In my office and in my living room are the photo books of several of my friends and heroes. And I’m well aware of the sacrifices that they’ve made to create these photo books. Many pay several thousands of dollars to make their books. And let me put it this way: I think that photo books are very important and that we should surely be making them. More importantly, I think that they’re one of the absolute best ways to have records of your photography in one place that isn’t loaded with comments, hearts, and algorithm, and where you’ve got full creative control. I will always be a big lover and proponent of photo books. But I think that if you’re going to make one, you should avoid a predatory practice.
That practice is often paying way too much money. Some publishers want $20K to be able to make your photo book. And in many situations, you probably won’t recoup that money. Instead, I think that you’re much better off spending the money yourself and working with a handful of personal editors to make the book something that’s really worth it.
When I say editors, I don’t mean social media curators. Instead, I’m talking about working with people who work with traditional print, publication editors, etc. Give them the money. And before you do that, ask a printer for samples so that you can figure out what paper you want to make your photo book on.
After this, I strongly recommend that you work on your own marketing and reach out to influencers, publishers, and social media creators to spread the word about your book. You can even fund it on Kickstarter if you want.
If you’re at a point in your photography career where you won’t mind spending around $20k to make a photo book, then go for it. But without any sort of guaranteed return on investment, I find it very hard to justify that purchase to myself.
This should go without saying, but also do a lot of research and look at photo books at your local book store and library.