CEWE Creator Software
Maps and more: How to use the helpful software functions
When travelling outside Europe was not possible, we were drawn to one of the smallest countries on the continent: Malta! Malta is home to Europe's southernmost capital, Valletta, and is a treasure trove of landmarks, with as many churches as there are days in a year.
After our travels, we always create a CEWE PHOTOBOOK while the memories from our holiday are still fresh because it's a great way to commemorate the trip! So, when we returned from our Maltese escape, we immediately started on our photo book.
CEWE Creator Software
We love exploring and experimenting with the creative options the CEWE Creator Software has to offer. The software is packed with a large variety of personalisation features, so we wanted to try some of these in our design to bring our photo book to life.
When planning the layout of our travel photo book, we decided on a classic scrapbook style to best represent the story of our journey. This style keeps the spreads clean and professional. We used no more than five images per double-page spread to avoid creating an overpowering visual narrative. We spotlighted the most spectacular photos on separate pages or double-page spreads for maximum impact.
The front cover featured a photo of one of Malta's architectural marvels and an outline graphic of a map of Malta. The back cover detailed the book's content alongside eight photos.
When creating travel photo books, we like to include maps. We were elated to discover that we could crop a map of Malta and adjust the design to match the colour scheme of our book. The software made it incredibly simple to achieve the exact effect I wanted: the land in white, or very light, with a drop shadow, surrounded by a thin outline – as if it were Clipart.
To use this feature, in the software, click on the 'New map' tool in the top menu. In the 'Edit' menu that opens, we searched for Malta. It is also possible to search for a specific location within a country. We then edited the map by using the options under “Edit map”. We used the same colours for the outline and the photo borders for a consistent look.
Some locations are brimming with great photo opportunities. While in Malta, we fell in love with the beauty surrounding us. In our attempts to capture the best possible angle, we ended up with many photos of the same scene. For example, we often took multiple photographs of the same sunset, trying to get the self-timer just right to snap the perfect photo. To save time when selecting the best image, we used the Smart Photo Selection feature to analyse the photos and select the best ones.
I also enjoy adding video to my books. With the video function I can trim the video, i.e. shorten it, for example and then to assess the result I can play a preview of the video. When you drag a video into the Creator Software, a QR code is generated along with a Film Strip displaying frames from the video. I have the option to determine the number of photos in the Film Strip myself and also adjust the colour to suit my design.
To save storage space on my PC and access my photo books from anywhere, I save them in CEWE myPhotos, which provides a generous 15 GB of free storage space – enough room for several photo books.
Malta was a perfect place to relax and see many historical points of interest, attractions and viewpoints. Since the islands are so small, they are easy to explore, and you can travel from one location to the next quickly and easily.
We loved Ghajn Tuffieha Bay and the particularly spectacular old town of Mdina, but we were most impressed by the ornate churches and crystalline waters. Take a look at our CEWE PHOTOBOOK of our trip to Malta here.
Have fun discovering the CEWE Creator Software.
Annika and Mathias