How to Publish Your PhotoBook on Amazon for FREE! Why every photographer should have a book - Part 1
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2023
- In this video I explain how you can utilize the Kindle Direct Publishing platform, owned by Amazon, to publish your photobooks, or any book. This video does not go through the creation process of producing the required PDF to submit for publishing, but it points you in the right direction, and I show you a few examples of books I have used Amazon to publish.
For the second part of this series, and the setup tutorial, click this video:
• Part 2: How to Publish...
You can find KDP.Amazon setup site here (it's possible it's not available in your country):
kdp.amazon.com/
The template discussed in second video above for InDesign can be purchased $1.99 (US) here:
www.jasondozierphotography.co...
There is no acceptance or quality constraints (of course certain content isn't allowed per their rules) but any photographer can use this service to not only get your photobook published, but also a great way to purchase just a single copy or two of your own book without expensive bulk purchase requirements. You can purchase your book one copy at a time, for a very low price, as the video will explain.
Let me know your thoughts, and if this service helps you. Thanks again and please subscribe!
Enjoy!
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Website - www.DozierGraphic.com
Instagram - / doziergraphic
ebay - www.ebay.com/str/doziergraphic
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Books Published by Jason Dozier on Amazon:
My 100 Top Street Photos from 2021
a.co/d/am02gDT
Puche': A Collection of Photography by Jason Dozier (My First Book)
amzn.to/3DN88MD
Urban Images: A Collection of Urban & CityScape Photography
amzn.to/3mT3NRZ
Urban Images: A Collection of B&W Urban and Street Photography
amzn.to/3DzlEmV
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#photobook #filmphotography #ricoh - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
I’d love to see a video of the overall process of designing/creating a photo book. Things to include, what to leave out, lessons learned, what you’d do over if you could start over today, etc. Thank you!
Thanks Laura. After posting, I realized I should have included a lot more info, so I'll likely do a follow-up. The one thing I wish I would have emphasized is that you can keep submitting different versions of your book before you decide which one to offer for sale. And a few other helpful notes as well. Thanks for your interest!
Thanks for the good info. I am working towards publishing my first children’s book but I am looking for an artist. You gave some really valuable tips too. I like the 8 x 8 look of your book so that’s pretty cool. Your photos look really great by the way!
Thanks for sharing Mr Dozier. Love your attitude and your work - it's inspiring.
Thank you kindly! Appreciate your comment and viewership!
As a photographer with a few years under my belt (20), I love learning more. Having learned from my grandfather (a Master Photographer), and being pushed out of the nest, I search - A LOT! TH-cam is one place I search. There are so many videos out there that just YAP and YAP, but your video was actually informative and presented in an interesting way. So, not a let-down as many photo videos happen to turn out. THANKS for making this informative and interesting. New subscriber. Can't wait for more ~Alexa Shaw, Just A Simple Photographer
Thanks so much Alexa! Makes all the work worth it when I get the comments like this and know others have been inspired. I'm just about to start a third video about the book publishing, hoping to get it out soon. Thanks again for the kind words and keep shooting!!
I calls 'em as I ceez 'um!
Looking forward to watching 2 and seeing 3 when it's ready.😊
Thanks for sharing this. I would certainly enjoy seeing whatever more you might have time to present.
More to come for sure! There was more I wanted to add to this one, but wasn't sure if there'd be much interest. Thanks for the suggestion!
I love this thank you very much! ❤
Thanks Jessie! Glad you liked it!
This is GREAT info Doz! Publishing can be a challenge, nice to know different ways to pull it off.
Absolutely! Everyone should have a book of their own images, but usually seems pretty expensive. Thought this would be a good share! Thanks again for the support my friend!
You've inspired me! Thanks for posting this video.
I for one, am totally appreciative that you did this review for hard and soft back photo/art books on KDP. Not many vids on The Tube. Everyone is trying to make low content books to make money. Thank you for uploading this with such great explanations. You rock.
