Ever wonder who is the most prolific Blurb bookmaker ever? We’ll grant you that this history is a relatively short one; we launched Blurb in May 2006. But over the past three and a half years, we’ve seen folks embark on some truly amazing projects. Wil van Iersal made a book a week for 52 weeks in 2007, for example. Dan Milnor has integrated books deeply into his business, and creates client books at an impressive clip.

But Seattle-based photographer Sean Hoyt may very well take the title of Most Prolific Blurb Bookmaker Ever. A spread from Sean’s latest book, which he entered into the Best Blurb Books Contest, is seen above. We had a few questions for Sean that he’s answered here today.

How many books have you actually made? How did this begin?

Sean Hoyt Photo Documentary is a husband and wife photography team. We began ordering books from Blurb back in 2006, and since then we’ve uploaded and purchased 130 unique books. I don’t recall exactly how we originally came across Blurb, but once we found the platform, and the Blurb BookSmart® software, we were hooked. The customer support team has been excellent when we’ve needed their support, too.

Do you make the majority of your books for clients or for personal use?

Most of the 130 books we’ve created are for weddings we’ve photographed. Each wedding client receives two books: A hard-bound proof book, and a larger, hard-bound wedding album. The proof book is a visual and tangible index to a photo disc containing full-resolution images. This disc is secured on the inside back cover inside an adhesive pocket. (Editor’s note: Blurb does not offer this feature; Sean does this manually for each client.)

The larger 13×11 wedding album was originally designed using BookSmart, and now we export full-page spreads as JPGs and import them into BookSmart. Here’s an example.

What advice would you give to other working photographers looking to integrate Blurb into their businesses?

We’ve had great success with Blurb, and we recommend that serious photographers learn all about color management. Calibrating your monitor to Blurb’s printers will ensure consistent output. We’d also recommend taking advantage of Blurb’s Premium Paper offering. The books feel substantial as you turn the pages, and clients have responded very well to these books.

How would you describe your personal style, and what sets you apart as a photographer?

Being in the right place at the right time, and pointed in the right direction, is fundamental to every great documentary photographer. When it comes to weddings, we achieve this by sensing, discovering, and documenting moments as they develop naturally. Our photography is mainly this in-the-moment documentary style, but we do mix in a bit of traditional formal posing to round things out. I’m very fond of the panoramic photograph, and believe that it’s essential to retelling a story and bringing our clients back into the setting.

What’s your dream project?

I had an opportunity recently to photograph behind-the-scenes of a 10-minute independent film in Seattle called “Black Coffee” starring the bad kid from Karate Kid II. (Gallery here.)

That experience was so much fun that my dream project would be working on a larger, feature-length movie. A requirement in this area of photography is a device termed a “blimp,” which is a case that wraps around your camera and lens to block all shutter noise but likewise blocks access to my camera. However, my education in electrical engineering will prove useful as I begin building my own blimp to interface with my iPhone!

The temperature has dipped below 60 degrees here in San Francisco at Blurb HQ, which can only mean one thing – it’s November, and the holidays are closing in. Quickly. We’re mere weeks away from Thanksgiving, then Black Friday, and before we know it we’ll be behind the eight ball, wondering where the time went and why we’re not more prepared.

Good news – we’re here to help you give the best gift ever.

Enter the Blurb Gift Center, starting point for all your bookmaking resources. Use the Gift Center as a one-stop shop to give the gift of bookmaking to the ones you love. Or the ones you just like. Or anyone you think may have a book in them.

The Blurb Gift Center includes plenty of resources that make it faster and easier to make Blurb books for your people this holiday season.

Blurb QuickStart Books – Turn your photos into a beautiful book, fast! We’ve prepared several layouts for our most popular book types. You choose the one that’s right for you, then just drag and drop your photos. You’ll be done in no time.

Free Blurb webinars and how-to videos – Get step-by-step instruction and advice from card-carrying members of the Blurberati. Sit through a few of these, and before you know it, you’ll be making books like a pro.

Sorry, but now you’re fresh out of excuses. If it were any easier to get started, we’d be shooting your photos for you too. Keep checking in with us, as the Gift Center may have a few more surprises in store this year. (Hint, hint.)

And as always, for a complete list of important dates and deadlines, please check out our Holiday Shipping Deadlines page.

Need a little help jumpstarting your holiday book? Want a Blurb expert to walk you through making your first book, or help make your next book even more fantastic? Check out our webinars, they’re free, easy, and all they take is you, your computer, speakers, and an Internet connection.

This year we’re offering three different holiday webinars with tips, tricks, and crystal-clear advice for everyone from Blurb beginners to experienced designers. Each webinar lasts about 45 minutes and is interactive so you can ask questions throughout. Plus, we’re giving away something at each webinar, so you have the chance to get a lot more than just great advice.

Our webinars fill up fast, so RSVP today. By the way, be mindful of your time zone when registering. To help you, we have a time zone converter on the webinar registration page.

Blurb BookSmart® Basics – How To Create Your Own Book
November 11 @ 9:00 a.m. PST
November 17 @ 4:00 p.m. PST
November 19 @ 10:00 a.m. PST

Blurb BookSmart® Advanced Tips and Tricks
November 11 @ 10:00 a.m. PST
November 17 @ 5:00 p.m. PST
November 19 @ 11:00 a.m. PST

PDF to Book – Using Adobe® InDesign® or Other Tools to Create Your Book
November 12 @ 10:00 a.m. PST

From San Francisco to New York, London to Chicago – we’ve rocked the world at our Photography. Book. Now events. Come join us for the final celebration at Gallery 291 in San Francisco on Thursday, November 5, 6 pm to 9 pm. Bring your friends, see the winning books, bring your own books, and kick back with great art, great company, and wine. The event is free but space is limited, so rsvp here and we’ll see you there!

Gallery 291 is located at, you guessed it, 291 Geary Street overlooking Union Square, next to Macy’s and the Cheesecake Factory. Google Maps location below.

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We’re not the only ones shaking our heads. Britain’s Liberal Democrats want to put an end to it and French Parliamentarians want warning labels on manipulated images (that ought to clutter up magazine spreads!).

Truth be told, manipulated images have always been rife in media, from OJ’s digitally darkened face on Time in 1994 to Katie Couric’s slimmed silhouette on a CBS magazine in 2006 to Andy Roddick’s bionic biceps for Men’s Fitness in 2007. Heck, even Abraham Lincoln’s portrait was altered in an 1860 portrait in which his head was placed on another politician’s body.

So, what’s right and what’s pushing it? Hey, we’re all for banishing red-eye and who couldn’t use a little teeth whitening now and then, but when does photo re-touching go too far? Aren’t we all a little slimmer in our mind’s eye? Where’s the line between aspirational and just plain wrong?

All the entries are in, let the voting begin! View and vote on your favorites in the Best Blurb Books Contest.

There’s a ton of talent to choose from. So, have fun, get inspired, and vote for as many books as you’d like, but please remember – only one vote per book.

Get cracking! Voting ends just before midnight on November 9 (11:59 p.m., PST, to be exact). Once we’ve tallied up the votes, the top 15 vote-getting books in each category (Family, Pets, and Travel) will move on to the final round where a panel of experts will select the winners.

Heads up: If you’ve entered a book, now is the time to reach out to everyone in your extended circle and rally their votes. Go here for some handy tools to help you.

Happy voting, happy bookmaking!

Eileen’s first post is live now; a piece on the changing nature of what it means to be a book, what the future of the book might look like, and Blurb’s role in helping to drive this change.

So check out the blog post by Eileen, and let us know what you think.