Zin

Problem

Photography is my hobby. I always wanted to make PDFs from my photos, but putting such a publication together was beyond me.

What I built

An app that loads a folder of photos in a moment and proposes a zine layout by itself. All that's left is adding captions and text pages and adjusting the order by hand. Every change shows up instantly.

Result

And that's it: the PDF is ready. Plus a print-ready version, a PowerPoint presentation and a YouTube video, all from the same photos. Zin also prepares and publishes my online photo gallery. See the result here.

How it works

• It loads photos from a folder or an album in the Photos app and proposes a page layout on its own.
• I add captions, text pages and a cover, and fix the order by dragging. The preview updates instantly.
• The print version is a booklet or a mini-zine folded from a single A4 sheet, with a colour profile for the print shop.
• The same photos become a PowerPoint presentation and a video for YouTube or a reel.
• The “Website” tab runs my gallery szymonjedrzejczyk.pl: I decide which zines are albums, which photos go on the home page and what is in the shop. One click exports the photos (without EXIF data) and publishes the site. See the result here.
• An AI assistant (Claude) can lay out a zine with me: it looks through the photos and suggests the order and captions. Every change shows up instantly, and Zin saves a version to go back to before the assistant changes anything.

Technology: Python, browser interface, macOS and Windows