FAQs
Contents:
How do I order or personalize the book?
How do I send in my photos?
What photos should I send for the Princess Story?
What photos should I send for the Birthday Story?
What photos should I send for the Potty Story?
What photos should I send for the “What I Want To Be” Story?
Examples of good photos and not-so-good photos.
How long will it take for me to receive my order?
What if the child has one parent instead of two or was adopted?
Do you offer rush orders?
How much is shipping?
What forms of payment do you accept?
What is your privacy policy?
How do I order or personalize the book?
For each book, there is a "personalization" form. You can access the personalization form from the book description page or from the “order books” page. On the form you will provide the information required to personalize the book. After completing the form (which will automatically send us your information), you will be sent to the order page. Please select the item(s) you would like to purchase, and then proceed with the checkout. Be sure to email the photos we will use for your personalized story. See the “How do I send in my photos” question below.
How do I send in my photos?
It’s easy! You have two options - you can send it in by email or mail it in to us. Email pictures to
information@phototalesbooks.com. Be sure to indicate the name of the people in the photos. See the example beneath this paragraph for labeling suggestions. You may want to number your photos and then provide a brief description indicating which person (people) we should use. Match your description to the numbered photo. Please include your name and your contact information. If you mail your photos to us, please include the name/names of people in the photos. Mail the photos to PhotoTales Books, 4355 Cobb Parkway, Suite J258, Atlanta, GA 30339. All mailed photos will be returned. It is very important that we receive your photos as we cannot produce your photo-personalized story without them.
Photo description Example:
This is an example of a photo received from the Millers.
Photo saved as miller_photo1.jpeg
Photo 1 description – please use the child on the left named Sarah.
What photos should I send for the Princess Story?
The princess story uses 4 different faces. We need:
1. A smiling photo of the child.
2. A sad-face photo of the child
3. A photo of “Mom” or the female adult character
4. A photo of “Dad” or the male adult character.
In the photographs, the face of the person should be un-obscured and facing forward (or mostly facing forward). Don’t worry if the head is tilted slightly, we can rotate the angle of the face. If the photograph has more than one person in the picture, please be sure to clearly indicate which person we should use for which character.
What photos should I send for the Birthday Story?
The Birthday story uses 3 different faces plus optional photos. We
need:
1. A photo of the child.
2. A photo of "Mom" or the female adult character
3. A photo of "Dad" or the male adult character.
Optional:
1. 2-3 photos of friends or family that can be included on page 7. Be
sure to identify the people in the photograph by name.
In the photographs, the face of the person should be un-obscured and
facing forward (or mostly facing forward). Don't worry if the head is
tilted slightly, we can rotate the angle of the face. If the
photograph has more than one person in the picture, please be sure to clearly
indicate which person we should use for which character.
What photos should I send for the Potty Story?
The Potty story uses 3 different faces. We need:
1. A current photo of the child.
2. One photo of the child as a baby (any photo from ages
6 months – 11 months works great – as long as the
face is not obscured. See the Potty Story book tour
to see how the baby picture is used)
3. A photo of "Mom" or the female adult character
4. A photo of "Dad" or the male adult character.
In the photographs, the face of the person should be un-obscured and facing forward (or mostly facing forward). Don’t worry if the head is tilted slightly, we can rotate the angle of the face. If the photograph has more than one person in the picture, please be sure to clearly indicate which person we should use for which character.
What photos should I send for the “What I Want To Be” Story?
The “What I Want To Be” story only uses one face. We need:
1. A photo of the child.
In the photograph, the face of the child should be un-obscured and facing forward (or mostly facing forward). Don’t worry if the head is tilted slightly, we can rotate the angle of the face. If the photograph has more than one child in the picture, please be sure to clearly indicate which child we should use for the story.
Examples of good photos and not-so-good photos.
The photo below (girl on a couch with a book) is a pretty good shot for one of our stories. See below for a sample of what the “head” will look like after it’s cropped. Notice we fixed the “red eye.”
There are only two drawbacks to this photo:
1. The dark background “shows through” the bows – but it will still look ok in the story.
2. When children have long hair the cropped head cannot capture all of the long hair or else the background will “show through” too much. Once again, the cropped head still looks good in the story even though the child’s hair appears shorter.
There are several good things about his photo:
1. The face is look forward (not down too much or up too much) so the head and neck and both clearly visible. (It is helpful to have some neck show with the face).
2. The face is not obscured – there are no hats, body parts, or strands of hair in front of the face.
3. The child’s eyes are looking at the camera. This makes the child in the story seem more engaged.
4. The image is clear. Since we often enlarge the faces a clearer image will look better in a story. Sometimes a slightly fuzzy image will look really fuzzy after the image is enlarged.
The following photo (Mommy, Daddy, and Child in front of a Christmas tree) is not a good photo to use for several reasons:
1. The uneven placement of hair looks really imbalanced once the head is cropped. (Scroll below to see the cropped head taken from this photo).
2. The black cape obscures the bottom portion of the child’s face. When the head is cropped the face looks like it’s missing a piece.
3. The profile perspective – vs. the face forward perspective – is more difficult to use (though we have used faces with a slight profile successfully).
4. The child’s eyes are not as open and engaged in the photo. Wide open eyes look the best – though are not a requirement.
How long will it take for me to receive my order?
Because each order is a custom made to order book, please allow 7-10 business days from the date of purchase to delivery.
What if the child has one parent instead of two or was adopted?
Our books are personalized for each child. If the child lives in a one parent household, the story will co-star one parent. If the child was adopted, you can choose to have the adopted Birthday story version.
Do you offer rush orders?
Yes, we do offer rush orders for $10.00 more. Rush order will have your book ready to ship out by the 2nd business day after we receive the complete order (photos, form, and payment.) See shipping rates below.
How much is shipping?
Standard shipping is $5.00 (typically 3-6 days)
Overnight shipping is $14.95
Shipping will be sent standard unless otherwise indicated in the payment page. To select overnight shipping, be sure to add the “overnight shipping” item to your order in the shopping cart. The overnight shipping will show up as an additional $9.95 (for a total shipping charge of $14.95). For example, if you select overnight shipping, then your shopping cart will show the product you are purchasing and an additional item for shipping in the amount of $9.95.
What forms of payment do you accept?
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and PayPal.
What is your privacy policy?
Your information will remain PRIVATE! We will not share ANY of your information with ANYONE!
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