Tag: holiday cards

I’m sharing this because I just took a photo of my little girl in the garden this weekend and thought, “wow, that could be good enough to send as our Christmas card.” As soon as I had that thought, it hit me…the race for that perfect picture for the card is on.

I have a love/hate relationship with the whole holiday card thing. I love to get them and I love to send them. I just hate to make all the decisions that go in to making them. Who knows, maybe I just inadvertently made the whole thing easier by going out and having a relaxed game of chase in the garden with my little girl and my camera.

Yes, yes it’s still summer. And yes, yes it’s ridiculous to start talking about the end of the year now. I imagine that if you’re not thinking about squeezing in the last fun for summer break then you’re focusing on Back to School, right? Well, as fall fast approaches so does the time to start thinking about taking photographs for those holiday cards.

There is still plenty of time, and I mean plenty, but as a photographer I’ll be the first to tell you that the calendar starts getting booked around now. As time flies by so does the opportunity to arrange for good photos of your kids.

I’ve written a few posts about Holiday photographs and making your own holiday cards and more than likely will ruminate on the subject again soon, but for now just I’m putting a little bug in your ear.

It’s been brought to my attention that Holiday cards can be expensive and I’ve picked some companies that indeed are on the upper end of the spectrum. Mango Ink still has the best designs I’ve seen, but they are pricey. Plus, if you want to order massive amounts of Holiday cards, then you might find yourself paying a pretty penny.

Here are two vendors who are much more reasonable in the money department:

1) www.iprintfromhome.com – These guys do great prints and while their designs are less minimal than I like, they do have a few good options and their prices a really good. So is their quality – they print on good paper, which actually does make a difference. If you can deal with the cutesy design, then these guys are great.

2)  Modern Postcard – Now, Modern Postcard is the end all, be all for postcards mailers.  I use then every time I need a marketing piece for where ever I’m working (museum, art gallery, non-profit, myself).  Their quality is amazing, it couldn’t be easier to place and order and they are fast and cheap.  The only thing is you have to order a lot – say 250 or more.  If you’re the person who sends out that many cards, then go with Modern.  The only hitch is you have to design it yourself, so you gotta know how to make a card…of course, there are always people to help you with that   Here’s a little something I made recently and I’m pretty pleased.  While I haven’t sent it off to Modern Postcard yet, that is just a matter of time and I’m more than certain it will look exactly as I expect it to when I upload it.

Good luck with your cards!  I’ll keep you posted if I find anything new…

Just Google “holiday photo cards” and you’re likely to be overwhelmed with choices.  I know I was!  I did a little digging, ordered from some companies and found a few that really do an excellent job with quality photo cards with an eye toward good design.  I culled the list and here are my top picks:

1)  Mango Ink – Talk about beautiful design.  I love their sense about blending words with photographs and, honestly these are about the best I’ve seen.  They offer sqaure, folding and rectangle options and claim to be fast, fast, fast…that’s good if you’re like me and, best efforts not withstanding, you wind up doing Holiday things at the last minute.  Take a look and see…

2)  Tiny Prints – Always a good choice, these guys have so many designs to look through.  The site is easy to navigate and the ordering process couldn’t be easier.  Make sure to use a good photo that will print up well and I’m certain you’ll be happy.

Start now!

You many think it’s early to take photos for the holidays, but these months do fly by.  Plus, you’ll need time to select the right picture, order cards and address them you’ll be much happier if you’re not doing this at the last minute.

1)  Relax.  When it comes to taking portraits of your children (pets, too!) for the holidays make it as relaxed as possible.  Take them outside even if they are dressed up and let them get comfortable in the surroundings.  Late in the day is best, around 4 pm or so as the sun is best then – still bright but nice and warm. And you, too, behind the camera…relax.

2)  Side light.  Face your child toward the sun, now move her 90 degrees either way.  Use the sun to highlight the side of your child’s face and body.  You want illumination, but not a blast of light hitting her directly in the face.

3)  Take TONS.  Take as many photos as possible and then some.  You’ll get a few in there that are good and many that are not.  If you’re using digital, then shoot away!  If you’re using film, then get a 36 roll and shoot away.  Ask your child to NOT look at you, then to look at you.  Then ask that they play with something then NOT play with something.  Give them lots to do and change it up often – kids change their expression so quickly so be ready to snap when they change activities.  The more you have, the more you can choose from.

4)  Get on your knees.  If you and the camera can look your child in the eye, then you’re on their level.  You’ll want to do this so the image doesn’t look like you’re looking down on your child.  You can even get below them and tilt the camera up – make them look like stars!

5)  Manage the background.  The best portraits have the simplest backgrounds.  If you have to, move things out of the way or move yourself around so there is little in the back to distract from your beaming child.

Good luck and happy shooting!  And remember, if you feel like this is all too much, there are always photographers and studios willing and able to help you out.

Here’s my daughter in her birthday hat – I haven’t followed my own advice and taken holiday portraits yet…that’s for this weekend if we can carve out the time (like there is any to spare!).  But, I did take this pic for her birthday card so I thought it *sorta* fits the bill.