Capture your passion in a photo book
A photo book dedicated entirely to your greatest hobby
Whether as motivation or as a personal journal of your success – we show you how and why you should create one!
A photo book can be used in so many ways – to capture a wonderful year, to immortalise the development of children or simply to celebrate the most amazing holiday snaps. So why not also dedicate a personal photo book to your biggest passion? Whether you’re a keen hiker, an avid photographer or a creative baker, allow us to show you how to record your progress, motivations and top tips and tricks for your favourite hobby in a photo book!
Why is it important to have a hobby?
Everyday life can take a lot out of you, making it all the more important to find a balance, switch off and find a way to relieve stress. Hobbies are not only a way to devote yourself to the activities you love, but also a great way to become happier and more level-headed both at work and in other daily tasks. A hobby brings new vitality and is responsible for positive mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.
Why it’s important for kids to have a hobby too
Regularly taking part in leisure activities influences children’s development in many positive ways! Extracurricular activities promote self-confidence, benefit character development and also help to nurture social skills. Which is why it’s well worth making a record of a child’s passion in a photo book: by seeing their personal development in football, playing the piano or whatever their chosen hobby happens to be, children will feel encouraged, which in turn boosts self-confidence. Plus, it’s a sweet memento that your child can look back on for years to come!
Defining goals and keeping a record of your progress
It is not uncommon for a hobby to be associated with a goal – even if it might seem trivial. Next year, you might like to learn how to bake a three-tier cake, or perhaps you’re keen to enter your first marathon or Ironman event? Maybe you want to finally master the most difficult climbing wall, or you want to be able to make yourself understood in Italy without having to rely on a dictionary. The main thing with personal goals is that getting there should be enjoyable!
It’s a well-known fact that defining goals and writing them down can be helpful. Simply note down the motivation behind your hobby – besides having fun, of course. When designing your photo book, you can start off by listing these thoughts so you can then see how far you’ve come within a year! Our suggestion: leave one or more pages in your photo book blank so you have space to add personal handwritten notes. Of course, you could also insert an image with a blank space so that the page doesn’t look quite so empty. Here, you can set out new goals or modify old ones, make a record of your thoughts or write down accomplishments in a small table (once again by means of a placeholder image or by hand).
If you feel you haven’t achieved as much as you would like over the past year, that’s no reason to hang your head: the journey is the destination, after all, and the joy and happiness that your hobby brings are reward enough!
Tip: break larger goals down into small steps, then you’ll see improvements more quickly and will have successes to celebrate. Don’t start off with a marathon, for example, but rather run 5km first, and then 10km and 15km. Don’t sew a complicated coat as your first project, but rather begin with a simple t-shirt. Learn to make small talk in Italian before aiming for discussions about theology and the wider world.
Of course, you could also work backwards when recording your successes. At the end of the year, write down everything you’ve accomplished in that year: write down at least ten things that you have been able to improve or that you are celebrating as personal progress. You might be surprised to discover that more happened than you originally thought.
You like the idea, but don’t feel quite ready for a whole photo book (yet)? Then why not try a practical monthly planner dedicated to your hobby? The handy thing here is that it will give you a clear overview, with all courses, trips, events, training and more all listed in the same place. Then simply set your goals to be achieved over the year as a whole. This way you can check off or note down successes month by month. Maybe you’ll feel so inspired that you’ll even end up wanting to create a photo book at the end of the year!
Did you know that you can save photo projects in ifolor Designer to come back to later? This means you can even take a little longer to work on your hobby photo book, should you wish. Each time you hit another milestone, you can record it by adding images or text to your project. Step by step, your photo book will be filled with successful moments and enriching experiences!
Which photo book is the right one for me?
With our wide range of photo books, any enthusiast is sure to find one that best suits their needs. You can discover which one that might be for you right here:
Photo Book Premium Photo Paper
As the name suggests, this photo book will allow you to capture your favourite moments on real photo paper. Thanks to the special fanfold binding, the opened photo book pages always lie flat – which means it perfect for showing off panoramic photos in particular across two pages. We therefore especially recommend this photo book for (hobby) photographers, although it is also the perfect choice for those passionate about travel, diving or hiking. Landscape and even underwater images look particularly realistic, and the thicker photo paper gives the book’s pages a more solid feel. It makes for a truly elegant coffee table book.
Photo Book Spiral
The Photo Book Spiral is the perfect choice for anyone who also wants this journal of their success to be used as a reference manual. The spiral binding makes the book particularly robust and ensures its pages always lie flat and are easy to turn. Another aspect contributing to the book’s particularly robust nature is the transparent plastic cover. Making it ideal for anyone constantly looking up their own tips or recipes in the kitchen, since it can withstand frequent page-turning! Or for those wanting to refer to instructions while sewing or crocheting.
Photo Book Deluxe
The Photo Book Deluxe is a real all-rounder. The different formats mean your creativity can run free – no matter what your hobby, you can never go wrong with this photo book. The Photo Book Deluxe on digital printing paper is available with mild glossy pages for a low-reflection and natural colours finish. The specially lacquered pages brighten up your images and bring out a unique contrast. In addition, the high-quality UV-resistant finish protects your pictures from dirt and moisture. The adhesive binding holds the pages securely together and ensures that your memories last many years to come.
