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Creating an Ancestor Book

(A Multi-Generation Photographic History)

Frank ComprelliSIR Area 2 Computer and Technology Group

September 17, 2009

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WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

What story will the book tell? Do you have the photos and historical

data to support the story? Make this a fun project, not work.

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WHAT IS YOUR PAGE BUDGET?

How many ancestral lines? How many generations? Build an ancestor tree(s)? How many non-ancestor family? Both individuals and couples? How many pages per person or couple? Prepare a detailed list of each page and

its planned content.

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WHAT IS YOUR COST BUDGET?

For 8.5” x 11” book, ~$30 for 20 pages. ~$1 per additional page. Discounts are common. Cost budget per book sets the total

number of pages available. Total cost = f (# of recipients)

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RECONCILIATION

Conflicting forces Use pages needed to tell story? Constrain pages to limit cost? Compromise? Adjust listing of pages and the

description of their image & text content accordingly.

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BUILDING AN ANCESTOR TREE

Not required, but recommended. Use Family Tree Maker or similar

software. Print tree on one page. Scan with PSE, saving image as jpg.

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IMAGE PREPARATION

All images must be jpg format. Resolutions should be 300ppi minimum. Resolutions as low as 200ppi may be OK,

especially at larger image sizes. If you can, scan photos at 400-600ppi to

provide sizing flexibility later.

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PREPARING THE BOOK

Go to website www.shutterfly.com

If a member, sign in. If not, sign up. There is no cost to

become a member.

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PREPARING THE BOOK

After signing in or joining, select “photo books” and this page opens.

For illustration, we will choose 8.5X11 Classic.

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PREPARING THE BOOK

This is the entry page for your project.

Take the tutorial and watch the demo. They are both helpful.

Then select Get Started button.

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PREPARING THE BOOK

Initial page of your project.

Select a background pattern.

Select text choices. Select “Save” and

give your project a name.

Select “Next” to move to Page Setup.

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PREPARING THE BOOK

The title page has a predetermined layout.

Import the images for your project.

Select “Get pictures”.

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IMPORTING PICTURES

Select “Upload”.

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IMPORTING PICTURES

“Choose files” and go to your hard drive.

Select the images to be uploaded.

Select the “Open” button on the image folder window.

List of selected images appears here.

Name your project’s new album.

Select “Start”.

IMPORTING PICTURES

Select “View pictures”

IMPORTING PICTURES

In album, select “Return to Photobook”.

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PAGE LAYOUTS

Select page layouts for each page of the book.

Either use layouts offered by Shutterfly or create your own custom pages (see APPENDIX) in PSE.

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PAGE LAYOUTS

Starting with page 2-

3, select a layout for each page as per your outline plan.

Choose from available layout options.

Select the desired layout and drag it to the page.

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PAGE LAYOUTS

The layout required for custom pages is found under “1 image per page”, seventh row.

Drag this layout to every page for which you plan to create a custom page.

When every page has a layout, click on the Title Page and then select “Get pictures”.

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GETTING IMAGES TO PAGES

The project’s album opens with the uploaded images.

After page layout is determined, select the image(s) for the page.

Select “Add to Photobook”

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PREPARING THE BOOK

The image(s) selected for the page now appear on the screen containing the layout.

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PREPARING THE BOOK

Select an image. Drag it to the

designated location where it snaps into place.

Add text as desired. Repeat on every

page.

SAMPLE LAYOUTS

SAMPLE LAYOUTS

APPENDIXCREATING A CUSTOM PAGE IN PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS

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CREATING A CUSTOM PAGE IN PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS Based on an 11X8.5 page, landscape, the “working

dimensions” for images & text must account for a 0.5” allowance on the top, bottom and non-binding side of the page. For the side of the page that is close to the binding, the allowance should be 7/8”.

The larger allowance is on the right for even-numbered pages and on the left for odd-numbered pages.

When determining the final “vertical working dimension” for images, remember to account for any page title that may be desired.

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CREATING A CUSTOM PAGE IN PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS For a selected page, determine the number of images

to be used & their desired orientation. By trial & error, and by tradeoffs of image size and

location, determine the desired layout of the images within the available “working space”.

If the images fit, have you left yourself enough space for the text you have in mind?

If not, go back to square one and keep trying until you have reached an acceptable compromise.

Draw a working sketch of sizes and locations of images, text boxes and page titles for use when creating the page in PSE.

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CREATING A CUSTOM PAGE IN PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS In PSE, open all images required for the desired page. Make any color and lighting adjustments, etc. Crop each image to the dimensions and orientation on the

working sketch. After cropping, while each image is still selected, pull down

the “image” menu, select “resize” and then select “image size”. Make a note of the resolution (ppi) of the image.

Make a list of the images and their resolutions. Identify the image with the lowest resolution. The resolution of all images for this page must be adjusted

to the lowest value identified so that they can be placed on a common custom page without changing their desired dimensions.

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CREATING A CUSTOM PAGE IN PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS While an image is selected, pull down the

“image” menu, select “resize” and then select “image size”.

The IMAGE SIZE window opens and shows the width, height and resolution of the image.

Check the “resample image” box and assure that the “constrain proportions” box is also checked.

Change the image resolution to the lowest value on your list of images and select “OK”.

Repeat for all images to be placed on this new page.

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CREATING A CUSTOM PAGE IN PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS In PSE, pull down the “File” menu, select “New”, and

then “Blank file”. The NEW window will open. Assign a name to the page, e.g., page 6. In the “Preset” box, select “Custom”. Set the width at 11 inches. Set the height at 8.5 inches. Set the resolution at the “lowest” value used for the

images. In the “Color mode” box, select “RGB Color”. In the “Background Contents” box, select

“Transparent” Select “OK” and the new page will appear, ready to

accept images and text.

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CREATING A CUSTOM PAGE IN PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS Place the images on the new blank page, consistent

with the working sketch and mindful of the overall working dimensions. Remember to leave room for a page title, if one is planned.

When the images are in place, create a text box in the space which was reserved for this purpose in the working sketch.

Select a font style, size, color, etc. and enter text in the text box. Enter Page Title, if planned, in allocated space.

If there is a possibility that you will want to modify this PSE file/page for another book, do not flatten the image. Save the image as a psd file.

When ready to finalize page, flatten the page image. The custom page can then be saved as a jpg image,

ready for uploading to the project’s album in Shutterfly.