Mishmash memories
January 9, 2022
Mishmash Memories is my first photography zine, which you can check out here. It's basically a small, self-published magazine containing original work. These publications are usually low-circulation and inexpensively produced. I had seen one of my favorite photographers create their own zine and followed their process as they documented it on Youtube. Naturally, I became curious to see what my photos would look like in a physical form, so I thought I'd give it a try.
I did a lot of research on Youtube, exploring possible platforms to use and different processes to follow. I realized how flexible and personalized photography zines could be. Some zines resembled actual magazines, with glossy pages and sleek cover designs. Others were completely printed and assembled at home, giving them a more DIY look. I wanted my zine to sit somewhere in between, so I planned to create my own layout but get it printed and published by a third-party website.
After deciding how to make the zine, I had to gather a collection of photos. Photography zines typically follow some sort of theme or tell a story through the images. I didn't really have a concept in mind, so I picked my best photos from over the years and rolled with it (hence the name Mishmash Memories). For the layout, I had to learn how to use Adobe InDesign to create the manuscript of my zine. It was quite a learning experience, but after several tutorials later and three versions of my manuscript, I finally had something I could use.
When it came to publishing my zine, I went with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing because it was accessible and affordable. Thankfully, uploading my manuscript and setting up the book's details were pretty straightforward. After seeing that my zine was approved to be posted on Amazon, I was super excited to order myself a copy and see how it turned out.
Reflecting back on this project, there were some things I would've done differently. The image quality of the book isn't the best, and I could've edited my photos better. Despite that, I'm really happy that I have a little book to hold some of my favorite photos. It was a fun project, and I learned a lot along the way. I definitely could've printed out my photos–which would've been a lot simpler and way less work–but creating this zine gave me some control over how my photos would be presented and viewed, an aspect I liked. Overall, I'm pretty proud of how it turned out!