Booklet
Those who regularly travel for their favourite hobby will benefit from the practical Booklet with its pocket-size format. Keen hikers or climbers can integrate small maps into the Booklet or use it to immortalise their best routes (together with a great photo, of course). Blank pages are great for jotting down new discoveries or making a note of the best restaurant along the way. Thanks to the lay-flat pages and premium photo paper, your photos will be high-contrast and full-size. With its practical gift box, it can also be transported safely inside a backpack or even given as a small travel guide to like-minded people!
Where do I find my motivation?
There are days when certain things just don’t go quite as you had imagined. It happens to everyone and is only human. It also means you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself, but don’t give up and keep on trying. Stay with it and hold on to your motivation!
“Only the one who walks his own way can’t be overtaken.” (Marlon Brando)
Positive thinking not only affects health, mental wellbeing and interpersonal relationships, but it also impacts upon our successes. In the end, aren’t problems really just opportunities and challenges? The more confidence you have, the more likely you are to believe in yourself and achieve your full potential. A positive mindset therefore helps keep you motivated.
Find a saying, quote or mantra that you have always liked and that really means something to you – and let this be your inspiration!
You can include the saying in your photo book or on the cover – or even have it printed on a poster, so that you’ll see it each morning and start the day feeling motivated and full of drive! Simply upload a favourite picture (maybe of you running, one of your greatest baking creations or a special snapshot you took?) or a neutral background using a helpful design software program such as Canva or something similar, and then place your favourite saying where you want it. Then place it in ifolor Designer, and your personal motivational poster is complete – you can now even order this together with a frame!
The somewhat smaller but no less effective option is to have your saying printed on a personalised key chain. This way, you’ll always have your source of motivation to hand – and make it less likely you’ll forget your keys!
Who might like a photo book of successes?
The answer is actually quite simple: a photo book of successes is ideal for anyone pursuing a passion! Of course, it can include more than just photos – allow yourself to be creative as part of the process. If you like, progress can be recorded by means of performance curves or before-and-after pictures, and it’s certainly worth leaving some space to write down your own thoughts by hand: What was done in order to improve? What went particularly well, and what not so much? And so on.
Of course, a journal of successes is also a great creative gift for friends or family, to accompany them on their path to success!
To give you a better idea of how you can design a book like this and whether it would be an option for you, here are a few tips and tricks for some of the most common hobbies:
Photography
A photo book for photographs? Doesn’t strike you as being very imaginative at first: but the decisive factor here is what you make of it! The photo book can be structured chronologically or thematically. This allows you to note which camera was used, or which camera settings achieved what results. Various camera filters can be tried out or photo editing easily documented in the book. A great way to fully develop and evolve in your creative hobby. This also applies to other creative pursuits, such as painting or filmmaking!
Baking, cooking and the like
A photo book lends itself particularly well to creating a personal recipe book. You can preserve your best recipes and leave space (in the form of blank pages, for example) to develop the recipes further and hone your technique. If you are struggling with a recipe, this makes it easy to note the process so you can improve little by little each time. Moreover, it’s also just such a joy to photograph and commemorate your most beautiful creations, don’t you think?
Handicrafts
Whether it’s sewing you enjoy or crocheting, gardening or even carving wooden figurines, there’s no better kind of hobby to really show off your progress. The end result often ends up as a gift for friends or family, however, making it hard to properly keep track of the process. But with a photo book, you’ll be sure not to forget any of your creations! By taking pictures and placing these side by side, you’ll be able to see just how far you’ve come over a year. It’s also a good idea to store instructions, templates, tips and tricks here to make sure each project ends up being that little bit more proficient and efficient than the last.
Sports
As an athlete, you spend a lot of time at training sessions, events or sometimes even competitions. So you’ll be sure to end up with many great snapshots taken by friends and family. A photo book of successes is about so much more than just capturing beautiful photos from competitions or exciting events. Successes can also be recorded by hand in a table, or performance curves can be created, so you’ll be able to see your progress in running, weightlifting or cycling not only in pictures but also with insightful figures! So that, at the end of the year, you’ll have a year in review that you can hopefully look back on with pride.
Language learning
Those who love to learn languages can also really benefit from a photo book. After a trip to Italy, it’s worth creating a photo book of your favourite memories anyway, right? This way, you can also keep a record of the various phrases and helpful words that you used a lot while on your trip! Or you could include a short vocabulary list at the end of your photo book. Then you can look up what you learned anytime and recall what helped and what didn’t before your next trip!
Of course, there are many more wonderful hobbies that can also be captured in a photo book – just remember: be creative, and you’re sure to be rewarded!
A “thank you” to friends and family
The beauty of a hobby is that you can share it with others. Be it with teammates, people you know from a language or cooking course, or those loved ones who are behind you offering their support. So it can sometimes be nice to give something back! Find the most beautiful snapshot or funniest memory and have it printed as a beautiful photo greeting card. You can then send this as a small gift after an event, competition or the like together, along with a note to say why you particularly appreciate their company and support and how they lift you up on your way towards achieving your goals.
I hope we have been able to inspire you to create your own journal of successes or or photo book of successes! We wish you much success in continuing to achieve your goals!
Using a photo book for reference
Of course, a hobby photo book can also be designed to serve as a reference book. Simply collect any useful info about your hobby: keep a record of the best recipes you’ve cooked or baked, document the most beautiful hiking routes or best climbing destinations, and note down any top tips & tricks you’ve learned along the way. And all this embellished with your most beautiful or motivating photos. It’s a pretty great idea, right?