Making First Year Baby Photobooks

kolo photobooks

Do you make baby photobooks for your kids?  Rather than wait until they were teenagers or older, I wanted to make photobooks of their first year while they were still young and could enjoy them casually here at home. Last year I was visiting my sister Celeste and her two cute kids were completely captivated by these baby photobooks she had made them. I’ve been meaning to make some ever since. Nothing makes Henry smile more than talking about the silly things he did as a baby: how he used to hate taking baths, the funny way he would sit in his high chair with one leg up, or how he nonchalantly sat on his cake at his first birthday party (he’s insisting Edie do the same). kolophotobook8

We’ve made a storybook before about his birth which was really sweet, but I’ve really wanted to put together an heirloom quality book for him and Edie with as many photos as I wanted from his first year, and have the flexibility to add more in at a later date.

As I mentioned before, I’m partnering with Kolo on a few projects to create heirloom quality photo products for our family and making baby photobooks was top on my list. Kolo is the premier photo album and photo book for professional photographers and designers. The quality of the their products are unmatched from any other kind of photobook I’ve seen. The pages lay flat and the linen covers are so lovely to handle (and in such amazing colors). The better the quality, the more likely it’ll be displayed front and center in your home and the more times it’ll be opened and shared with family and friends. It’s a really wonderful product that I highly recommend and I truly think it is worth the investment.

kolo photobooks

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Keep reading to hear more about the baby photobooks we made…

Photography by Liz Stanley. Assisted by Sara Albers. Thanks to Kolo for sponsoring this post. Opinions and images are my own.

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One thing I love is the flexibility to add more pages of photos in at a later time. This is perfect for Edie’s first year baby photobook since she hasn’t been around for a full year yet. At the end of the year I can order more pages of photos and put them into the book to complete it. I love the idea of creating something that can be changed and added to, but still feels timeless and high quality. Such a great feature.

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To store them, we can stack them on the shelf the way we did with the wedding photos from last post, or the 8.5 x 11 size photobooks that we made fit perfectly inside these havana boxes. You can personalize the outside with some text (I stamped ‘baby albums’ with my mini stamp set) or you could even put in a small image.

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I’ve been really impressed with Kolo’s quality and attention to detail. There certainly are a lot of photobook options out there but these are truly the best quality I’ve seen (and they aren’t paying me to say that-this is my honest opinion). For all the use they’ll get for years and years to come, investing in the quality seems work it to me. Another reason why they’re so popular amongst photographers and designers.

Have you made baby photobooks? How do you share/display your baby photos? Another idea I had was a month by month baby book using these small noci books in a photo box.  Always thought that would be so sweet (until I realized it’s only with your first you take that many photos to fill a mini book each month!)

Comments

Gorgeous books! Can’t wait to see the other photo book projects you have coming up 🙂

People who know me marvel at how well I remember so many details of my childhood. I know the reason: my parents were great about making photo albums along the way. I loved looking through them, and did so often as a child, re-living many happy moments and reinforcing wonderful memories. I’ve re-done all those old albums into new archival-quality Kolo classic albums, so the old photos will last a long time.

With the passage of time, you & your family’s will be so grateful that you made these beautiful Kolo photo books! Great project, Liz, your photography is excellent, and your kids are adorable! ~HC

Beautiful post Liz.
I am really inspired to finally make these books myself!
Thank you for sharing.

I so love this! I’m preparing for the arrival of my first child next month and am already brainstorming all of the ways I can document her first year. This is such a simple, beautiful option. Thank you for sharing!

We also used Kolo for our wedding albums and we absolutely love the quality of their work. Plus, their program for designing the albums is really easy to use and they have nice layouts. I’ve been using their regular photos albums for years, too. Great company!

I love making photo books for family (and I made one for my wedding), but never thought about making them for my kids to look at! Very cute idea.

I hadn’t really thought of it either until I saw my sister’s books she made for her kids. They are so sweet and the kids love looking at them

These look lovely. I agree it’s worth the investment for such high quality pieces you’ll have forever

I used Kolo to make my wedding album and I have to say I agree with you that these are the best quality albums out there. I’ve used quite a few different companies and these albums really take the cake. I LOVE how the pages lay flat. The albums feel like true keepsakes. This is coming from someone who never comments on blogs… I just was so excited to see you partner with a product that I love so much!

I wish they offered discounts every now and then… they are a little pricey, but so worth it!

Thanks for sharing Liz!

Happy to hear you agree. The lay flat feature is fantastic, it feels so nice. I love deals but happy to pay full price when the quality is so incredible

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