Glad it was helpful! I stumbled on this somehow and was also surprised there weren't many videos out there about it. Thanks for the comment!
Hats off to you sir, love to see the people that do. 👍
Thanks my friend! Much appreciated!
This is great, thank you for the info! 😎
Glad it was helpful! Most videos I see are for expensive books ... or at least too expensive for me lol!
Great work! Very well put together
Glad you enjoyed it
Great information I will be looking into this , thank you 👍.
No problem 👍 Everyone should have a book of their own images!
Thank you. This was so informative.
Glad it was helpful!
This is fantastic, I didn't know you could do this! Likewise I would love to see the process of designing the book etc. Great work, awesome info, thank you for sharing.👏
Thank you! Will do! This was unscripted and kind of rambling, but will offer a how-to soon. Likely with a template. Thanks for your interest.
Great video - I'm definitely going to look into this. Now I'm off to watch the next video.
Hope you enjoy it!
Thank you, been sitting on a project for a few years. Just uploaded my pictures to book wright. I like it, but wasn't sure how to get it on amazon which is the goal. The end stage on the program makes a PDF file, you just mentioned that. I'm trying to do it cheap because I'm not wealthy and when I called amazon they wanted over 1000 bucks to help me. Appreciate your video.
fantastic, great photos too.
Many thanks!
Great photobooks Jason
Thanks my friend! I enjoy putting the together!
This is cool. Been looking at different ways of publishing and this looks the best, mainly for one reason, I just looked and I could have one of your books here in the uk, in 2 days. I assume they print on demand wherever the order comes from. This means a worldwide audience, without expensive shipping, which in turn is pretty green. Love it.
It's hands-down the cheapest, most convenient way to publish a book of personal photos I've come across without a major outlay of cash for an initial print, which would prevent a majority of photographers from printing their own books. Even with the rate increase in June 2023, it's still a great deal and I stand behind it as a great experiment all photographers should try.
I like the white lettering :)
lol thanks!
GREAT VIDEO MAN! LOTS OF INFORMATIVE GREATNESS GOING ON!!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING! FOLLOWED YOU ON THE INSTA TOO!🤘🏾🤘🏾
- THE BLACKMAN ARMED WITH A CAMERA
Glad you enjoyed it! Appreciate the positive vibes!
Great job
Thanks!
Greetings Jason! Just found this video. Thanks for making it! Suggestion: I think it would be very helpful if you were to talk about the actual quality of the prints in a future video. I know you broke down the pros and cons of the different sizes, but I kept waiting for you to say what you thought about the actual print quality of the images, which is the #1 thing a photographer would be concerned about with a photo book in my opinion. Either way, you helped me start the rabbit hole journey! Cheers from Jamaica
Sometimes it's easy to assume something is implied but doesn't come across, but I thought the entire book and images were very good quality. I'm more than happy with them, especially considering the cost is so little to get a copy without bulk printing. I don't plan to sell any, and don't want to go through hassle of production, etc so this is an easy way to get them done for myself. But if someone does buy one of my books, I'm confident the print quality/colors are going to look good. At least, with all the books I've ordered I've never had an issue, but that doesn't mean there won't be 'bad printing' no and then. Again, these are printed one at a time, not in bulk, so the quality can/will be different with each individual order. Having said that, no problems for me at all. Good colors, solid tones with the black and whites, good quality paper and covers. Hope that helps, and thanks for asking!
@@DozierGraphic thanks!
I just bought Affinity Publisher 2 due to budget. It's a nice piece of software
I'll have to check that out. InDesign is pretty pricey!
Thanks for the video, verry inspiring I'm thinking of a zine for a while.
Do you get a photo release form for your subjects?
Never. If I was a famous author/photographer I'm sure that would be demanded, but no one is buying my books but me so not a big deal lol
What paper quality did you use in this case? (Edit: I see in another video you selected "premium colour" for paper; would you also select that even if it was all black and white photos?)
