🚀 7 Layout Ideas for Your Photo Zine

A zine isn’t Instagram. Your zine doesn’t have to follow a layout where photos are all cropped to the same ratio and lined up in neat rows.

In the early days of zines, the process of making one mostly involved printing photos on paper, cutting them out, arranging them by hand, and then making copies from that original. Back then, it wasn’t just a choice — it was the only way.

Nowadays, anyone can easily design their zine layout on a laptop. While this makes things more convenient, it often leads to more predictable and bland layouts compared to the hands-on method of cutting and pasting on paper.

In fact, many photo zines tend to follow a formula where every photo is the same size, with equal margins, and just lined up. If that’s your intentional choice, great!
But if you want to create something more dynamic, something that really grabs the reader’s attention, try varying your layout from page to page.

In this edition, I’m going to introduce 7 layout ideas that can help you create a more engaging photo zine.

Table of Contents

• 🧃Announcement: A New Zine from FED is Here!

• 🚀 7 Layout Ideas for Your Photo Zine

  • Idea 1: Use a Full-Spread Layout with White Space …

  • Idea 2: Mix White Space and Full-Bleed Photos on t …

  • Idea 3: Treat Two Pages as One Canvas

  • Idea 4: Present Horizontal and Vertical Photos Uni …

  • Idea 5: Fill the Page with a Large Number of Photo …

  • Idea 6: Use Another Photo as the Background

  • Idea 7: Use Photos of Photos

• 🕺 See You Again Next Time

🧃Announcement: A New Zine from FED is Here!

Many of you might already know, but I launched FAR EAST DARKROOM (FED.), a community brand for next-gen photographers, and we officially started in 2023.

In an era where many "photographers" only showcase their work on social media, FED. was founded to support those passionate about creating prints, especially darkroom prints, and photographers who are actively involved in exhibitions and producing zines or photo books.

So far, including myself, we've sold zines and prints from 5 different photographers, reaching people in 32 countries.

Today, I'm excited to announce that FED, as a publisher, is releasing a new photo zine by photographer Katsumi Nishizawa, titled "THE TUBE." 
This zine features 33 prints he shot on film in the UK during 2023, capturing moments with friends and street scenes. All the prints were printed in his own darkroom and compiled into this zine.

Next year, he's planning to self-publish his first hardcover book (and as we all know, hardcover books can be pretty expensive). So if you can, please support him by purchasing this zine to help fund his upcoming book project.

In this YT video, I showcase some of his other work (different from the zine), and you'll see for yourself that he's an amazing photographer.

By the way, this zine is his very first, making it a special one. It’s limited to only 100 copies, so don’t miss out!

🚀 7 Layout Ideas for Your Photo Zine

Now, I’m going to share with you 7 layout ideas inspired by some of my favorite photo books and zines. Hopefully, these examples will give you fresh ideas for your own projects!

Idea 1: Use a Full-Spread Layout with White Space on One Side

When you want to showcase a photo in a larger format, using a full two-page spread is a common technique. However, instead of filling both pages entirely with the image, leaving white space on either side can create a better rhythm for viewing the photo.

Another benefit of adding white space is when the main subject’s face is positioned in the center of the image. The center of the book doesn’t fully open flat, often cutting off important parts of the photo.
By shifting the placement of the photo and incorporating white space, you can avoid having the subject’s face right in the middle of the fold, making for a more balanced and thoughtful layout.

Idea 2: Mix White Space and Full-Bleed Photos on the Same Page

As you can see in this example, even with the same landscape photos, the one in the upper right fills the entire space with no margins, while the one in the lower right has equal margins around it. Meanwhile, the vertical photo on the left only has margins on the left and bottom sides.

By intentionally creating sides with and without white space, you introduce a dynamic rhythm to the page that’s different from just lining up photos evenly.

Idea 3: Treat Two Pages as One Canvas

When you think of "one page, one photo," it’s easy to get stuck arranging photos within the confines of a single page.
But if you start thinking of a two-page spread as one canvas, you can do things like enlarging the right-side photo so it slightly crosses over to the left page, as shown in the example. This approach also frees you from the need to center the photo on just one side.

Even with three horizontal photos, treating the spread as a single unit opens up a lot of creative layout possibilities. You’ll find new ways to present your images dynamically.

Idea 4: Present Horizontal and Vertical Photos Uniformly

This next idea is the complete opposite of the previous one. As shown here, both horizontal and vertical photos are given the same amount of space above and below them, creating a sense of calm on the page.

Just because a photo is vertical doesn’t mean you have to enlarge it to fill the space vertically.

If you’re aiming to create a zine with a quiet, diary-like feel, capturing everyday moments with simplicity, this approach of giving all the photos a uniform presentation can add a new layer of expression to your work. It’s a great way to bring consistency and serenity to the layout.

Idea 5: Fill the Page with a Large Number of Photos

This example comes from Nobuyoshi Araki’s "Xeroxed Photo Albums." It starts with a single photo on a spread, then as you turn the pages, you see 4 photos on the next spread, then 9, then 16, 36, and eventually 144 photos covering the entire spread.

Araki himself commented on this approach, saying, "If you quickly skim through just because the photos are small, you might miss a masterpiece." 

It definitely takes courage to shrink down photos you want to highlight, but seeing so many photos packed into one spread in physical form has a huge impact and creates a sense of awe and excitement.

Idea 6: Use Another Photo as the Background

In my zine 404 NOT FOUND 2022-2023, I used a technique where a large photo was placed as the background, with the main photo layered on top.

While white margins are great for making a photo stand out, I found it interesting to remove them and use another image as the background instead. This brings in some visual “noise,” which can dramatically change the impression of the main photo, adding a unique and unexpected effect.

In JAPAN AIR '80s SKATEBOARDING ZINE, they use a contact sheet as the background, and when I first saw it, I couldn’t help but think, “That’s so cool—wish I’d thought of that!” It’s an idea that brings a fresh twist to traditional layouts.

Idea 7: Use Photos of Photos

As you can see in this example, you can even see the shadows of the prints. Instead of just showing a photo as a flat image, I really love this method of presenting it as a physical print. It adds a tactile element to the zine.

Even if you’re ultimately laying out your zine on a laptop using InDesign or other software, including a few pages that feature "photos of photos" arranged physically—like on a table—will definitely make for a more unique and interesting zine.

🕺 See You Again Next Time

That’s it for this week’s edition.

Thanks so much for reading all the way through! If you found this helpful, feel free to share it using the social buttons below. You can also hit “like” or leave a comment; I’d love to hear your thoughts!

By the way, I’d like to take some time for research, so there won’t be a newsletter next week. The next one is scheduled for November 5th🔥

See you again next time!