The Making of a Zine

In mid-April 2026, I embarked on a 12-week mentorship programme with Mali Davies Photography

As part of the course we explored how to build a cohesive body of work, sequence images effectively and ultimately create something tangible in printed form.

Over recent years I’ve produced a number of ‘yearbooks’ and in 2023 I printed a dedicated project on Crummock Water, yet those efforts still felt unfulfilling.

For some time I’ve wanted to develop a zine or small book that feels more curated and intimate, something that may appeal to an audience.

It wasn’t until late May 2026 however, when I undertook a day workshop with Simon Booth Photography, that I discovered the subject for this zine.

During the workshop Simon took us to a small woodland where an area of Greater Stitchwort grew beneath the trees. Here he demonstrated a technique for photographing the tiny flowers up close, and I immediately connected with these little subjects, sensing I had finally found my muse.

Over the course of the following week I ventured out two more times with my cameras and macro lenses, practicing and refining the techniques I had learned on the workshop. By the end of that week I had built a small collection of images I was eager to share with my mentor and fellow mentees, and the feedback I received was both positive and encouraging.

With the goal of producing our images in a printed form, we were encouraged to think carefully about how we would layout our pictures. Fortunately, I have a printer at home and was able to create a contact sheet of several of my images and print it out, which allowed me to consider how each photograph worked both individually and as part of a collection.

Once again I was able to share this stage of the process with Mali and my peers, receiving thoughtful and helpful feedback that directly assisted me in moving confidently on to the next step.

Experimenting with layouts

It was quite a daunting prospect to move from printing individual images or contact sheets at home to engaging the services of a professional printer to produce a zine that I might reasonably ask people to spend their hard‑earned money on. However, Mali introduced us to the practical idea of ‘Print on Demand’, which made the whole process feel far less risky and much more manageable.

During an online practical session with Mali, he talked us through the print-on-demand procedure in detail, and by the end of the evening I felt encouraged, buoyed and ready to take that next move.

I chose to produce a small, palm-sized, soft-backed zine because I felt that modest dimensions best suited the tiny subjects I had been photographing. The title “It’s the Small Things” came easily, requiring little thought, and felt entirely appropriate for the project.

It was with some anxiety that I awaited its arrival. It had become a very personal and important undertaking for me, and — perhaps a little oddly — I wanted to make both myself and my mentor proud of what I had achieved.

I’m pleased to say that I was delighted with the results and the whole process has made me want to embark on more project work and hopefully produce future zines.

For anyone interested, I have had lots of positive feedback from those who have already seen and purchased “It’s the Small Things” and it is available if you contact me directly.

It’s the Small Things