Congrats! I'm working on an illustrated Novel with over 100 hi res illustrations. I was working towards hardcover but I'm worried about the file size limits for KDP.
No worrries, they support up to 500MB files. But for big files (300MB or more) pictures must be 300dpi or 310dpi, if you user like 400dpi the system may reject the file. If ur file is small, no worries.
100 hi res illustrations at 300dpi will be fine, just depends on the size of the illustrations. If they're similar to 300 dpi jpegs then you're fine. Make sure to output no not much larger than you plan to use them in the book. in other words, don't output a full size 27"x20" image if you're only using it at 5"x7" in the book, etc.
@@DozierGraphic TY!
White lettering is classier
lol you’re probably right on that!
Thanks for the great video. Do you know if it’s possible to make the book from Saal (or other service), and then sell it on Amazon? Or is it necessary to use In-design?
Yes you can, just like any other product, but it's a different process and I wouldn't know how to do that. But best of luck!
Hi, I've heard about the issue of a white inner margin inside KDP books, especially when having one picture spread across two pages. Have you experienced this problem? I see many people on Amazon facing this issue.
No Ihaven't had the issue. But keep in mind, most of my instructions is about NON BLEED. To spread across both pages, you have to be set up with a bleed template. I'm working on that and should have a video/template out soon allowing the images to spread across the pages, and to the edges. Thanks!
What software? I can't find any programs that do photobooks!
You'll need Adobe InDesign or some similar software. Thanks.
Hello! What are those three beautiful cameras you have up on that shelf behind you? Thanks!
Minolta SR-T101, Nikon FM10, Pentax K1000, and Kodak Duraflex. Love them all (except the Duraflex which I haven't used lol). Thanks for asking.
Can you tell your viewers do the B&W images in your books have a proper black to them. In the past I've ordered books through other companies and the printed black is definitely not black but has a blue tint to it.
I’m really happy with both the paper stock and the ink quality - including the blacks. At least w the books I’ve had printed.
how did you get your photos in the book to be copyrighted? or did you do choose public domain work?
You place the copyright info on the title/info page - no way would I submit as public domain.
Question? Do you need to copy right photo books? Keep up the great work!
You add a copyright line intro page and that covers it, but are you really worried about someone copying your photos out of a book and reposting? If so, at least they had to purchase a copy of the book to do so lol even when you post an image online with your watermark, it's easy to lift the watermark off, so it's never really protected. Unless you're making a living off selling your images, I wouldn't be too worried about it. But that's just me, other opinions can certainly be more accurate.
Is it possible to do a book scanned charcoal and pencil drawings instead of photos?? (for personal reference). I like your street shots btw!
Sure, you can put anything you want in the book - I would assume you would need to convert your drawings to jpegs in order to place them on the pages, but doesn't have to be a 'photograph.'
Jason
I really enjoyed this video!! It was a very well thought out and informative video!! But I did have a question concerning if Amazon is paying you a small amount for the sale of your book. Normally the discussion has been taking photos of people in public is allowed if you're not attempting to make money from them but if you are making money you should have a signed release. Maybe you do have a signed release or maybe you don't believe that's required of those photos in your book. What's your thoughts on this?
Best wishes
Duane
Lots of variables. It's likely someone could make a 'claim' for a share of profit for using their photo, but of course the return would be so insignificant that it would literally be a few cents or dollars. If it was on the best-seller list, then it would be an issue. But there's no claim for damages, or anyway to complain about it being used, as they were in public when the photos were taken, and there is no intent or indication that would insult them, make fun of them, etc. so again, the only claim I could see would be for monetary, but it's very possible the only person buying this book is me LOL! So releases, etc aren't something I'm too concerned with. After all, without publishing this video, in no way would anyone even know their photo was in the book, as you don't get a full preview on Amazon.
Great video ! I'm on kdp and plan to send up my own photo book. Did not realize kdp could do this .
