Making an album

You looked at the albums in the Nikkei Album and decided that you have a story you want to share. This page will provide you with instructions on how to make your first album. You can also check our tips for making an album. (link) [http://stage.discovernikkei.org/en/nikkeialbum/intro/]

Terms we use

ALBUM: An album is a group of photos and/or other digital files used to tell a story. The Nikkei Album is made up of albums created by people and organizations around the world.

ITEM: An item is an individual digital file. An item can be a photo, a document, a short video, or an audio clip. Item descriptions share the who, what, why, where, and when for each particular item.

SLIDE: Slides present the narrative of an album. Rather than just describing the item (photo, video, etc), a slide’s description helps to tell the story of your album.

LET’S GET STARTED!!

1. Think about the story

The most important part of the Nikkei Album is your Nikkei-related STORY! Think ahead about the story that you want to tell and plan out the album before you start uploading files.

2. Prepare your materials

Click here to see what file formats and sizes are acceptable for contribution to the Nikkei Album.

Most albums are a group of photos and/or videos. If your photos are in a digital format (from a digital camera, CD-ROM, or your computer), it is a simple step to upload the files to the Nikkei Album.

For printed photos and documents, you will need to scan them first and save them as a .jpg digital file onto your computer, then upload the files to the Nikkei Album.

There is no standardized file size for digital images, but a general guideline for preparing your files is: 72 dpi, 80-120 KB, and 800 x 600 pixel resolution. To resize or edit your digital images, you will need to use photo editing software. There are many programs available ranging from basic to advanced.

The Nikkei Album can accept short video clips (max size 10 MB). There is also an option to upload your video file to YouTube and embed the video as an item. The Nikkei Album is only set up to accept embedded video from YouTube. Click on the links below for instructions.

Embedding YouTube videos »

Converting videos for uploading »

3. Create an account

If you don’t have one already, you will need to create an account on Discover Nikkei to make your first album. It only takes a minute and all you need is a valid e-mail address. Click here to register.

4. Upload files and add information

Uploading your digital files to the Nikkei Album is easy. But you will need to add some information to complete the album. We have created a step-by-step process to help you out.

1. Upload files: Upload up to 5 files at a time.
2. Album Info: This information will be on the main page for your album.
3. Arrange Slides: You can change the order of your slides within the album.
4. Add details: Here you will add the captions for your album slides and the descriptions for the items you have uploaded.

Slide: Add a title and caption for each slide. The caption is the storytelling element of your album. You can either use the captions to describe what’s happening in each photo, or use the photos to illustrate a narrative story.

Item: Below the spaces for the slide information, there are boxes for item information. Use the title and description spaces to share the who, what, when, and where for your item.

5. Add tags

A tag is a descriptive word to help people find your work. You may assign as many tags as you like. For example:

--- a picture of a festival ---

festival, Cherry Blossom Festival, San Francisco

6. Preview and Publish

The final step to completing your album is to click on the PUBLISH button so that others will be able to view your album. And that's it! You've created your first album.

If you have any questions, please contact the Discover Nikkei staff for help: editor@discovernikkei.org