If you’re anything like me, you know the feeling when you return back to work after a holiday and catch yourself reminiscing about your trip, scrolling endlessly through your camera roll. With hundreds or even thousands of photos saved, you might find yourself longing for the open road, far from your desk. One of the best ways to relive those cherished memories is by bringing them to life in print.
This guide will walk you through creating a travel photo album that you’ll treasure and revisit for years to come.
5 steps to start your travel photo album
Before we get started
The process of creating a travel photo book should be fun. You are reliving your travels through your photos, after all. No matter how many photos you have, the steps below will make creating a photo album simpler and more enjoyable.
Travel photo album
1. What’s the goal?
First things first: why are you creating a travel photo album? Is it a heartfelt travel gift for a partner or friend? Perhaps you want a keepsake to relive the memories of a past adventure, or maybe you’re envisioning a stunning coffee table album showcasing highlights from your favorite trips. Clarifying your purpose will set the tone for your creation.
2. Choose a theme
When selecting a theme for your photo album, it’s important to stay flexible and avoid getting caught up in the details. The truth is, the process should be fun — you are reliving your travels through your photos, after all. Reflect on your recent travels—what journeys have you been on over the past year? Perhaps you took a memorable two-week vacation, providing you with many photos to showcase this story in a full travel book. Alternatively, if your travels consisted of several shorter weekend getaways, a broader theme like “Places Traveled: 2024” might be more fitting.
Choosing a theme that matches the type of adventures you’ve had will help your photo album feel more natural and tell a story that really flows.
Below, you can find a list with some theme ideas to get your started.
Theme/ Title ideas
3. Organize your photos
Now that you have decided what your theme will be, it is time to start organizing your photos. Let’s say you went to Portugal and you want to create a travel photo book that showcases this trip.
If you haven’t done so yet, start by creating an album on your phone and gathering all the photos from your trip in one place. Take a moment to clean up your collection—delete blurry shots, accidental captures, or any photos you’re not happy with. Personally, I find the ‘favorite’ feature on my phone incredibly useful for gathering a variety of images. If I have multiple similar photos, I take the time to pick the best one for the photo album.
If you’ve taken photos with a camera, don’t forget to transfer them to your laptop for safekeeping. Once they’re stored, go through them just as you did with the photos on your phone—remove any blurry, duplicate, or unwanted shots, and curate the best ones for your collection.
Insider tip
Before my partner and I visit a new country, I like to set up a photo album in my phone named after our destination. It makes it easy to organize and add photos and videos to the album as we go, capturing memories in real-time.
4. Decide your book type
Are you looking to have your photo book digitally designed on a website like vistaprint? This allows you to upload photos directly to the website and place them as you wish. Or perhaps you’d prefer to go old school and have your photos developed first, so you can later paste them into the photo book yourself.
You can curate your photos by arranging them in chronological order to tell a story or by grouping images together that complement each other visually. Remember, every story is unique and deserves its own thoughtful approach.
Once you’ve chosen your book, it’s time to customize it by selecting color, size, and more. If you’re thinking about a coffee table type of photo album, it might be an interesting take on coordinating with tones in the room.
5. Photo print
Creating extra prints of your favorite photos is a wonderful way to bring your memories to life and add a personal touch to your space. Pick a few shots that really stand out—ones that spark joy or bring back a special moment from your trip. You can go for classic prints, framed enlargements, or even something more unique like canvas or metal prints. Hanging them on your walls not only decorates your home but also keeps those cherished memories close, reminding you of your adventures every day.
This post was all about creating a travel photo album like a pro. With these simple steps, curation of a photo album is made easy and enjoyable. After reading this blog, you will create an album that you’ll cherish for years to come. If you liked this blog, we encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated for upcoming blogs!