How is the print quality for color photos ? I know you commented in regard to b/w.
What is your opinion of the binding ?
Nice work, BTW !
✌️ ☮️ 📸
Thanks! A third followup video is coming in Oct 23. I find print quality more than acceptable. If I was paying hundreds for special printing I'd be much more critical, but for less than $10 I wouldn't likely complain anyway as only photographers would pay attention to those type of details. But I understand the question is important. The b/w were very 'rich' and jump off the page, as did the colors. But we may have different standards of course. The beauty is you can try it and find out for next to nothing, but just having the book without paying hundreds is a thrill for me. The binding has always been more than durable. Perfect bound, so is what it is of course.
Signing my first book and drawing a Doodle pushed up the price
Do they offer square sizes?
yes my second photobook video shows the square format.
Please help! I want to sell a book of my street photos. I want to know if Ithere's a problem with publishing photos of people. Most of my street photos are people who don't know I took them a photo. Can't find any information about this.
again, technically, probably no. But someone has to see the book and see their photo first. Who else would complain about the photos? You'd have to assume they're going to buy your book ... and it's not a mass-produced book offered in bookstores. but I can't offer any legal advice so you'd have to google more or just print and pray!
what program did you use to make a book? and template?
Part two coming this week - has all the answers. Thanks!
So, I tried Amazon KDP for my new zine/book and I was kind of hopeful it would be a good choice based on what you showed here. But when I received my not-for-resale proofs I was massively disappointed. The only thing that looks fine is the text, but my photos came out horribly and even worse on pages I had designed to have a dark background. And I'm not particularly fond of the paper. In short, my copy doesn't look nearly as nice as yours.
Now, I have selected their best options for paper and I have done Design for years so I know how to prepare a file for print... But I wonder if there is anything specific to KDP that allows to obtain a better output, or at least something I could call decent. The zine I'm playing with is 150 pages, so all considered I'd have to sell it at $40-45 for a minimal $10 profit, and I don't feel comfortable asking for this money for something that came out with such poor quality. Any advice is welcome. Thanks!
Definitely disappointing when you wait and it doesn't come out as expected!
1. Without seeing the pdf or the finished product there's no way for me to comment. I'm assuming you chose the PREMIUM COLOR INTERIOR WITH WHITE PAPER - GLOSSY (even if you're only printing black and white photos you must use the PREMIUM color option and pay just as if they were color). And I'd have to assume you produced your images at 300dpi, and not enlarged, etc. And that you checked the PDF proof before ordering the printed copy? If it looks massively different than the pdf/online proof then you can send a complaint in to KDP. But not sure what you mean by dark backgrounds, so again, couldn't comment on that.
2. Regarding the profit - yeah, it's not the system I would use if I was trying to sell. I said many times I don't do these books to make a profit. I do it to have my photos in a book, and if someone wants to buy it GREAT! But if you're trying to make money off a photo book (good luck!) but you'll have to go mass production route, which is a heavy outlay of cash to purchase in volume. Then you can make a few bucks, but I honestly don't know anyone who wants to purchase my books lol but I love them!
As I stated, I don't represent KDP but have printed at least a dozen books, and have never had print issues other than when I thought I could just use the 'text' black and white basic printing for my black and white photos, which came out looking like they were just photocopied. But that was my mistake for not choosing the highest quality they offer. Hopefully there's some info here that helps, otherwise, sorry it didn't work out!
I would definitely contact KDP to find out if it was a problem with your pdf, or if it was just a bad print job by a particular printer.
Done that too. However, colors are not always that consistent. The combination of BW and color might lead to too dark BW pictures. Some of your BW also seemed to have a tint, I had that too and needed some fiddling. Graphic design is a challenge. However for the price these are great. It is also a different market if you can offer smaller/less pages photo books for under 10€. But don‘t expect to sell a lot without significant effort in marketing.
