Memories might fade, but making a digital photo vacation scrap book is a great way to both capture and save those wonderful memories while they are fresh-- do it right, and you'll practically smell that sea breeze whenever you flip through your vacation photo album. And you'll be able to keep those memories at hand --and well organized!-- for years and years to come. Digital photography has opened the door to a world where copying images, fixing red eye and making a professional looking scrapbook or photo book are all amazingly easy to accomplish.

Why not take advantage of it, and make your entire vacation scrapbook online this year? There are a ton of advantages to this method, not least if which is always knowing what you're going to get: you don't have to guess what your photos will look like if you are using a digital camera, and you can even preview your photo book before sending it off to be printed.

Of course, you still have to put some effort into making the best digital photo vacation scrap book you can. Ready to get started? Below, you'll find some great tips to help you get started on the great vacation album of your dreams!

Tip 1: Plan Ahead!

Start your vacation scrapbook before you leave home by making a list of pictures you would love to have of your vacation. Think of pictures that make you laugh, good personality shots, or a few photos of the whole group together.

Short on ideas for what kinds of photos you'd want to use in your photobook? Use sample vacation scrapbooks (you can find these at sites like Shutterfly's Gallery) to get a few ideas of the kinds of pictures to include in your book. Another good tip is to look at the template for the digital photo vacation scrap book you plan to make. Many photo book printers allow you to look through their page templates before you begin the project.

Tip 2: Switch it Up!

A great way to get a wonderful variety of photos for a vacation scrapbook? Don't let just one person in the family be a camera hog... instead, give everybody a chance to be the photographer for an afternoon, and use photos everyone in the family! You'll be surprised at the different points of view you'll have on the trip and the experiences everyone had. Even the kids can take fun photos, and you can set aside a place in your vacation photobook for kids' photos, if you want.

Your little ones too little to be trusted with a camera? Grab a couple of disposable cameras and use some of the printed pictures in your photo book.

Also, no matter who's taking the photos, remember to vary the direction of your photos so that the page layout changes. This is a great way to add visual interest!

Tip 3: Search for a Cover-Shot

Most photo books have a single cover picture that sums up the trip's importance to you. Keep the cover in mind when you're travelign! Look around and see if a landscape, strange shell, laughing loved one or nearby sign might fit the bill for your vacation album. Another approach is taking thematic pictures-- like a whole collection of end-to-end vistas with nature in all its glory, or only taking pictures of landmarks.

Also, while the pictures you use should be cropped for effect, remember to show some of the places that served as backdrop to your vacation, too.

Tip 4: Let Everyone Tell a Story

Most people start putting memories together after a vacation, but your digital photo vacation scrap book might begin where your memories stop. Look for photos that tell more than just where you went, but how you got there! Websites sometimes offer customer created clipart or photos you can use to enhance your album or fill in when your camera fails. The sites also allow you to add words to the images-- a funny short story, an odd quote, or even snippets of a foreign language for those truly exotic trips.

Vacation Journaling. Another way to do this is to ask everybody to write down their thoughts and experiences each day for use in the photo book. The story of your vacation is important and it would be lost without words to carry the tale. Leave plenty of room on your pages for journaling boxes. You can scan each person's individual hand-written entry, and add that personal touch to your trip's book of memories. Think of this like a visual "play" where all vacation's main characters get to have a featured role.

Tip 5: Add Fun Keepsakes and Souvenirs

I'd say by far the best way to add visual interest and a wonderful touch of reality to your vacation photo book is to save little souvenirs and memorabilia from your trip. Some fun ideas for this might be:

• The take-out menu from the restaurant next to the hotel you ate in every night
• A matchbook or cocktail napkin from that awesome little jazz bar
• The receipt from the too-expensive gelato you ate next to The Coliseum
• A vintage postcard you found in the boardwalk antique shop
• Museum or event ticket stubs or brochures
• The wrapper to a strange candy you bought from a street vendor in Spain

All you need to include these little treasures into your digital photo vacation scrap book is a scanner. Scan 'em in, and even if you lose the items themselves, you'll have the memories they bring up forever.

Tip 6: Research Your Photo Book Printer, and Get Organized!

Check out your digital photobook software before uploading any pictures. Some software and photo scrap book websites, for instance, do not allow you to edit the picture once it is uploaded. Others do. The good news is that the majority of quality photo book printing services let you do bulk uploads. So if you label the pictures of your images as you save them, you can get quite a lot done quickly.

A digital photo vacation scrap book creates all the wonderful memories without the sticky glue! And the final result is just as special, just as personal... and will last forever.

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