Taking a dream vacation this summer? Capture & preserve the memories in a photo book with these top tips1
10 Jul 2026 | 8 min read
Taking a dream vacation this summer? Capture & preserve the memories in a photo book with these top tips1
Do you remember the feeling of sand between your toes, the taste of exotic cuisine, or the breathtaking view from the highest peak you've climbed? What if you could capture those experiences and keep the memories alive forever? Welcome to the amazing world of photo books, where your memories aren't just kept in pixels on a screen, but tangible pages you can hold in your hands.
No one wants vacations to end, and with photo books, they don't have to. Discover that creating a photo book is the ultimate way to document your dream vacation, transforming the memories into a physical memento you’ll cherish forever.
Why make a vacation photo book?
A photo book doesn't just store images; it tells the whole, multifaceted story of your vacation experience, inviting you to relive the journey each time you turn a page. Unlike digital galleries that keep memories at a distance, or individually printed photos that give snippets of the adventure, a photo book provides an immersive, tactile experience that brings you closer to your memories, evoking the emotions and sensations of your trip with vivid intensity.
According to Dr. Christie Chung, Cognitive Psychologist and Provost at Palo Alto University, “Storytelling is kind of like giving meaning to episodes. As a cognitive psychologist, I think of this as: when you experience life, it's like different pieces of a puzzle coming at you. You're experiencing every single episode, every single day. But the most important and powerful thing that we as human beings can do is to put that together into a story.”
That’s what a photo book does. It’s more than a collection of individual photos; it's a book that tells your story. You can hold, share, and pass it down through the generations. It's a tactile way to engage with your memories, not just view them. A photo book captures moments, giving more life to your experiences and making your dream vacation unforgettable.
10 tips for capturing vacation memories
Whether it’s a big, globetrotting trip-of-a-lifetime, a road trip to visit family or friends, or just a mini-adventure close to home, the joys of a summer vacation span the whole season. The fun starts with planning and anticipation, peaks during the actual vacation, and continues long after you return home.
Now you get to happily relive every memory in the weeks, months, and even years to come—especially when you have a beautiful photo book that showcases them.
To maximize the power of the memories, consider these 10 helpful tips for chronicling your summer vacation.
1. Document the whole trip—not just the highlights
Start taking photos of your vacation before it’s even officially begun. Take “before” photos—in the car, at the airport, on the plane—to capture the journey to the destination. Airports often have interesting and unique features, while road trips can bring about great landscapes, roadside attractions, or funny billboards. Remember, traveling is a key part of your vacation, and it offers some great photo opportunities.
2. Get familiar with your camera
If you’ve been meaning to figure out the different settings and tools on your DSLR or smartphone camera, use your vacation as inspiration to do just that. Whenever you have an unhurried moment and a nice photo opp, try out different perspectives, compositions, lighting options, and more. Read up on photography tips for beginners, then get creative with your photo ideas and see how you like the results. You’ll improve your photography skills and end your vacation with a great collection for your photo book.
3. Take photos of signs and placards
Signage can be very visually interesting, especially if you’re traveling to a country with a different language and alphabet. Take photos of signs, placards, murals, and other visual displays that communicate the unique feel of being in a new destination. These photos serve as reminders of where you were, what kinds of decisions you had to make, how you figured out where to go, and what your surroundings were like. If you include these pics in your photo book, consider adding translations as captions.
4. Use a notebook & voice memo
Bring along a small notebook or use the voice memo function on your smartphone to keep notes about your trip. These can range from reminders about your itinerary and day-to-day plans to personal feelings about all your new experiences. You can write or dictate thoughts like “Michael ate deep-fried rattlesnake today and said it was chewy,” or “The 10 am boat is really more like the 10, 11, or 12 o’clock boat, but I’m trying to go with the flow…”
When you return from your trip, these kinds of notes will preserve memories you might have easily forgotten. Pairing them up with the matching photos will help you tell your amazing travel story more completely on the pages of a photo book.
While posing in front of a monument is great, taking candid photos with genuine expressions can better capture the moment. Photograph your friend’s first reaction to seeing a world-famous building or their interaction with an exotic animal. No “say-cheese” smile can rival the look of awe when Old Faithful finally does its thing, or the unfolding tragedy of a dropped ice-cream cone. Candids are, however, great compliments to posed photos, so make room for them all in your camera reel.
6. Photograph landscapes & cityscapes
Photos of landscapes and cityscapes are must-have inclusions in any travel photo book. Sweeping views of your surroundings, which can look totally unique at each time of day, are part of what makes travel so special. Capture these scenes on camera to bring the memories back home with you. Nature panoramas and bustling street scenes make great full page backgrounds for Mixbook pages or scenic canvas prints. These photos also look great on front and back covers.
