Vector

Hello fellow Hoggers,

Last summer (2021), I was the photographer at surprise birthday parties for my sister and brother in law (yes, two separate parties and they were shocked!). Between the pictures I took and the slide shows shown during the parties, there are about 700 pictures I want to print.

Who does a better job of photo printing; Amazon or Costco?

Or should I not use either of them and "spend some more money"?

TIA

Rongnongno Loc: FL

700? Have you ever heard of culling?

Also, instead of loose pictures, consider a photo book, or two...

Vector

Thanks.

I've culled and don't want to remove any more pics as there were milestone birthdays (75th and 80th). The printed pics would be put in photo albums. Photobook would be expensive.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Actually no, they cost less than individual prints and offer you the opportunity to add text or comments.

Look at shutterfly among others. Sign up and wait for the next promotion. My government does it all the time.

david vt Loc: Vermont

As it is not my life nor events, I would not want to tell the OP not do do what he wants. As he mentioned a slide show, I suspect it is not just about the event but a “life milestones” in review as well But, something that long may not get looked at as much as something shorter.

What I really like about photo books is that it is easy, as has been pointed out, to put in notes and captions. Consider adding names of whom are in the photos, what the event was if not the surprise party (these two spring chickens are not getting younger!) and context. The annotated books will mean more in the long run.

Overall, we have had much more fun, and they have been enjoyed more than a traditional photo album

ncribble Loc: Albuquerque, NM

You might consider Costco’s 8x8 soft cover photo books. I used this media for a Church Directory which was very impressive It was affordable easy to used lots of photos and one does not need 9 x 12 photos to tell the story

Vector

Folks,

Thanks for your input. I'll take a look at photo books. I just assumed they'd be more expensive, but that may not be the case.

tomc601 Loc: Gilbert, AZ

700 4x6 prints will cost you $77 at Costco and they do a very nice job on printing. I'm sure a photo book with that many images would cost quite a bit more. Plus, be prepared to spend a good deal of time with setup. My take is if you need to stick to the 700 images go the print route. If you want to cull the photo books are very nice.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

And you will hand folks a stack of 700 small pictures?

As to the price, is this for individual images of 700 of the same?

Consider that a book is larger, can have any number of pictures added to a single page (both sides), allow for comments or information and is not, well, an annoying stack of pictures that makes it hard to find one where a book just needs a simple bookmark.

Sample

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

How about a digital picture frame

The Watcher

Viewing large photo albums on the same subject gets old in a hurry. Many of them will mean nothing to these people. Why not just pick out the best ones and give them larger prints?

lreisner Loc: Union,NJ

Think of it another way. Which legacy is likely to last longer. In my case I suspect that my thousands of pictures in digital form will go to the delete pile and lost for ever. My photo books will likely live on for a lot longer. Especially books that are meaningful to others and tell the viewers what they are looking at such as family members.

Klickitatdave Loc: Seattle Washington

A close friend of mine recommends getting high quality prints from Costco. According to him after trying a number of different outside printing options they were more consistent in their quality of prints and also in their lower pricing.

Klickitatdave Loc: Seattle Washington

A close friend of mine recommends getting high quality prints from Costco. According to him after trying a number of different outside printing options they were more consistent in their quality of prints and also in their lower pricing.

10MPlayer Loc: California

Yes! Until I saw the 700 number I would have suggested a photo book. I made a book of a trip we took to Europe in 2019 with about 150 photos and it was very reasonable. And I have to say the quality was great. I believe Blurb is the name of the service, through Lightroom.

How are you going to present 700 photos? Just hand them the developed prints in the folders from the printer? Mount all of them in a photo album? Having them printed in a book is the way to go. I did some checking on the vacation book I referenced above. I had about 170 pictures and if memory serves it was about $70. Pretty reasonble. Plus I was able to do all the layout in Lightroom and insert comments about the locations so they wouldn't be forgotten a few years down the road. I made one for my wife and myself and another for the couple we went with. I think it's a lot more likely to become something they'll take out an look at once in a while than a stack of loose photos.

On the other hand, my sister-in-law, who went with us, did a traditional photo album. Besides the photos she included bits and pieces of tickets and receipts and brochures from places we went. She did a lovely job but I don't have the patience or the talent to do it the way she did. Maybe you're more like my sisiter in law.