Photography Tips and Tricks for Making Outstanding Photo Cards

Photography Tips and Tricks for Making Outstanding Photo Cards

• 2.12.2014

Have you ever gone online to make a card through a premium printer (I'm a fan of Tiny Prints!) but once you upload your cutest pictures it just looks all wrong?  One December I spent several hours just trying to put together our Christmas card!  Well, as a mom with a love for photography, I think I've come up with a list of a few tips and tricks for getting those cards to look custom made and something you're thrilled with gracing the mail boxes of family and friends.

1.  If you like bright colors, wear bright colors!  If you're like me and are drawn to bright bold colors like yellow, green, and hot pink on card designs, wear those kind of colors in your photos.  Yes, I'm saying dress to match your card, or more likely, find a card that matches you.  You can try wearing a cute colored cardigan or he can wear that button-up shirt with those green stripes, or better yet, include some darling props like balloons or a bright yellow umbrella. 

OR you can do the complete opposite.  Try wearing white or gray on a white or gray background.  Surprisingly, it works!

Speaking of backgrounds...

2.  Make your subject stand out.  My favorite kind of backgrounds are the beautiful and blurred kind--the kind where my subject is seemingly standing in a sea of green (grass) or sunshiny yellow.  It really makes the person pop!  And as a bonus, those creamy background colors look great on a brightly colored card.  To achieve this, I open up the aperture on my lens as wide as it can possibly go.  (I commonly use f/2.8)  I then place my subject quite a distance from whatever it is behind him and get close to that smiling face.  Voila!  A pretty bokeh background.

You can also take advantage of the pretty light in your own home by draping a blanket (I'm in love with these throws from Ikea.  I have two!) over your couch or kitchen table next to some open windows.  I've done so many baby pictures this way.   

3.  When using multiple photos, the backgrounds should be similar.  In other words, all your photos should be shot in the same location.  That way you're typically not mixing lush green grass with concrete urban walls all on one card. 

4.  Try four or five different card templates for your pictures.  Your fourth "favorite" template just might be the perfect fit for your photos!  Play around.  Customize the fonts.  Have fun.  And most importantly, make it you!

^^Using photos from last year's archives, I followed my own "tips" and whipped up these card examples from Tiny Prints in less than five minutes each.^^

 

Thank you, Tiny Prints, for the cuteness overload!

Now go make yourself some cards.

Card Examples from Tiny Prints