Choose photos for a photo book by doing a fast first pass for clear favourites, cutting duplicates and blurry shots, then narrowing to a balanced set of hero images, faces, and detail shots. Here is the full picture. The trick is not fancy design software — it is a few simple decisions and a tool that does the heavy lifting. First, first pass: keep only the obvious favourites. Then, second pass: cut duplicates and near-misses. Finally, balance heroes, faces, and small details. Pixalby handles the rest: upload straight from your phone (HEIC included), and the auto-layout engine arranges everything into clean, print-ready spreads in minutes, respecting every crop and orientation. You do not need to be a designer or own a laptop — you can build the entire book from your camera roll, reorder spreads with your thumb, and add captions where they help. Every book prints on heavy 170gsm satin paper with a hardcover option built to survive real coffee-table life. Follow the steps below and you will have a finished, order-ready book faster than you expect. It is free to build and you only pay when you are ready to print.
The short answer
Choose photos for a photo book by doing a fast first pass for clear favourites, cutting duplicates and blurry shots, then narrowing to a balanced set of hero images, faces, and detail shots.
Step by step
Start by making sure you first pass: keep only the obvious favourites. Next, second pass: cut duplicates and near-misses. Then balance heroes, faces, and small details. With Pixalby, auto-layout turns that plan into finished spreads instantly — you review, tweak, and order. The whole thing can take under half an hour once your photos are chosen.
Why it matters for a printed book
Screens forget; paper does not. Getting this right is what separates a photo book you flip through once from one that lives on the coffee table for years. Pixalby keeps the process free until you print, so you can experiment with the layout and only pay when the book feels right.
Quick tips
- ✦Remember: first pass: keep only the obvious favourites.
- ✦Do not skip this — second pass: cut duplicates and near-misses.
- ✦Finish strong — balance heroes, faces, and small details.
- ✦Build it free first, then order only when the book feels finished.
Frequently asked questions
- How ruthless should I be?
- Very — a tight edit of 60–90 photos beats a bloated book of 200.
- Should I keep multiple similar shots?
- Pick the single best of each cluster; variety reads better than repetition.
- What if I cannot decide?
- Pixalby lets you drop extras into a pool and swap them in and out of spreads.
- Do I include everyone?
- For group events, yes — make sure each key person appears at least once.
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