CUSTOMIZING YOUR BOOK in 5 steps
The easiest way to customize your book is to use Adobe Acrobat Pro DC to embed your photos in the PDF. If you don’t already have Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, you can take advantage of their 7-day free trial (thereafter it’s $25/month).
If you prefer to stick with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, there is a workaround, but it’s pretty labor-intensive. You can view those instructions here.
Step 1: Delete pages that aren’t relevant to your story
Step 2: Add photos — make sure they are high resolution so they print clearly
Step 3: Add text
Step 4: Save as PDF
Step 5: Upload PDF to your Blurb account
Step 1
Delete the pages that aren’t relevant to your family.
Go to Tools > Pages > Delete Page
(I highly recommend you save the PDF as a new copy!)
Step 2
If you don’t want to pay the Adobe subscription fee, I recommend making sure you have the following photographs (4×4″ space, minimum 3,200 pixels square) applicable to your family ahead of time:
Child
Parent 1
Parent 2
Family (6 x 4″ / 4,000 x 3,200 pixels, landscape)
Egg Donor
Sperm Donor
Embryo Donors
Gestational Carrier
Surrogate
Birth Mother
Birth Other
How I Was Made
Birth Photo
Family Photo (page left blank for one large photo, multiple photos, or a drawing)
ADDING TEXT
Place your cursor in the text boxes provided and start typing.
You can change your font, color, size in the dropdown menu.
Alternatively, you can skip this step if you prefer to order your book first, then handwrite your answers.
UPLOADING YOUR BOOK
Save a final version of your PDF to your computer.
Log into your photobook account—I recommend Blurb.
Upload your book.
Double-check your work!
Order 🙂
NEED MORE HELP?
If you need help adding photos to your book, or other bespoke design, I charge $50/hour (prorated in 15-minute increments).
For questions about using Adobe or Blurb software, please contact them directly.