My Top 101 Travel Photos; A Photo Book Giveaway

Anyone who knows me will nod along when I say that I am addicted to taking pictures and on my travels this obsession gets a million times worse. Last weekend I finally got around to the very laborious task of backing up my laptop... and do you want to guess how many photos were on there? OVER 20,000! And that's after deleting the blurred ones. Granted, not all of them are from my travels, but seriously that is a lot right? 

In this day and age (prepare for me to sound about 100 years old), people rarely get to see their pictures in a tangible form. I for one am very used to looking back over my favourite pictures on a brightly lit screen with tags and comments surrounding them. So when Bob Books asked if I'd like to create a professional photo book, I jumped at the chance!

I'm normally quite good at printing out my holiday snaps, either in a homemade scrapbook or printed hardback, but I was really impressed by the quality and style of Bob Books. Many of their customers not only use their print-on-demand service for their coffee-table albums, but can sell and promote their creations in the self-publishing bookshop. Each one that is created can also be entered into a monthly giveaway to win a free book among other fantastic competitions. 

For the next couple of weeks I'll be giving you the chance to win your own beautiful book and also sending out a 20% discount code to all of you who enter! Details of which can be found at the end of the post.

After much deliberation (and inspiration gained from their fantastic gallery of past customers' work), I decided to pick out some of my travel photos, spanning from my first ever trip away to Kenya when I was 16, to my most recent city break in Berlin.

Over the course of an evening, I sat down with a glass of wine and scrolled through hundreds of images from across the globe, bringing back some incredible memories from the last 8 years. With a few sips of vino, I managed to get my selection down to 101 photographs, each either a beautiful capture or a reminder of an unforgettable moment.

A spontaneous dance by a couple having their wedding photos in Central Park, a reunion with my old pal Goofy, the moment I fell in love with Banff and knew I'd be coming back to Canada. So many wonderful memories uncovered.

I decided to create a landscape hardback sticking with the cheaper option of glossy paper as I knew I'd be adding a lot more pages to fit in my 101 photos! Prices start at around £14.99 for a small paperback with 24 pages and go up according to size and page quantity. Bob Books also have the option for various bound styles and papers including lustre photographic which is less reflective and often used by professionals. 

It was super easy to then turn my pictures into a professional looking book with the help of Bob Books' own programme. Bob Designer is a simple downloadable software that lets you input your images into pre-made layouts or completely customise it. It also allowed me to edit the brightness, contrast and saturation levels (among others), a feature that was incredibly useful. 

You can also create the book online if you don't want to download the programme, or can even create your book from your iPad! There are also more bespoke options including the ability to directly upload an InDesign PDF or the Book Design Service where you'll be appointed your very own designer for a very reasonable rate.

Once I finished placing my shots, I completed my order in Bob Designer, expecting my delivery within 7-10 days (international delivery is also available). I was super impressed with my finished product, which I chose to come presented in a lovely black gift box. The book also came in a plastic seal, perfect for print you wish to sell. 

Now I'd love to share each and every photo with you, but that would have made for a ridiculously long post. If you would like to see a digital copy of the final version, than you could head over to Bob's Books bookshop here!

Now I bet you're thinking, man I need to print my travel photos! Well here is your chance. This month I'm giving away a £40 voucher for you to use at Bob Books, but don't worry if you don't win because just by entering you'll get a bespoke 20% discount code! And it doesn't have to be for just travel. Why not surprise a loved one this Christmas with an album of old family photos? Or plan ahead for Valentine's Day and put all your special memories in one place? 

Bob Books also print a number of other photo products including calendars, wall art and cards, perfect for the festive season ahead.

Competition time!