What better gift than a gift from your heart. Making a digital photo album, with iPhoto, for family and friends can be fun and greatly appreciated. Maybe it’s a collection of photos from your last vacation, the family reunion, a wedding, your children’s play or your pet’s silly antics. The sky’s the limit on the creative fun. The best part is the photo album can be printed or emailed.

So how do we create an email version? At first glance the book option looks like you have to pay to have a book printed by Apple. This is a wonderful option for gifts but sometimes we just want to email a photo album to a family member or create one to enjoy ourselves.

To make a book, start by opening iPhoto, then clicking on the Library, located on the top left in the Source column, next click on the red book icon at the bottom of the page. Choose the type of book that you want and the size and then click on Choose Theme. A message will appear asking you to add your pictures now or later. If you already know what pictures you would like to use then click on the Add Pictures Now button. This option will make all of the pictures in the Library available for dragging to the book.

Choose the View the Pages in this book button, located in the upper left corner, then choose the page from the top menu by clicking on it. Next click on the Unplaced Photos button, located at the top left of the page. Drag and drop your pictures into the desired positions. Add captions by clicking on the text area next to each picture. Continue to fill the pages of your book with photos.

If you choose the Add Your Pictures Later option, then do the following to place the pictures on the pages. Click or select the Library or an album in the Source column on the left. Drag and drop each picture to the newly created book located in the same Source column. The pictures will reside in the Unplaced Photos, which you can access by clicking on the button in the upper left corner. To arrange the pictures on the pages, first you need to select a page. Click on the View the pages in this book button, located on the top left. Click on the page, in the top menu, that you want to put pictures on. Next click on the Unplaced Photos button to bring up the pictures. Drag and drop each picture onto the page, dropping them in the desired template positions.

Don’t forget to drag a photo to the cover and add a title to the book. The Inside Cover is a great place to add a description to describe the overall subject of the album.

Now let’s make the digital version of your album. Under the File menu choose Print. In the lower left corner of the print window click on PDF and then select Save as PDF. Name your file and Save. Your book is ready to email as a PDF, opening in both Mac and Windows.