I love my Kindle Paperwhite, but I used to really hate taking photos of my ebooks on it because it is only in black and white. Then I tried taking photos of my iPad, but trying to not have a glare and get the colors how I wanted them felt impossible. Then I figured out an easy way to edit my photo after I take it to get an ideal ebook photo!
Don't be overwhelmed by the length of this post! The tutorial is really only 3 major steps and each of the 3 steps and the bonuses are broken down into very small steps with screenshots.
It might seem overwhelming, but try it once and you will probably find it easier than you imagine! Then you can add the bonuses.
Get Your Base Photo
Take Your Photo
Use the Kindle or tablet you read on to take your photo.
Make sure your photo is a level flat lay. I also recommend taking your photo in square mode if the end result will be a square photo.
Taking a Square Photo (iOS)
I cannot find a simple android solution, please contact me if you are an android user with a solution
Edit Your Photo
Edit your photo however you normally do and save the edited version to your phone .
I use Adobe Lightroom to edit my photos.
Get Your Book Cover
Google image search the book and save the clearest (least grainy) version of the cover
Combine Your Images
Set it up
Get your edited base photo and the book cover on a computer. On that computer, go to Pixlr.com. Click "Pixlr E"
Open the Base Photo
"Open Image"
Select your base photo
Add the Book Cover
Under Layers on the right edge, click the "+"
Click "Image" and select the book cover
Resize the Book Cover
Resize and rotate your image to be as close as possible to the size of the Kindle/tablet screen. It will not fit perfectly yet
Make the Book Cover Fit
While the Book Cover is selected:
Click on "Edit"
Select "Free distort"
Pull the corners of the cover to the the corners of the screen. This is much easier if you zoom in.
Click off of the cover and click "Yes " in the box that pops up when you are done. If you are not 100% happy with it you can go click "Edit" & "Free distort" again.
Save Your Final Product
When you are happy with your results: Click "File" then "Save"
Name your file. Make sure the file type is JPG. Quality should be 100% (High). Then click "Download"
A Bonus Step
Edit the Book Cover
I do edit the book covers before I add them to the base photo. I apply almost the same Lightroom preset, but I don't mess with the colors.
The Finished Product
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