat format ensures that every detail is beautifully uninterrupted, allowing the full impact of the scene to come to life across the entire spread.

8. Get creative with a photo collage

Creating a photo book isn’t just about preserving memories. It’s also a chance to have fun with your snaps and get creative. Try experimenting with a collage effect on a few pages in your summer photo book. Our multi-photo layouts are perfect for showcasing smaller images or highlighting the little details that made your summer special. Plus, it lets you include more of your favourite moments throughout your story.

Our top photo book design idea: Choose the highlight of each day on a double-page spread, then fill the smaller squares around it with pictures of you and your friends from the same outing. Spend some time designing your perfect collage and play with the different options.

9. Get creative with clip art

Personalising your summer photo book goes further than just the photos. Think of clip art as the finishing touch to your story. Use icons like sunbursts, arrows, or travel-themed stickers to draw attention to key moments or add a playful touch to your pages. Don’t be afraid to mix and match, combining different styles and colours to complement your photos and enhance the overall vibe of your summer book.

Our favourite clipart ideas: Add an airplane icon next to your travel photos, sprinkle in some love hearts for those loved-up moments, and don’t forget the ice cream cones to capture those sweet summer treats.

10. Don’t be afraid to add more pages

Summer is full of memorable moments, so don’t feel restricted by the number of pages in your photo book. If your summer was packed with unforgettable moments, go ahead and add those extra pages. After all, more pages means more room to tell the full story of your summer, making your photo book a keepsake you’ll love revisiting

Our top photo book idea: The end of your photo book is a great place to include some fun, quirky extras. Try adding a quotes of the summer section, or a simple summer highlights recap.

Creating a summer photo book is all about reliving the joy, laughter, and adventure of those sun-soaked days every time you flip through the pages. With these tips and ideas, you can craft a photo book that not only captures your summer but also tells your story in a way that’s uniquely yours. Whether it’s the small details or the big moments, your memories deserve to be celebrated all year round. So go ahead, get creative, and let your photo book be a beautiful reminder that the sun is always shining somewhere.

Create your summer photo book now