Photo Christmas Cards: The Personal Touch
Are you sending photo Christmas cards? Make sure you read this article first
Once upon a time, photo Christmas cards were a novelty. Then everyone discovered their local department store photo studio, and suddenly you received hundreds of Christmas card photos every year. The trend grew old, and photo Christmas cards went the way of the dinosaur... until the world went digital.
There's nothing wrong with going to a photo studio or buying traditional photo insert Christmas cards, but if you have access to a digital camera and some photo editing software - and these days, most people do - you can create beautiful, unique, and free Christmas photo cards right from your own home.
Tips for taking Christmas card photos
A great photo card starts with a fabulous photo. Here are a few tips to make sure that your picture turns out perfectly:
-Take your Christmas card photos well in advance. You want lots of time to work on the card.
-Don't limit yourself to traditional Christmas card photos - if you have a fantastic shot of your family frolicking on the beach, go ahead and use it. You can make it Christmasy with your decorations.
-Make sure your picture is perfect. If there are blurs, red eyes, or a stranger standing in the background, this is not a good photo for your Christmas cards.
Tips for creating the perfect custom photo Christmas cards
So now you have your fantastic picture, and you've decided not to just buy photo insert Christmas cards. Or, you've purchased your insert cards, but you want a couple really special cards for family members, grandparents, etc.
Here's where things get fun! Anyone can design photo Christmas cards with Photoshop, iPhoto, or - if you're desperate - even in Microsoft Paint. There are thousands of free digital graphics available online, and many of these programs include some in their archives. You're basically going to tweak your photo with fun Christmas graphics until you're satisfied with its appearance.
Start with a border. Again, many programs have built in borders, but if they don't, just download one or make your own. Add your text ("Merry Christmas from the Johnsons" or the like), making sure you aren't covering up essential parts of your photograph. From there, embellish with decorations, clip art, and colors.
One word of caution, however: if you don't want your card to look amateur, remember that "less is more." The highlight of your card is the photo, not the fifteen cute snowmen you found online. Make sure you don't add anything that detracts attention from where it should be: on those smiling faces.
You can then print your cards individually, changing them for each person, or in a big stack. Use high quality glossy photo paper, and your photo Christmas cards will look as good - or better! - as the ones you'd get at a studio.