Ask SSM: Auto Save your Photo books!

Dear SSM,

I made a photobook the other day and the power went out after an hour into my creation. Please tell me you have an auto save and that I didn’t waste that hour! Please tell me!

-Anti-Procrastination-Guy


Dear Anti-Procrastination-Guy,

Thanks for writing. We appreciate any or all of your comments and e-mails. If you’ve made a photo book with us before you will have noticed that there is no SAVE button anywhere. We’ve designed the software in a way that you don’t have to save the photo book all the time. You just make the book and it is saved at all times! Cool right? So theoretically your photo book was saved as you were making it, therefore the power outage should have done nothing to your photobook and should have no effect on it. So as soon as you get the power up and going again, check back at Silver Street Media and continue where you left off.

If when the power goes back on and you log back in, go to WORK ON EXISTING PRODUCT and choose the book you were working on.  If there are pages missing, click on ADD/DELETE PAGES button and they should pop up!
Thanks again!

The SSM Team

Confucious Quote about Photo Books

It's true.  If you think about it, a photo book is pretty much the same as a regular book.  Perhaps some photo books that you 've seen are not that educational but so many that I've seen and some that I've done have become amazingly educational for those who open it up.  Remember the saying that "A picture is worth a thousand words," well if that's true and you have a photo book with 20 pages in it, well that worth 20,000 words!

Wow!  What do you think?  Do you think a photo book can be educational?  Have you learned something from a photo book recently?
A bunch more photobook comics on our site! Click here!

Photo Books for the Troops. A poem.

Can you imagine in the middle of a war,
After a long day of shooting and patrolling,
Tired, sore and hungry,
You get back to mess hall and sit down to the same old chow.
But this time they yell your name because you got mail.
Mail.
Mail from home.

A letter would be great. A letter is always great.
Some get boxes. Some get packages. Some get smelly letters.
You haven’t gotten much lately because everybody back home has been busy.
They haven’t forgotten about you of course,
E-mail is just more prevalent.

You’ve read the magazines that your mom sent a couple months ago.
Everybody's read them at least 10 times.
You know them by heart.
One of the guys ripped out all the baby pictures.
He's got a new baby back home.

The guys call your name again.
You snap out of it and run up to get your letter.
But it’s not a letter.
It’s a small box.
You’re shocked.
People around you hoop and holler.
When people get mail it’s always exciting.

You look at the address.
Must be a mistake.
But no, your name is there.
No handwriting yet because it’s all been printed.
You feel your heart beating faster.
You forget your sore feet.
You forget your hurting back.

You race back to your table where you can be in relative privacy.
Your chow is getting cold.
But that’s ok.
You rip the box open.
You pull out a stiff book like object out from inside the box.
On the cover makes you heart pound.

It’s your little boy.
But, what… How … What…
You open the book.
The pages are full color.
On every page is a family member.
Each family member is holding up a sign on each page.
There is even a page of all the people at church with a sign.
Each sign says: “Come back soon.”

Now your chow is cold.
You recognize each person in every photo on every page.
You’re in the military so you don’t cry.
But what a surprise and what a wonderful almost unspeakable gift.

Photo Book Ideas from the News: Royal Wedding, Spring and Surviving on Jelly Beans

1.  Royal Wedding Coloring Book/Photo Book
This wedding is going to be very popular all over the world so that's why we made a cool coloring book/photo book!  Enjoy the pictures? Color them!  It's a big book with lots of pages to color and it'll look great on your coffee table. 

2. Spring is Finally Here!
I don't know about the rest of you out there but in the northeast we've been pummelled this winter with so much snow.  We wanted to get you excited about Spring so we made this photo book about spring and the little shoots coming out of the ground!



3.  ...and We Survived on Jelly Beans
 
A story out of Washington State USA where an older couple survived for a couple days in their car on jelly beans.  Their car had gotten stuck in the snow after they drove it off the road.  Hikers came later to find them and dug them out.  Imagine what a great photo book that would be!

11 Photobook Ideas For HomeSchoolers!

Homeschooling is becoming more and more popular in America. They use all kinds of books and materials to teach their children. But did you all know that you can make your own photobooks about anything for your classes!


Here are a few that you can start thinking about:

1. A day in the life of a homeschool family.

There are some pretty active families out there, I’ve seen some on YouTube. This would be a great idea since as soon as you make it, it becomes a great memory of that year.

2. A homeschool yearbook.

No not just photos of the few kids, but of all their projects, reports, drawings, activities, group shots, etc. etc.

3. Homeschooling: How we did and how you can do it too!

Perhaps a photo book with text about how “easy” it is to homeschool your kids! You could become famous. Print a few and sell them!

4. Science projects.

Show the animals, plants, rocks and nature around your home. Use it for the next child when they get to that area of study.

5. Art Projects.

All those great drawings that you can’t throw out…just find a scanner and scan them into the computer. Or you could have each child hold the project and take a photo of it. Remember, if it’s a photo, you can make a photo book out of it.

6. Trips.

Gettysburg. Hiking. Mt. Vernon. Lots of times homeschoolers go traveling to many different places to learn new and cool stuff. This is a great opportunity to take photos and then remember that time in years to come.

7. Collaboration with other HomeSchool groups.

A lot of times homeschoolers get together and collaborate. These are great times where friends are made and learning happens.

8. Accomplishments.

Perhaps there is a piano award. Perhaps a Kung Fu trophy. Perhaps a “best Pie” award at the local state fair. All great subjects for a photo book.

9. Family history.

Many times there is great family pride in homeschoolers. What better way to show that than to create a photo book about those relatives. Great lessons involved too!

10. Own stories.

Take a rainy afternoon and act out a story. Write down the text and pose for the different shots. Get the whole family involved. Mom talking to the daughter. Dad talking to the son. Make it a good story with a nice ending.

11. Holiday events.

Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanakuah or whatever, most of the time everyone is taking photos right? This is a great opportunity to remember that eventful holiday season with performances and concerts and good family time.

Any other good ideas? Do you homeschool? Have you ever made a photobook for your family?