Book giveaway + project excerpt: Photojojo! by Amit Gupta with Kelly Jensen

Craft & Design Photography & Video Workshop

Photojojo Bookcover
Photojojo! Insanely Great Photo Projects and DIY Ideas by Amit Gupta with Kelly Jensen
Book Site: Photojojo.com/book

The best email newsletter hands down for photography crafts is Photojojo. Thanks to Amit’s review one year, I found my Nikon D40 and have been in love with taking photos ever since. Now Amit and Kelly wow us again with their new book, Photojojo! Insanely Great Photo Projects and DIY Ideas filled with 50 projects so you can do more with all the cool photos you take. It’s not just about printing them out and making a photo album. This book shows you how to use your photos to make cool things such as a lampshade or messenger bag (pictured below).The second half of the book is like taking a photography class. You’ll learn techniques for taking better photos as well as fun ways you can experiment with different photo techniques. I love the tips on how to do digital color correcting after you’ve taken your photos. If you love taking photos and want to learn how to do more with them, this book is for you!

Photojojo Projects
Book Giveaway Time!

We are giving away 3 copies of the Photojojo! book.Just leave a comment in this post and tell us why you need this book. Please make sure you include your email address in the comment form field (won’t be published). All comments will be closed by Noon PST on Wednesday, September 23rd. The lucky winners will be announced next week on the site. Good luck!

Photojojo Photomosaic
Project: Ginormous Photo Mosaics
Even if you are living in an apartment and can’t put holes in your walls, you can still get some great art up. Download the project PDF to make this stunning photo mosaic where you’ll be able to see the wonderful memories you have of your friend and family.

166 thoughts on “Book giveaway + project excerpt: Photojojo! by Amit Gupta with Kelly Jensen

  1. Conor Riches says:

    i deserve this book seeing as I won a lovely Casio digital camera online, but making a computer program to do the competition for me :) I put the effort into winning this camera, and so, I believe I deserve the book to make the most of my young talent (im only 16). I would also love makezine for eternity and send photos :)

  2. joel says:

    because i just moved 1600 miles into a place with barren, white walls.

  3. Honus says:

    Wow- that looks like an awesome book. Why do I need this? Is there anyone that doesn’t need this book? The mosaic looks like a neat project- perfect for the hundreds of photos I have of my three little boys. I imagine there’s lots of neat ideas that would make for some fun school projects as well. As a jeweler I would really appreciate any tips on digital color correction- jewelry is notoriously difficult to photograph.

  4. redsauce says:

    After having bounced from place to place for about a decade, I finally have a place to call my own, but with nothing to put on the walls. I need some inventive and creative ways to put my very amateurish stuff on the walls and make it feel like home. Help!
    I would love this book!

  5. Katharine says:

    Because I suck at taking digital photos, and would like to get better at it. I also newly have a puppy that I would like to take photos of and use them for something other than ihasahotdog.com And let’s face it, I’m a reasonable self-starter, but I’m not likely to get on improving unless I have some crafty motivation. I’m also an aspiring professional crafter who has yet to find her niche, and I’m want to try anything and everything!

    Also, because I wrote a limerick to convince you:

    There once was a basset named Groucho
    Who loved to sleep on the couch, oh
    His Mummy took photos
    But they had no mojo
    So please send her the Photojojo!

  6. Randy says:

    I saw a commercial on tv recently that struck too close to home for me. In the commercial, a crowd of people representing digital pictures in a cameras storage are arguing about who will be deleted first to make room for more pictures. My camera is like that sometimes. I have lots of photos that I should do something with, but have lacked the motivation and creativity to do so. That is why I need this book! To save all of my digital photos!

  7. Heather says:

    I need this book because I’m stuck in a rut with my photography projects right now. I need some inspiration of new, cool things to do!

  8. Chris Kubica says:

    I’d love the book for project ideas for stuff I can send my two kids’ 3 late 80s-early 90s great-grand parents. They don’t need or want much, but they are always delighted by things with pics of their great-grand kids on ’em. Thanks!

    Chris

  9. Peter T says:

    My wife is at a crossroads in her career and was always a hobbyist photog. She’d love this book!

  10. Akshay says:

    over the last year, i’ve transitioned from a world of black & white screens, coding 16+ hours of day, making back-end systems work to a bright colorful world of design thinking, human computer interface and data visualizations. its been steady progress, but yet a lot of ground to cover.

    having just bought my first SLR, i click tons of pictures which end up in my macbook digital grave. this book will help me bring those pictures (and future clicks) back to life in creative, exciting ways.

    here’s hoping makezine will help me put some mojo to my slowly evolving colorful design world.

