A client book needs separate approval for its content, layout and physical presentation. Agree on who decides, name every file version and resolve changes before authorizing production. This prevents a familiar problem: the client approves “the book,” but the printer receives a different cover or a later interior file.
This workflow is for photographers and designers preparing an album, portfolio or illustrated book for a client. It includes a brief, revision log, resolution check and approval wording you can adapt. It is a production workflow, not a substitute for your service agreement.
Write the brief before placing photographs
Ask what the book needs to do. A family album for close viewing, a portfolio carried to meetings and a large display book need different decisions. Do not start with the most expensive binding and work backwards to a purpose.
Record the intended recipients, number of copies, preferred size, approximate page count, text requirements, target date and budget. Identify who owns or can authorize use of each photograph and who will approve captions and names. If several relatives or departments are involved, ask the client to nominate one person who will return consolidated feedback.
| Brief field | Illustrative answer |
|---|---|
| Purpose | A family anniversary album read at home |
| Contents | Selected photographs plus short dated captions |
| Decision maker | One named client collecting relatives’ comments |
| Review scope | Image selection, names, dates, sequence and crop |
| Physical priorities | Readable captions and comfortable opening |
| Release condition | Approved named files and completed physical review |
The answers are fictional. For a real project, replace every general phrase with a decision the client can confirm.
Audit the source files before designing a full book
Create folders for originals, working edits, layouts, review exports and approved production files. Keep originals unchanged. Give selected images stable identifiers so “the beach picture” cannot refer to four different files.
Check pixel dimensions, cropping room and visible defects. Effective resolution depends on the pixels remaining after cropping and the size at which they are printed. A 3,000-pixel-wide image placed 10 inches wide has 300 pixels per inch. At 15 inches wide it has 200 pixels per inch. If a crop leaves only 1,800 pixels, placing it 10 inches wide gives 180 pixels per inch.
In Photoshop, Image > Image Size shows dimensions and resolution; the Resample setting controls whether pixels are added or removed. See Adobe’s Image Size instructions. Changing a resolution number is not, by itself, evidence that a weak source gained real detail.
Ask the production partner for the requirements of the actual product. Do not use a 200% screen zoom as a pass/fail test for print quality. Inspect the image, its intended size and a proof where needed. A historically important low-resolution photograph may still belong in the book, but use it smaller and agree on the limitation.
Approve the visual direction with a few representative spreads
Build a cover direction and several spreads showing the hardest content: a dense caption, a portrait, a landscape and any image crossing the center. Include a chapter opening if the book has chapters.
Ask the client to approve the direction before laying out every page. They should understand the type size, white space, image treatment and caption style. This is the right time to discover that they want a quiet family record rather than a magazine-like layout.
Get the printer’s current template for trim, bleed, safe areas and cover construction. Spine width can depend on page count, paper and binding. Finalize the interior count before treating the cover as ready for production. Do not assume that a normal hardcover opens flat or that an important face can safely cross its gutter.
Collect revisions in a form you can verify
Send a numbered review PDF with an explicit version in its filename, such as Anniversary_Interior_v03_2026-10-13.pdf. Ask the client to reference both the PDF page number and printed page number if they differ.
| Location | Requested change | Status | Checked in |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDF page 8, caption | Change the estimated date to “summer 1982” after client confirmation | Resolved | v04 |
| PDF page 19, image P032 | Restore the person cropped at the left | Needs a different source or layout | Pending |
| Cover spine | Confirm family name spelling | Awaiting client | Pending |
Do not mark the book approved while unresolved items remain. If feedback arrives by phone, enter it in the log and send it back for confirmation. A request such as “make it warmer” needs a reference and a specific scope before you apply it to every photograph.
When revisions change the page count, review the cover template and page references again. One added page can affect more than its immediate neighbor.
Separate content approval from print approval
For content approval, ask the client to inspect names, dates, captions, selection, order and omissions. For layout approval, ask about cropping, text placement and whether important details sit too close to edges or the center.
“Please review Interior v04 and Cover v02. Confirm that the selected images, text, spelling, sequence and crops are approved, or list remaining changes by page. This is approval of these named digital files. Physical color, paper feel and opening behavior are reviewed separately where a printed proof is part of the project.”
This wording makes the scope understandable. It does not replace contractual terms or make a digital display an accurate simulation of paper.
Inspect a physical copy deliberately
Use the same product specifications intended for the final copies. A proof on different paper or a different binding cannot answer every question about the final object. Keep the approved digital version beside you and work through the book in order.
- Confirm all pages are present and in sequence, including intentional blanks.
- Read captions at a comfortable distance under ordinary light.
- Inspect dark and light photographs for details important to the project.
- Check trim, safe areas, spine alignment and any center-crossing image.
- Open the book normally and check the reading experience without forcing the binding.
- Record defects or requested changes with page references and photographs.
If an issue is in the file, correct the source and export a new version. If it appears to be a production issue, send the evidence to the printer before changing the artwork. Altering both at once makes the cause harder to identify.
Release one unambiguous production set
Create a final record containing the interior filename, cover filename, specification, quantity, approval date and approver. Move only those files into the approved-production folder. Avoid names such as “final-final-new.”
Before ordering, compare the submitted files with that record. If a late correction arrives, pause and replace the approval record rather than assuming the old permission covers it. Archive the record for reprints; a future order should specify whether it uses the same edition or a revised one.
Use the launch readiness guide if delivery is tied to an event, and the cost worksheet to include your own design and review time. For YourBookBound production, send the actual files for a free check and confirm the specifications before committing.
Further reading: Blurb’s guide to client books discusses format and proofing. The version-control workflow, calculation examples and approval records here are original instructional material.