How to go faster?

[gethane]

I am eternally a beginner because I scrap a project,then forget about scrapping for a year or two . So I'm always relearning.

Last year I gave family members a scrap book and they really liked it. The scrap book only covered a few months.

Now, however, I'd like to do a similar project but my pages encompass almost a full year so my "scrapbook plan" has 19 double-page spreads (I just do all mine as double pages). I've got 4 done and each one took all my free time for that day. Also, I'm a law student but to be fair, its my last year and I do have a light schedule but November is going to be busy so I was hoping to finish this up before Halloween, and then do my last double page spread for Halloween the day after. Then send my order off to artcows or wherever by mid-November so I'll for sure get everything back for Christmas.

I'm ok with finding pics to use and editing them, but even using (free) pre-made templates it seems to take me FOREVER to do. Mostly because I have to heavily edit the templates because none really have enough picture spots. For me, this is a photo book more than the pretty scrap book with just 1 or 2 pics per page.

Long question, maybe no good answer, but if anyone has tips on doing this faster I would really appreciate it.

Edit to add: I use photoshop CS3 since that's what we have. Would it be quicker for me to get a scrapbook program?

[Lauren]

You could use time saver products like quick click templates , ploppers or instant albums where all the design decisions are made for you. That would be the best way to complete an album fast .

[Kathleen]

And of course, the more you do the easier and more proficient you become!

[nekobus]

Just my few cents, but if you've got CS3 and are comfortable using it, I wouldn't switch.

Lauren's suggestions for QCs, albums and ploppers is the first, best option, if you're going for flat out speed. There are TONS of all of those in the store. In fact, there are over 250 products in the store that fall under the category "Many Frames"
http://store.digitalscrapbookplace.c...=2_137_136_179 for multiple photos.


If you're going to heavily edit the templates/ploppers/albums, then that's the problem - those aren't designed to be edited, unless its to just drop a bunch of stuff on top. It sounds like you're fundamentally changing the page (adding space for more pics), and that would often take way more time than doing something from "scratch".

You might look for kits or Quick Clicks that come with multiple frames - a few of those could go a long way to helping you make original pages with lots of pics. There are tons in the store, and even a bunch in the Freebie gallery that have 3 or 6 picture frames. The good thing about QCs, is unlike a plopper, if you want more pics, just duplicate the pic part of the template and move it into the layout whereever you like.

[gethane]

Thank you! That link looks great. It never occurred to me to search for templates with many frames .

[mcbowersox]

Quick clicks are probably the perfect solution. You can edit them to your hearts content, but most of the work is already done.

What has helped me complete albums is to pick one two-page layout and use it on every spread. Then all you have to do is plug in different photos and use different kits to decorate your pages.

That's what I did here:
April and May

There are also products in the store called instant albums. I have used these for albums before and they are great.
Instant Albums

I made this album with Suzanne's Simply Swirly Instant Album: One Fall Day Album


Suzanne Walker has a series called GoGo Year Album that were a two-page template for every month of the year. You can chose which one to use based on how many pics you have for that month.

Here's a link to those:
GoGo Year Album Templates

Here is an album I made using these templates: 2008 Review Album

Anyways, I hope some of these suggestions and examples are helpful. Have fun!

[Lorne]

Photoshop is a massively powerful tool, especially if you train yourself to use hotkeys...but it's one of those things that is made a bit more difficult because it is so BIG.

You can alleviate some of that difficulty by using macros, but macros aren't a realistic solution for all users. Still, Photoshop is a professional level tool and as such it doesn't need to be easy...it's more concerned with being efficient.

There are other tools that make laying out elements in an album easier, and depending on your workflow it might make sense to take advantage of that. IMO something with a non-destructive object metaphor like Scrapbook MAX! 2.0 is quicker to do layouts in.

[mcbowersox]

Most people here scrap with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, so I think you are just fine using that!

[gethane]

mcbowersox: thank you for all the links with examples!

thanks also for the discussion about tools.