  11. Jason says:

    Sounds like this could give me some great ideas for decorating my newborn’s room with family and local environment pictures.

  12. Erin Norris says:

    Because I finally finished my Master’s thesis and have my life back. I took over 450 pictures on my vacation last week and I love every one of them and want to do something with them other than repeatedly post links to my online photo album.

  13. brad. says:

    i’m shooting a friend’s wedding next month (i’m not a pro photog, by the way) and would love some cool ideas different from the normal wedding shots!

  14. Omar Y. says:

    I’d really like to win this book. I’ve had a streak of bad luck lately at work and health wise, having undergone surgery two weeks ago, I must now go for a month of rehabilitation.
    Anyways, I’ve been shooting more and more these last weeks and my girlfriend and me have been trying to find some cool ways to use her interior design knowledge and my photo skills to a more fun and creative use and this book certainly looks like the key for that.
    Cheers on the site, always awesome.

  15. Sasha says:

    I would love to have this book because I LOVE everything photography and photojojo. Photojojo has really helped me grow as an amateur photographer so far and I just know this book will take me to the next step. Please consider giving this photo rookie a chance to really inspire others with her photography!

  16. ChristineMM says:

    I’d like to do more with my photos other than abandoning them on my hard drive never to be used or seen by anyone’s eyes but mine.

    And I’m a DIY kind of person who likes to do odd things & create stuff that doesn’t look like it came from a big box store.

    THANKS!

  17. wombat247 says:

    I found out today that my wife unfriended me on facebook. If you don’t give me this book, I’ll go out and buy it. I swear it.

  18. doc says:

    The best reason I can think of to ask for this book is to satisfy the craving my mother, mother-in-law, wife, and good friend have to see pictures of my two-year-old daughter. I use flickr and youtube, and print calendars, but am trying to come up with better ideas. I figure if I can start something new and exciting, I can justify the expense of a new camera as well.

    -Keith

  19. Melissa Jeffrey says:

    I need this book because after I devour and memorize every page, I will put it into my libraries collection, asking (nay demanding) more people to read the book!

  20. Jason Harmon says:

    I’m getting married saturday and my bride to be is a huge photo-fanatic. This book would be a wonderful coffee table book for our new home together.

  21. steve says:

    My two sons have amassed an archive of 20,000 photos, and I just love finding new ways to justify my photographic obsession.

  22. Adam C. says:

    I’m not sure that I would say that I’m the most deserved for the chance to win this. (I know, compelling) But I, however, am drawn DIY and admire as well appreciate photography and the ability to encapsulate a moment and bookmark it for history within a photograph.

  23. wy says:

    Hi, my boyfriend gives multimedia workshops for kids – including youngsters from more difficult neighbourhoods – teaching them how to express themselves through filming, talking, recording, photographing..
    He often works in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Brussels.
    One of the workshops he organizes is on photography – and it would be great for me to give him this book – to be able to feed his educational drive…

    Here are some samples:
    http://beamblog.wordpress.com/
    http://www.karakol.be/ -> click on the snails :-)
    (websites in Dutch)
    http://www.youtube.com/user/BEAMedia

    re.mork@gmail.com

  24. Alan says:

    As an earlier poster said, is there anyone who doesn’t need this book? Every time I look through my vast collection of iPhoto images, or dig into my even more vast set of old negatives and prints, I pull out gems that scream “do something interesting with me!” I’ve put together a few albums, had a few photobooks printed, and so on, but things like the lampshade above would never have occurred to me. Please, hook me up.

  25. Sam the Science Man says:

    I like taking photos and part of my work for my PhD will be taking photos of cells and fibers, which is pretty cool. I love the work and want to show it other than by publishing papers (which I don’t love nearly as much).

    I would like to use my cooler photos creatively instead of having them languish on my hard drive. With a new microscope coming in, this would be a good way to excite me to do something outside my normal experience, and maybe I could inspire other students too :D

    Thanks!

  26. jeff-o says:

    I need gift ideas for my parents and grandparents. I have a zillion photos of my kids, but I won’t settle for mere picture frames. How pedestrian! I’m hoping this book will give me ideas for truly unique Christmas gifts.

  27. youevolve says:

    I purchased my wife a SLR for her birthday. Best. Gift. Ever.

