Making a Photo Zine: Design Tips, Cost, & Profit
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 มิ.ย. 2024
- Or if you don’t want a zine but you found this video useful and would like to buy me a beer to say thanks, click here: nickcarverphoto.com/contribute
CHAPTERS
- Intro (0:00)
- Zine specs (1:09)
- Designing the layout (3:29)
- Getting colors & contrast right (6:11)
- Costs & profit (12:25)
- Fulfilling orders (16:12)
MUSIC BY SLINGS (used with permission)
- Instagram @slingsmusic: / slingsmusic
- Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/0VOnq...
- This video’s featured song on Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/6I2Eif...
OTHER LINKS
- WestPrint: www.westprint.com
- ULINE: www.uline.com
- Jam Paper: www.jampaper.com
FILM PHOTOGRAPHY ONLINE COURSES
- Master Manual Metering for Film Photography: www.nickcarverphoto.com/metering
- Large Format Photography: www.nickcarverphoto.com/lf
VIDEO DESCRIPTION
It only took me 20 years in the photography community to learn what a “zine” is, then another 3 years to make my own. Turns out they’re kind of a big deal in the analog photography world. After all, us film photographers love the tangible. Pixels? We say FEH! Give us INK, give us PAPER, give us something we can HOLD IN OUR HANDS.
Enter the humble zine. With a relatively low cost of entry, you can turn your photos into real live prints to share with friends, family, and customers. No need to find spare wall space to hang a big ol’ print. You can taste that sweet, sweet nectar that only print-making can deliver with just a lil’ book. This is my first ever zine but it certainly won’t be my last.
And so now that I’m a seasoned zine-making professional with exactly one publication under my belt, I feel fully qualified to teach you how to do it. In this video I’ll cover everything on what it takes to make a zine - planning, design, packing, shipping, costs, and profit. No doubt it takes some serious work to publish your own zine, but by God I just might be so bold as to say it’s worth it.
Oh and if you want to get your hands on this very zine - “3 Nights in Arizona” - I’m doing a second run of ‘em. You can pre-order yours now using the link at the top of this description.
Website: www.nickcarverphoto.com
Instagram: / nickcarver
*This video contains no paid endorsements of any kind. - บันเทิง
Got mine about a week ago, and as someone who ran a prepress color house for a decade, it looks amazing. The zine itself is very well produced - what you would expect from a commercial printer, and obviously the photography is outstanding. Great job with everything.
Hey, that was my zine!!!
Hi Nick
My Zine just popped through the letter box having crossed America and the pond to NW England.
Arrived on my birthday 9/15, most propitious!
What a lovely start to the day. Looks amazing and now I can look at your pictures on the wall while relaxing with the new ones in the zine. Wishing you the best for your solo exhibition.
Mark
As a graphic designer/prepress specialist for a commercial printer, I can't tell you how helpful it is when clients come in and want to know what they can do to make things go smoothly. Truly made me happy to hear you talk about binding styles, RGB vs CMYK and the importance of bleed. The books look terrific!!
How the heck are you so good at talking on camera? ❤
I know, Nick just rattles through technical information like its just casual conversation. He knows his stuff
I'm always amazed at his skills when he is on location--he is working on taking photos and making an outstanding presentation as well as making a video for distribution all by himself! This is not easy to do.
Nick, Yesterday I received and excitedly opened my copy of your SIGNED ! zine. Absolutely love the images and will enjoy revisiting the video with the book in hand. Your work has been a real inspiration for me (even better than Crewdson, whose work is too contrived for me) as I begin focusing less on typical landscapes. I noticed something though: there is repetition in some of the subjects. I received a valuable message from this and that is "Work the Scene." Try different angles, different views, different lighting. Stay longer. Thanks for all your effort producing this book and sharing tips for us to try our own.
Brilliant. Your energy and enthusiasm for your work is really inspiring; I don't think many people can touch it.
It would make the envelope a bit heavier but i think you should put another cardboard in front of the zine too. To protect the cover from extra wear and tear...
Hello Nick. Received my copy of your "Outstanding" Zine today. I will cherish this copy ,from a famous TH-camr. Great work, your an inspiration, to this old photographer . Thanks. KB
That’s a ton of work and well deserved success. Congratulations 🎉
Great work as always Nick! Love to see all the behind the scenes work that went in to this project!
Hey Nick. Stumbled upon your channel yesterday. Your content is Ah-mazing and covers topics that very few other photographers cover
Yet another superb video, Nick! You always deliver quality. Thank you.
Congratulations Nick! My copy has arrived and I love it! Such beautiful work and attention to detail! And, thanks for sharing your process!
