Making the book
How to get your family to actually send photos
Every family has one person who organises and several who mean to reply. If you're reading this, you're the first kind. The people who haven't sent photos aren't being difficult. The request is just vague, effortful and easy to put off. Fix those three things and most of them come through.
Ask for a number
"Some photos" is a decision they have to make. "Five photos" is a task. Five to ten per person is about right for a book, and it stops the one enthusiastic cousin sending ninety.
Give a date, and say why
"By Friday 9 October, so it's printed in time for her birthday" works. A date with a reason is hard to argue with. Set it a week before you actually need to order; the last two people always need the extra days.
Make it one tap
Every extra step loses someone. Emailing attachments loses most people. Uploading to a shared drive loses the rest. A link that opens straight to "choose photos" on their phone, with no account and no app, keeps them.
Say what kind of photo
People freeze when they have to judge which photos are good enough. Tell them what you want:
- one of you with her
- one of each child on their own
- something ordinary from this year: the garden, the dog, the school run
- one old photo, if you have it
Let the reminders come from the system
Chasing your brother a third time feels like nagging, to both of you. A reminder email that everyone gets, on a schedule, doesn't. On Paper Chain each invited person gets a few reminders counting down to your due date, and they stop the moment that person adds something.
Show progress
"Mum and Tom have already added theirs" is the most effective sentence in any reminder. Nobody wants to be the one missing from Nana's book. Our reminder emails include it on their own.
Phone the last one
There is always one. A two-minute call, with them holding their phone, gets it done: "Open the link I sent. Tap choose photos. Pick five." Stay on the line.
If someone really can't manage it, ask them to text you three photos and add them yourself under their name. For print, ask for the originals rather than copies saved from a chat, which are often shrunk.
What not to do
- Don't ask in a group chat and leave it there. The message scrolls away in an hour.
- Don't wait for everyone. Set the date, and order with what you have. The book is still good with eight people in it instead of nine.
- Don't collect photos yourself and upload them all. You'll lose who sent what, and the captions with it.