    She has spent countless hours photographing the family, nature, buildings… anything and everything. It is her escape, her place of solitude, behind the camera.

    As a quilter, crafter, and photographer I think she will find lots of useful projects in this book.

  28. Richard K. says:

    1. I love photojojo.
    2. If I have photojojo I will love it even more.
    3. The more love I share with something, it will unbalance the love I have for other stuff.
    4. I therefore need to balance my love.

    Give me photolove, fill me with lots of love, ill need to balance it, so ill do the stuff in the book, share it with the world, and therefore share love with everyone.

    Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

  29. Dave Bauer says:

    I just need it, ok? And this comment form doesn’t work without javascript. That is just rude folks, totally inaccessible!

    And I am the only one who is going to have to setup a spambot to fill out these captchas?

  30. KC says:

    .. for my wife. She has thousands of photos she’s taken but only a handful displayed in frames. This book will inspire her to show off her work in creative ways. Ok and I’m too cheap to buy it. BTW… photojojo has a great newsletter, check it out!

  31. Derek Blumenthal says:

    I’m pretty sure it was Make that first turned me on to reading the Photojojo newsletter. Ever since then I’ve been using it for project ideas and inspiration. I’m a new(ish) dad and I teach middle school and this book could provide me some techniques and ideas to help inspire both my family shots as well as my students. Please?

  32. malweth.myopenid.com says:

    I take some decent pictures, but I’m terrible about going out and taking them! I need good photo projects to get me started!!!!

  33. astabeth says:

    I am an art teacher and my students would love some of the projects in this book! So would I!

    1. astabeth says:

      Whoops, forgot my email – astabeth@gmail.com

  34. steve blair says:

    I’ve actually been working on a photo lamp-shade similar to the one pictured in the post, only I was thinking square instead of round. I’d love to get some inspiration from the book for that. I really love photography and built myself a time-lapse controller from Make: issue 15, so now I need some cool new DIY photography project ideas!

    1. steve blair says:

      ditto to astabeth, my email is steveblairwork@gmail.com

  35. Scott Quillen says:

    I’m always jealous of my friends photos which seem so well done and artistic compare to mine. I’m sure I could learn to take better picture, I’ve just never wanted to spend the money on a class. This book sounds like it’d be perfect for me.

  36. sf_jamie says:

    I’m the proud dad of a 5 year old that can take as good, if not better photos that his old man. I’ve been very proactive to get him into the belief that if he can think it up, he can make or do it. He is developing at a rapid rate and this book would help him to keep expanding his curiosity so that one day he can write a book of his own and teach others! When he was 4 years old he built the HDTV antenna from Make magazine, and he also made an LED sign from the podcast. It sounds like this book would help him his would help open up more possibilities for him to be creative with the camera! Take care!

  37. ke8bg says:

    Why do I need this book…? Who doesn’t need to have this book.
    Love the lamp shade sample.
    I’ld like to see a backlit picture frame on a wall like that..

    Duane

  38. newphototakerperson says:

    My husband has been trying to get me to be creative for years… being a single mom who just needed to get it done… I didn’t have much time for hobbies and exploring the creative side of me when we met. Through diligence and patience he got me loving Make and Craft and a couple years ago he bought me an Olympus point and shoot and I have (to my credit) been taking some pretty good pictures with it… so he bought me a Canon Rebel XSI SLR to begin expanding my new talents. I have an eye for it and am trying to learn as much as I can… but I don’t take typical photos of typical things… I love different angles and light contrasts and I am hoping that I can learn to do even more with this book.

    So please please please (yes, i am begging) let me a “wiener”…

    Thanks for reading this… I know it was long.

  39. Douglas Smith says:

    I’d love to win this book to utilize my printers. I have a 36″ color plotter and an 11×17″ color laser printer I don’t use enough!

  40. J. J. says:

    I’ve owned photoshop for the last 10 years and I’ve yet to really make somthing impressive with it!

  41. Elizabeth says:

    I work in a school – helping teachers do cool things with digital technology and media. I’d love the jump start of PhotoJojo’s awesome ideas.

    Thanks!

  42. skywire7 says:

    The studio I work in is at the ‘Casket Arts Building’. We have monthly open houses and I need to find clever ways to promote my pictures. People need interesting and unusual products these day as they seem to pass on by the ol’ pictures in frames.

    I love techno projects and do-it-yourself products. This book looks like the next big thing I need to boost my photos. Plus I will take pictures of the results and send them to you to promote the book even more!

