16 Oct ·
Personalised book or photo book: what's the difference and which to choose
Two gifts full of memories, but very different: what each one offers and when it makes sense.
What is the difference between a personalised book and a photo book? A photo book gathers your real photographs, arranged by page, usually with captions. A personalised book, like the ones from EpicStoriez, tells an illustrated story in which the person is the main character, with their name and a drawn version of their face. In this article we compare the two, explain what each does best and help you choose.
What each one is
- Photo book: real photographs, arranged like a printed album. The content is your muments as they were captured.
- Personalised book: an illustrated story with the person as the main character. The content is a narrative, with illustrations created by artificial intelligence from a photograph used only to create the avatar.
Both keep memories, but in different ways: the photo book documents what happened, while the personalised book turns a relationship or a person into the character of a story.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Photo book | Personalised book |
|---|---|---|
| What it shows | Real photographs, as they were taken | An illustrated story with the person as the main character |
| Needs lots of photos | Yes, dozens | No: 1 to 5 clear photographs are enough, one per character |
| Tone | Documentary and nostalgic | Narrative: adventure, humour, tenderness |
| For young children | They recognise themselves, but there is no plot | They hear a story in which they are the hero |
| Work for the giver | Choosing and ordering photographs | Choosing the theme, the names and, if you want, the text |
| Result | An album | A storybook |
When a photo book makes more sense
- To record a specific period: a trip, a baby's first year, a wedding.
- When the real photographs are what matters: faces, places, dates.
- When you already have the photographs organised and want a faithful keepsake.
When a personalised book makes more sense
- For children, who like to see themselves as the main character of a story.
- When you don't have many photographs, or don't want to expose photographs of children.
- As a gift for someone who has everything, because it offers a story nobody else has.
- To tell a relationship (friendship, couple, grandparents and grandchildren) through an invented adventure, with humour or tenderness.
Photo privacy
With a photo book, the real images end up printed and held by the company that prints them during the process. With a personalised book, the photograph is used only to create the illustrated avatar and is deleted right afterwards; only the drawn avatars remain. For anyone who has reservations about sharing photographs of children, this can make the difference. If you want to understand the process, read our article about photo safety.
Costs and timing
Prices vary a lot depending on the printer and the number of pages, so we can only speak for ours: the personalised eBook costs €10 and the eBook with a 28×21 cm hardcover printed book costs €39.99, with 20% off the 2nd book. The preview is free and needs no account, and each book includes 2 revisions. The printed book is delivered to 12 countries in 6 to 10 business days after you approve it (6 to 15 in the Azores and Madeira); shipping starts at €5.99 and appears at checkout before you pay. The eBook has no shipping.
Who each one suits, by age
- Babies and children up to 3: the photo book works well as a memory album, and the personalised one as a first story in which they recognise themselves by name.
- From 3 to 11: the personalised book tends to have more impact, because the child is the hero and wants to hear the story again.
- Teenagers and adults: it depends on taste. A photo book pleases those who value memory; a personalised book, with humour, pleases those who like an original gift.
- Grandparents and older relatives: many prefer real photographs; an illustrated story about the family can be a much-loved complement.
You can combine the two
You don't have to choose just one. A personalised book can be the main gift, with a story in which the person is the main character, and a photo book can accompany it as a memory of the same period. You can also print a few real photographs and add them to the book as a complement, or write a dedication that mentions a mument the photographs captured.
Questions to help you decide
- 1Does the person like stories or looking back at the past?
- 2Do I have enough organised photographs?
- 3Do I want the book to tell a story or to record what happened?
- 4Is the person a child, an adult or an older person?
- 5How much time do I have to prepare the gift?
In short
The photo book keeps what happened; the personalised book tells a story with the person as the main character. If you want an original gift that doesn't depend on having many photographs and that a child can read as an adventure, the personalised book is a good choice. Try the free preview and decide after you see the result.