Ordering a proof is almost mandatory to make sure the colors/brightness is accurate in each photo, but as you said, it's so cheap and easy to do it's fine for me. And it's so much better than ordering 100 books that sit in a box or have to be given away. The books are 90% for me as annuals or projects anyway, most aren't likely seen by anyone else - beats only having them online or in a box of prints.
Does all copies say not for resell ?
No, just the author's proof. Once you approve the proof, the 'not for resale' is removed.
This looks like a solution to my 400pp boookon turquoise.
Let me know how it works out! good luck!
Assuming those are the premium quality print not standard?
Yes, Premium color - the standard ink won't work well.
Does this work in europe? Is it possible to use different fonts?
You can use any font that is offered by the software you're using. Once you make it into a pdf, the font is irrelevant to the printer. And I can't answer about Europe. You'd have to check with the site from your location. Best of luck!
Hello. I also print with kdp, but the paper i get is bond, and is the only one kdp offer, your paper looks glossy... Why? Is not your paper bond?
No idea. Could be the country you're in? I'm definitely using the highest end glossy that is offered. Not sure if there is a way to contact them, but I'm assuming it has something to do with location. Sorry can't be of more help!
@@DozierGraphic but KDP does not offer glossy paper, it only offers bond, no way it is glossy. Must be a camera/light effect. Anyway thanks for your great contribution with this video!
@@camilobmxtravel Glossy is likely not available in your country. No idea, as I don't represent the company, but I'm sure there is a way to contact KDP for support and ask. Would be interested in the response you get. And no ... BOND paper wouldn't work well with high quality photos!
@@DozierGraphic im sure kdp does not offer glossy because my books come with a rough paper,. Actually your paper looks glossy but it should be "Premium color ink & white paper - 60-pound (100 GSM) smooth bright offset white paper"
Is good tho hear you find it good quality.
Here is KDP support answer when i asked them a better paper:
Hello Camilo,
This is Dino, I'm a Senior Support Analyst at KDP. I hope this email find you well!
The kind of paper your book is printed on depends on the ink and paper you select under the Print Options section of the Paperback Content page.
- Black ink & cream paper - 55-pound (90 GSM) offset cream paper
- Black ink & white paper - 55-pound (90 GSM) offset white paper
- Premium color ink & white paper - 60-pound (100 GSM) smooth bright offset white paper
- Standard color ink & white paper - 55-pound (90 GSM) offset white paper
Currently we have no plan on changing this as these are the best options available for our print on demand model.
I've always wanted to do a street photography book, but I'm worried about having the rights to publish a bunch of photos of people that doesn't even know I took a photo of. Don't you get in trouble for that stuff?
I'm no attorney, but if print nudes of someone probably so, but if you're just printing images of street photography, the person in the book would have to see it (buy it) to know they're in it. If you sell a lot of books and it becomes famous, maybe someone would see themselves and want part of your profit. But just printing the book without their photo releases is only a problem if a person in the book 'complains/sues' you. but they can only get at best some sort of profit share, and its not likely your selling more than a few copies (no insult intended) so again, I can't offer any legal advice because it could vary with country/continent, but is anyone IN the book going to actually BUY the book and see themselves in it? If not, who else would complain?
@@DozierGraphic thank you very much! Yes, it's most likely none of them will ever get to see the photos, but I've always had that doubt about it. Mostly about some street photos I have with children on it.
I cant make it 11-8.25 KDP doesn't except that size great now what
If you're referring to a landscape size, then no, they don't offer that. There are limitations unfortunately.
thanx for response it looks like I have to go with the 8.5 * 11 I just have alot of horizontal photos I would like a border around the photo what would u do like a 6.5 by 9 so that way there is a 1 inch white border @@DozierGraphic
@@TruckerSal That's the one big disappointment in the entire thing - a majority of my photos are horizontal/landscape. There is a small version I believe something like 6x8.5 - a bit small but frame 5x7 images very nicely.
eh i sent you an email @@DozierGraphic