  43. George says:

    I want to make something for my dying mother with my collection of family pictures. I want to see her smile again.

    Thanks!

  44. Footer says:

    I need this book to take up my time when I’m not working.

  45. Suzy says:

    Because my dog is named Mojo Jojo.

  46. Monsieur David says:

    I need the book so that I can learn to snap pictures that are actually great to look at. Thanks!

    1. Upir says:

      …I’m an interior design student in need of reference material that isn’t filled with mass produced junk. I would love to have a book filled with fun and off beat ideas that I could use as a starting point for various room designs as I go through my classes.

  47. sberl says:

    I have thousands of photos, slides, and negatives in boxes. I have 500 GB of hard drive full of other pictures, and they just keep coming! I need something creative to do with all of these pictures.

  48. PJ says:

    I definitely need this book because I’d love to give it to my insanely artistic daughter who’s horribly repressed and can’t express her inner art. She’s recently taken up photography and wants to learn all she can.

  49. ultrafknbd says:

    I don’t deserve this book. I’m not good enough. Or am I?

    1. Chad says:

      I don’t own a camera. I can make pinhole camera, though!

  50. Tom says:

    I need to rediscover photography. I used to take loads of pictures with a whole series of vintage soviet cameras. It was great fun – I loved how you rarely knew what your pictures would look like when they were developed.

    I bought a digital compact camera a couple of years ago. It’s fun, but I can’t help but feel I’m missing a trick. Re-enlighten me! Is it time to go back to film? Or is there more I can do with digital?

  51. Chris J. says:

    Because I have hundreds of photos (and a few pretty good ones ;-), and I’d like to learn to increase the ratio and show them off in some fun new ways!!

  52. Nicole S. says:

    Hi…I need this book because I’m a poor graduate student. I’m going absolutely insane with non-stop reading, researching, pretending to know what i’m doing and lamenting the pay cut I took to do this. I do have a pretty sweet camera and would love to have assignments I WANT to do…that would divert but not distract my mind. Please help me! I can only afford to make Ramen noodle sculptures right now (and those don’t photograph well) and I need to make some Christmas presents!

  53. iagogo says:

    my camera was stolen out of the lemon car i bought.
    can’t afford a new car.
    can’t afford a new camera.
    nobody loves me.
    not like you do.

  54. jana says:

    that i just like the idea of this book? getting back into the crafts now (was crafting as a little girl, now rediscovering the fun at 35 and it is actually better when you have seen your museums and galleries and record covers and the clothes on the streets on london). no i am not saying i deserve the book more than othersm but why not give it a try asking for it, doesnt harm anyone

  55. Fuzzy says:

    Why I need this book?

    I am from a Central/Eastern European country where shop/buy/spend/throw away/buy a new one/name and price make quality culture is growing with a scary pace. Makers and Crafters are considered freaks and weirdos. As an example, people give me strange looks when I use my fish-eye lens made out of door spyglass and tripods made out of trashed bolts and metal pieces. Not to mention dumpster diving!
    But I don’t care for that and try to spread the maker spirit and culture among friends and everyone I know, trying to open their mind and creativity, show them a different view…

    That is why I need this book! There is no better way to open someone’s mind and eyes then creative photography and this is just the book that will do it!

  56. mykeyFinn says:

    My wife is a budding photographer, and has interest in doing something more than just photo albums with her pics. I would love to give her this book as a Seventh anniversary gift, so think of it as a way to give a gift and keep me out of the Dog House this year XD

  57. Rachel says:

    I need this book to catch up to my husband! Since the birth of our first child, he’s developed a real passion for photography, especially high dynamic range photos and elaborate panoramas shot in RAW. His latest obsession is time lapse photography. My photo skills are lacking. I watch the kids when I’m not working, and since I’m not in front of the computer all day, I don’t have the time to devote to the fabulous resources available on photo websites, tutorials, message boards and mailing lists. I need something (i.e. a book) I can take with me to learn the latest tips and tricks at my own pace. I don’t want all the memories of my children’s childhood to be shot from just one eye. I’m ready to step up and learn what I need to know to add my perspective to this precious time in our family’s development.

    Thank you for your consideration!

  58. oster says:

    I love photography and am trying to get better at it. I can’t think of much more fun than trying to combine two of my favorite things!

  59. Tim says:

    We just had a baby 5 months ago and we have almost a million pictures of him. We need ideas on how to use the pictures other than just a photo album!

