A book from photos: which photos work and how they are kept

A book from photos or a photo album?

In an album, the photos are printed as they are. In a book from photos like ours, the photos show the illustration what your people look like, and the pictures of the story are drawn from them. They are artistic likenesses, not photographs, in the style you chose, such as watercolour, claymation or comic book.

That is why we do not promise a photographic likeness. But the better the photos, the more there is to work from. You see the free preview of your personalised book before you decide, and if something is not right, you can change a photo before you order.

A good book from photos starts with good photos, not with many of them. You do not need a professional photographer: a phone photo taken next to a window in daylight is often all it takes.

Which photos work for a book from photos?

You can upload up to 5 photos for each person in the book. If you are making a personalised book for the whole family, gather the photos before you start, two or three for each person, and the photo step will be over quickly.

Which photos work? The ones that show the face clearly:

• Only one person in the picture.
• The face turned towards the camera.
• Good light, daylight if you can.
• No sunglasses or hat hiding the face.
• A sharp photo, not a blurred one.
• Two or three photos from different angles help.

How is a photo checked before upload?

Every photo is checked on your own device, your phone or your computer, before it is uploaded. The page tells you whether it has enough light, whether it is sharp and whether the face can be seen clearly. If a photo will not do, we say so and you choose another, so only photos that work reach your book from photos. For a pet, the check looks at the light, the sharpness and the size, not at a face.

We accept JPG, PNG, WebP and HEIC, the iPhone format, up to 20 MB each. A HEIC photo is converted on your own device. A group photo works too, for example the family with their pet: you tap who is who, and only each person's part is used.

A baby who is not born yet needs no photo. In the topic "My drawing comes alive" you also add one photo of the child's own drawing, and it follows the same rules as the other photos.

Photos of children: who may give them?

Photos of children deserve care. Only a child's parent or legal guardian, or someone who has their permission, may give the child's photo. The service is for adults, aged 18 and over.

That is why, before you upload anything to a personalised book, we ask you to confirm that you have the right to give the photos. If you are making a book from photos for a grandchild or a godchild, ask the parents first. It is often the easiest way to get good photos from them, too.

Photo privacy: what happens to your photos?

Photo privacy is the first thing many people ask about before they make a book from photos, and rightly so. The answer is simple:

• The photos are used only to make your own personalised book.
• They are never used to train artificial intelligence, never sold and never used in adverts.
• They are stored encrypted in the European Union.
• The photos of a preview that was not bought are deleted automatically after 7 days.
• The photos of a bought book are deleted automatically 30 days after delivery.
• You can delete them sooner, at any time. All of this is written down in our photo promise and the privacy policy.

Frequently asked questions