7. Take funny photos
Perfectly posed photos are great, but adding silliness will bring about fonder memories. Let yourself feel a little embarrassed, if necessary! Lie down in the middle of the floor to center the beautiful stained-glass dome overhead. Get your companions to mirror the poses of statues, point at punny billboards, or create a signature position or gesture for each stand-in-front-of-this-landmark pic. When looking back on this trip, you’ll recall both the landmark and the fun you had trying to create that photo.
8. Use the self-timer & tripod
Don’t be afraid to use the self-timer and tripod to get everyone in the shot. There isn’t always a willing bystander who will take your photo, so the timer is a great tool. Tripods that are small and flexible enough for travel are widely available, and inexpensive. Cameras can also be set on top of flat, stable surfaces or propped up on makeshift stands.
Note: When using the self-timer feature and leaving your camera unattended, please be aware of your surroundings!
9. Save memorabilia
Currency, ticket stubs, programs, paper maps, shells, pressed flowers, postage stamps, hand-written notes, and all kinds of small memorabilia items are great souvenirs from a trip. They’re also awesome additions to a photo book—you just need to digitize them. You can upload digitized memorabilia as a sticker or photo file in Mixbook Studio™, then add them to your photo book as meaningful, memory-capturing accents.
10. Think ahead
Last, but not least, think ahead! If you know beforehand that you want to create a photo book, take some time to think of must-have shots throughout your trip. Which landscapes would make great spreads? What might this monument page look like? Did you get pics of all your travel companions during that bucket-list outing? Taking a few extra minutes to visualize the pages will help you shoot just the right photo for that layout.
How to create a stunning vacation photo book
Creating a photo book isn't just about picking photos. It's about weaving a narrative with your photos as the threads. Start by organizing your photos based on themes, locations, or in chronological order. Choose the best shots of memories you want to relive forever. Think about your journey and how you want to tell that story.
Variety is the spice of life, and when it comes to designing your photo book, it's no different. Choose a travel photo book theme and make it your own. Your narrative comes to life through a fusion of visual elements and personalized context. Experiment with layouts: Single-photo spreads can capture attention and create focal points, while collages offer a mosaic of memories, and panoramic spreads help your audience enter the scene.
Enhancing the storytelling experience
A photo book can be so much more than just photos. Tickets, maps, and handwritten notes can be mementos that bring your trip back to life. Meaningful quotes, poems, or excerpts from travel journals can evoke the emotions you felt during your journey. A well-sequenced photo book tells your story and lets you relive it.
Preserving & sharing your photo book
A photo book is a durable keepsake that will keep your vacation memories fresh for years to come. Mixbook’s high-quality printing and papers keep memories vibrant and alive for decades. A hardcover photo book will resist wear and tear, ensuring your cherished pictures stay as vivid as the day you took them.
FAQs about vacation photo books
Does Mixbook have photo book themes to match my vacation destination?
You’ll find themes designed for cities, regions, countries, and vacation styles, such as cruises, beach vacations, camping trips, and more. The best part is—everything is customizable! All text elements, including destination names, can be edited in Mixbook Studio™.
Can my friends and family collaborate on a travel photo book?
Absolutely! Collaborating on a travel photo book is a great way to get more photos, more ideas, and more stories. Mixbook has a built-in collaboration tool that’s easy to use and versatile. All you need is an email address for each collaborator. Read more in our complete guide to collaborative photo book creation.
Can I edit my travel photos in Mixbook Studio™?
Mixbook Studio™ includes some very useful photo editing tools that make it easy to do straightforward tasks like crop, rotate, flip, zoom in and out, add filters, and adjust brightness, saturation, and contrast. For more complex edits, we recommend using your preferred photo editing software outside of Mixbook Studio™, then uploading the pre-edited photos to your project.
Can I add more pages to a photo book?
Yes! Mixbook’s photo book themes start with 20 pages as standard, but you can order books with as many as 400 pages (depending on the book type). It’s easy—just click the “Add Pages” button at the top of the workspace in Mixbook Studio™. Note that you can only add pages as two-page spreads (not single pages), and there is an additional cost. See our Photo Book Pricing page for details.
Vacation’s over? Take a trip to Mixbook Studio™
The best time to create a travel photo book is soon after you return home, while the memories are still fresh in mind. But, it’s never too late to relive your adventures in photos and capture them on the pages of a beautiful photo book. Head over to Mixbook and get started today.