  60. Jeff says:

    This book would be a great way for my kids (7,9 and 12) to get new ideas about what to do with their digital camera. It would help to develop their creativity, and maybe even spark a few interests in some really fun life long hobbies.

    eagmnjh@gmail.com

  61. JoJo says:

    I mean who else would benefit from a photojojo book, other than a JoJo? Sure it’s a nicname, but clearly we were meant to be.

    <3 JoJo

  62. Nic Coffman says:

    Man, I could use some super awesome photo fun for my place. It could use some funky sprucing up.

  63. Kate H says:

    Love the lampshade idea! I’ve made tiles that were pretty cool too.

  64. skatiescrappler says:

    I am in need of this book for my roller derby team. We have SO many photos, and I would love to make customized messenger bags, lamps, etc. as gifts for each of my teammates. We also could expand these projects to sell incredibly unique team merchandise, therefore spreading derby love throughout the world, as it should be! It’s a powerful force.

  65. txscrapbooks says:

    Our family recently bought a Nikon D40 and I’m having a ball taking really fun pictures, but I need new ideas for what to do with all these great pictures… I’d love to have the book! Thanks!

    txscrapbooks@yahoo.com

  66. Josh says:

    I love the photojojo site and would love to make some of their excellent projects for gifts for christmas.

  67. PeachWeasel says:

    Because I’m 7k into a photography degree and need to do something with these things before they crush me!

    Seriously.

    Send help,
    Boy trapped under twenty bricks of expired Ektrachrome.

  68. Nikki says:

    I need, need, need and want, want, want this book. I learned about photjojo through a friend that forwarded me an article from uncrate that featured the Super-Secret Spy Lens. I begin subscribing to your emails every since and find the emails very helpful. Living single, it becomes hard to find things to shoot and I am certain that this book would help me get out of that rut and get back to shooting more than ever and help be become a better and more creative photographer!

  69. pikacupcake says:

    I need this book because, well you see the cute Molly on the cover? Yeah, when I take pictures, my dogs point to pictures of her and go, MA! Why you gotta take such bad pictures? Lookit Molly! She looks cute!

    Then I have to tell them that I don’t have internet on my phone, so I can’t just pull up photojojo’s handy tips/instructions to make them look better while we’re out.

    They’ve also requested that once I start taking better pictures with what I learn from the book that I create stuff with their pictures on it, so that the world can see how awesome they are. Maybe one day their dreams of looking as good in pictures as Molly does can come true.

  70. miss thang says:

    why DONT i need this book? Im getting my feet wet with a DSLR, and could use all the tips I can get. Ive also been subscribing to Photojojo for ages, and appreciate all their thoughts and ideas! Pick me!

  71. compmd says:

    I do… I think PhotoJoJO is great.

    I’d really like this book to share my photos with my 2 young daughters, my biggest fans. Some of the images above are just uber ideas… the lamp shade.. the wall art.. what’s not to love.

  72. shrubbysteve says:

    ’cause i absolutely love their neat ideas and the fact that they’re encased in a convenient book i can pick up and look at whenever i want regardless if there’s wifi/internet access. ;)

  73. Juan Cubillo says:

    because all my pictures are as crappy as they can be!!! I need some ideas on what to do with my crappy photos! :D

  74. SilverJPhoto says:

    I would love to get this book for all the neat things it gets you to do. I am just starting out in the photo business, but I like to challenge myself everyday and this would be the perfect way to do that.

  75. Marilyn Kramer says:

    Just became grandma for the first time last week and I LOVE to take photos and work with photoshop. I need new ideas to use the photos I take and incorporate them in other ways besides just sticking them in a photo album that rarely gets looked at!

  76. Brad says:

    Looks like there is a lot of neat ideas in this book! Sign me up for the giveaway contest :)

  77. Eric says:

    Single geek dad with 4 kids. We have the math/science/tech stuff down pat. Needing to balance out right brain/left brain usage. This book seems like just the ticket.

  78. Jason Thorne says:

    I would like this book for my wife and I. We both love photography and have gigabites of pictures store on the compter that we could use to create some of the great art that is in the book to decorate our house as well and share with friends and family. My wife and I are both makers and would look forward to sending in our results. Thank you for considering us.

    Email: thorne.jason@gmail.com

  79. Photography Degree says:

    Thanks for the mention. That bug-out
    bag post has me thinking. I don’t live in earthquake territory, but I suppose
    there may be other reasons why everyone in our area would have to leave
    quickly.

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