Turn your body of photographic work into a print-ready photo book without getting lost in endless decisions or costly mistakes.
7 practical lessons · Under 3 hours · Workbook included · Lifetime access
$99 · One-time payment · Lifetime access
Based on the process Ashley Riffo and Bob Patterson used to create Where the Streets Lead, now sold out after two print runs.
“Any photographer who has been photographing long enough to even think about a book, whether they are ready or not, should take this course.” – Craig Litten, photographer
What’s Inside
Across 7 practical lessons and just under 3 hours of video instruction, we’ll walk through the entire self-publishing process together. Learn at your own pace, revisit lessons whenever you need to, and work on your book as you go. By the end of the course, you’ll have the knowledge, confidence, and tools to create a print-ready photo book of your own.
What You’ll Learn
Lesson 1: Start with Why
Clarify the purpose behind your book, define your theme, think through your audience, and give your project a strong foundation before you start making design or production decisions.
Lesson 2: Image Selection & Sequencing
Learn how to choose images that serve the story, cut what doesn’t belong, create visual rhythm, and sequence your photographs in a way that feels intentional and cohesive.
Lesson 3: The Anatomy of a Photo Book
Get familiar with the parts of a book, including front matter, introductions, captions, essays, acknowledgments, copyright pages, author bios, and other elements you may want to include.
Lesson 4: Printing Considerations
Explore printing options, paper choices, book sizes, binding, quantities, costs, sample packs, proof copies, and what to look for before committing to a full print run.
Lesson 5: Book Design & Layout
Learn the core design terms and layout considerations that matter most when creating a photo book, from margins, bleed, spreads, gutters, typography, white space, and exporting a clean print-ready PDF.
Lesson 6: Marketing Your Book
Start thinking about marketing before your book arrives from the printer. You’ll learn how to talk about your project, build interest, gather marketing assets, and create a simple launch plan.
Lesson 7: Sales & Distribution
Figure out how you’ll price, sell, ship, and distribute your book, whether through direct sales, bookstores, third-party sellers, print-on-demand, or a combination of channels.
You’ll also receive a downloadable workbook with exercises, planning pages, checklists, and reflection prompts to help you apply each lesson directly to your own photo book project.
This isn’t theory. It’s the process we used to create our own book, Where the Streets Lead. The course covers the most helpful gems gleaned from our own research and experiences, and we also talk about our biggest wins and mistakes, vital info to save you time, money, and frustration. This is the course we wished we had when we first dove into self-publishing.
What Students are Saying
“Finished the course yesterday. So well done. Concise. Packed with information that is useful. Real in-the-trenches stories. Everyone thinking of turning their projects into a book needs to go through this.” – Deborah Cole, photographer
Ready to begin your book?
$99 · One-time payment · Lifetime access
Not sure if self-publishing is the route for you? In the video below, Bob Patterson and Ashley Riffo discuss the pros and cons of approaching a traditional publisher vs. self-publishing your photo book.
Ready to pitch your book idea to a publisher? Or get your thoughts organized as you work on self-publishing? Grab our free Book Proposal template here. This will be an invaluable tool no matter which route you take. (Trust us on this one!)