4 Ways to Include "Bad" Photos on Your Digital Scrapbooking Layout

Over the summer I took some time to consider scrapbooking myths here on the blog. One of the myths I included was needing to have perfect pictures to scrapbook. There can certainly be a lot of pressure to get that perfect photo so you can include it in the scrapbook. But most of us are probably working with less than ideal photos most of the time. Whether you're trying to photograph a moving toddler, or the lighting of whatever occasion you're celebrating is bad, there are tons of reasons why you may have a special photo that wouldn't win any photography awards. And of course you should keep it in your scrapbook. But it can be tricky to find the motivation to work with some of these photos, as the motivation to scrapbook can kind of slide away when the photo isn't beautiful. Here are a few of my favorite tricks for dealing with these "bad" photos.

1. The best thing that ever happened for me in scrapbooking photos from daily life was switching to a pocket style format. With this kind of layout no photo is the center of attention and it doesn't matter if the photo is blurry or dark or whatever. The pocket style just takes away so much of the pressure of getting good photos, which is really key for me right now. Two small children make getting good photos tricky and also I'm tired and don't care that much! But we can still save all the photos anyway with this awesome pocket format.

include your bad photos easily in this digital scrapbooking layout

2. If you're not ready to jump in on the pocket scrapbooking, you can use a similar idea on any kind of layout if you include several shots instead of one. I know I often take 10 photos of my kid trying to get a good one and then still none are good. Including several of these outtakes tells a fun story. Or several photos from the same occasion can also be used together to tell the story without relying too heavily on one photo to make it look good.

digital scrapbook layout
christmas digital scrapbooking layout

3. Make the photos small. If you're scrapbooking on a 12x12 canvas, remember that's a very large area. My number one regret when getting photo books printed is that I left stuff too big. Don't be afraid to shrink things down.

digital scrapbook layout

4. Go overboard on your photo editing. Turning a photo black and white is a common way to deal with "bad" photos, especially if you're trying to use several together and make them look cohesive. But I like to take it one step further and add some fun elements in my photo editing like glares, sunbursts and fun overlays. I love the AColorStory app for doing some creative photo editing. Check out my editing process in this app here.

digital scrapbook layout

Do you have any special hacks for dealing with your "bad" photos?

4 Ways To Include "Bad" Photos

Recent Comments

Taren Lynn
Taren Lynn Thu, 09/23/2021 - 19:22

I love this. thank you!

Darlene Peters
Darlene Peters Sat, 09/11/2021 - 15:02

It's the story that is important. Even a slightly blurry photo can evoke wonderful memories. I recently did a 50th wedding anniversary album with my niece, and even though every picture was not National Geographic quality, some of the pictures we scanned were taken with a cheap camera and stored for years in a magnetic plastic album and the pictures of one of their trips overseas were less than stellar, we cropped and embellished, and journaled and the end result is dearly loved.

Angelhaze Digiscrap
Angelhaze Digiscrap Sat, 09/11/2021 - 09:24

Thank you!

Shannon Maguire
Shannon Maguire Sat, 09/11/2021 - 06:06

Great tips Marisa, thank you!

Kasoonka Stewart
Kasoonka Stewart Sat, 09/11/2021 - 02:47

Sound advice. Thank you.

Meagan Johnson
Meagan Johnson Fri, 09/10/2021 - 19:45

Your pocket style is what led me here!! Love it so much. Love all these pages.