Great work as always Nick! Can’t wait to get the zine on the 2nd run! Looking forward to your show next weekend!!!🤘🏽
Love how intricate these videos always aware, and appreciate how open you are throughout the entire process ☺️
Great video, as always, Nick!! Thanks for walking us through the process!
I just got in on the 2nd run, yieww!!
So so happy to have received the zine! It looks stunning. Every detail as you describe so very well in the video looks and feels amazing. After this video I appreciate it even more! Best, Rafael - the Netherlands
so happy for you man, that book looks beautiful!!
Thanks for sharing the process. There’s nothing like the satisfaction of doing a project like that. Congrats, that’s no small feat!
As the old saying goes, hard work pays off. You worked your ass off Nick.
Got mine in the UK in perfect condition and (like the video series) it's fabulous. It's great to see how you put all this together and your commitment to the perfect product is inspiring. Thanks Nick!
Love that you do all the detail work yourself. I’m too old to be a hipster but you’re the hipster I aspire to be.
I got the zine a couple days ago and the quality is seriously impressive. I was inspecting every inch of it and was blown away. You did a fantastic job with the scans, editing, and everything. And the printer did a fantastic job as well! I'm taking notes for my own zine!
Offsetting the images in the full-page spreads was a great idea!
Neat. Glad to have a second run! And the EP was great.
Just placed an order for the zine. Love your work Nick!
Love the time lapse . Great work Nick your a legend ! 🎉🎉😂😂
A wonderful behind the scenes video Nick. Great job. Keep going.
We got ours today. We love it and appreciate the hard work you put into it. Always looking forward to your inspiring videos. Greetings from Germany!
Outstanding Achievement Nick ! The Zine looks awesome I’m ordering one now!
Great video! I've been in publishing industry and working with printers for over 3 decades, and your video was a great overview of how it all happens. Super job!!!
Love the Zine and binged the extended play again.
Loved it! You're such an inspiration! Thank you!
Such a brilliant level of details and honesty on the production and costs here, that's great information!
Got mine two days ago! Love it! Great job Nick!
Awesome! Ordered a second run edition to the UK, can’t wait
This is such a helpful video! Thank you, Nick
🔴 I've said this to you before, but your Attention To Detail and Organization is Unmatched.
Thank you for the offer to purchase this.
Thank you Nick! I haven’t received mine yet but I can’t wait to get it. There is something magical about holding something tangible that someone created and put their soul into:
...Appreciate your openess Nick,Good Job,well done 💯🏆
Super well explained: appreciate the level of detail.
Love it! Inspiring and exciting to think of a new way to share my photos with family and friends.
A true master of his craft!
The zine surpasses any expectations - your 'nick-picking' the details certainly pays dividends. Been rewatching and re-enjoying the videos since receiving the zine. Fun all over and all the way around. Thanks for your time and effort.
Hey Nick, after I watched your video Saturday morning, a couple hours later, the mail arrived, and I instantly recognized the packaging for the zine. Perfect timing! I love the zine, and the photographs are stunning.
Hello. Yes! Converting an image from RGB to CMYK is a tricky thing. On the one hand, the RGB gamut is larger than the CMYK gamut, and on the other hand, it is important to know that RGB is additive color mixing (adding values creates a lighter to white light - max. 255, 255, 255) and CMYK is subtractive color mixing (adding values in colors creates dark to black stain on paper - max. 100, 100, 100, 100%). RGB is in the monitor, TV, or display - the image surface is illuminated. CMYK is on paper, metal, wood, etc. Can't shine through. It's like mixing colors with a brush on paper, canvas.
The conversion to the CMYK profile in Photoshop is important so that we can see a "simulation" on the monitor of what it will look like in composite CMYK color on paper. Therefore, the colors are not as bright as the RGB profile - the monitor simulates a sample of how the image will look on the mat without backlight.
It also depends on the exact CMYK profile I convert the photo to. An important factor is the printing inks used, the increase in the print dot of the given machine, the type of paper according to the standard (glossy, semi-glossy, matte) and how much ink it absorbs during printing.
- this profile will tell you the printer where you will print.
Nick, thank you very much for this video showing the hard work of commercial offset printing by a home printer in a small print run.
Watching this video makes holding the zine after watching the EP even more special! Well done on a job well done! Certainly gives me some more inspiration to make my first zine and I look forward to what you produce in your next EP.
Loved the video!!! Thanks for explaining the process
Got my copy yesterday, it came out great!!!
Loved my copy of the zine! Informative discussion of the production, great job! I’m looking forward to your next project. Best of luck with your coming exhibit!
Thank you for the second run.
Got mine. Love it!
Got my zine today. Its awesome thanks!
Excellent video. Nice behind the scenes look at the process. 👍
Thanks for doing a second run, I just purchased one for my sister in Ajo - she’ll love it!
I love this information. Fantastic. Mine will be forwarded since I just moved, but I cann't wait!
Geat videos. The final product looks great! Bravo and Congratulations !
Received my zine today
. Really enjoyed it. Thanks
Got mine a day ago, all the way in Sydney, Australia. Great job, I love it.
Thanks Nick, just placed an order. Will make a great Christmas gift for myself. KB
Can't wait to get mine!
Missed the first run, but was able to snag one of the second run! Super excited.
Got mine safely across the pond, it’s epic! Super high quality and the photos…. Ahhh just unbelievable, very very impressed
Bravo I work in Prepress for a printing company and you nailed it on the details creating your zine.
So fun to see your process and beuatiful video as always
Hey bud! That's super useful! Gorgeous looking zine!
Your video popped up in my feed rather randomly, and I’m so glad it did! I’m only an armature photographer, and have no plans for a ‘zine, (tho I’m gonna buy yours when I can!) but the quality of your video is fantastic, and very inspiring!
Cant wait to receive mine !
Just ordered mine because of this video
This is so cool! Thank you for sharing also all the details!
Received my copy in great condition and enjoyed the content and quality of the Zine.
What a great video! Thank you.
Being a photographer, it's one of my biggest dreams to create and sell my own zines. Only being 3ish years into photography, being 22 and having no audience, I can't see that happening any time soon
Love it Nick. Missing your videos 😢
Looking forward to seeing your zine on my doormat here in sunny Oxford, UK.
Well done! Excellent quality and great insights of the process. I can feel the pain of signing all those zines. I did a small run of 50 and hand cramps set in by the end though I did address the envelopes by hand too 😁
I just had the taco stand yesterday ! tacos alpastor with churros are fire !
Missed out on the first run, so I just ordered the Zine combo. See you in a few weeks. Tim
Thank you for doing a second run, I missed out on it originally.
also great choice of Rum, however I'm not sure how much work I'd get done sipping Diplomatico
Good info - thanks.
Zine looks great...and THANK YOU for a video like this. It certainly gives those of us out there considering this a leg up on what all it really involves if you want to do it right!!
Quick question: The hurricane that hit out west, that didn't cause any problems for your upcoming exhibition coming on the 15th did it?
That place you are having it at, if I recall...was very close to a cliff...hoping nothing happened to the venue!!!
Good luck and thank you,
CC
Zine ordered! I don't know why I didn't order one on the first run--I've only been watching this channel for years and love the photographic style and the storytelling. The EP was terrific and the zine looks super awesome--thanks for doing a second run😀😀
BTW, really loved the signing sequence and musical accompaniment on this video.👍👍😎😎
Excellent video on how you setup the zine in the InDesign software. Thanks for the specs on paper etc...Heading to Zion in October and am pre-visualizing a zine already ...may take the 6x17 back for my 4x5.....Craig
Got mine; it's a real gem.
Well done.
I received my zine about a week ago, which is pretty fast if you factor in international shipping. I like it very much, thanks for making it.
Also thanks for being so open and showing your whole calculation, this is interesting. I think your hourly rate is not very high in the end.
Great video!
Darn it! i missed out on the Zine, guess Ill just have to wait for your next project, probably a Callendar 😄
How to make making and packaging 578 books look interesting!
It looks great, can't wait to receive it! I'm in holiday right now and I hope that the postman is not trying to force it into a full mailbox...
Please make a new zine every week!!! I'm kidding, that looks like a lot of repetitive work, especially the signing process gave me carpal tunnel syndrome.
Thanks for making a video showing part of the process.
The zines look amazing!
I want two. One to keep as is and one to cut up have a bunch of little framed Carvers.
Slanjivar 🥃
With my own attempt at a zine I came as far as sequencing a third and having a blank book in indesign. Maybe one day… now i have the instructions after all.
Finaly done bit made me laugh more than it should have 😂
I wonder who got the special edition camera drawing! Love my copy can’t wait for the next EP!
I would Love to see you and Jason Lee do a chit chat session. It would be interesting.
This video was probably a pain in the arse to make, but the info really is appreciated. Good one, Nick.👍
The clerk at the post office probably was very happy with you 😅😂 That thought just came to my mind considering the not always so good experience with costumer service at the post office. But regardless, so happy for you with this successful zine run.
Nick, you should produce a course on image scanning, processing and printing. I know you've covered it on your channel, but perhaps a deeper chronological dive might be interesting and useful.