Friday, October 10, 2008

make sure your christmas photo cards really wow everyone

Make Sure Your Christmas Photo Cards Really Wow EveryoneWriten by Alison Hodges

The art of Christmas card design has made some amazing progress in recent years! Once considered a very generic industry (with a thought process to match), holiday greeting cards are now targeted for purchase by consumers as early as September for the upcoming season, as adding ones unique touch and individuality are an essential part of the latest craze Christmas photo cards! And having yours stand out from the masses will yield a spot on the mantle of friends and family long after the season has past.

The first step in making your wowable holiday greeting card is creating the ideal photo, beginning with how the photo is taken. If you use a cheap camera and old film, the picture will look cheap and old, and therefore, so will your card. A decent camera, like a digital with minimum megapixels of 3.0, or a classic 35mm will do the job nicely.

Next, youll want to take quite a few different shots (and picking out the best among them), planning out exactly what you want to accomplish through your card in advance. Perhaps the kids dressed in red, sitting next to a roaring fire, with poinsettias and other holiday decor placed strategically in the back and foregrounds. Or maybe an outdoor shot with the fall foliage for a background, or the family gathered for a Thanksgiving feast. In any case, a bit of creativity never hurt in the quest of creating your latest Christmas photo greeting card.

The next step is deciding on which company youll be utilizing to create your masterpiece. Key factors to consider are the companys reputability, speed and quality, not forgetting about the total cost involved. The manner in which the company prints out your cards is another issue, for many will give you an option, while others will use ink-jet or sublimation print, not actual photos. These will all affect the price of your cards, not to mention the quality of the finished product.

Another factor that warrants your consideration is the caption. Will you be writing your own holiday phrase to complete your card or does this particular company only use templates such as Holiday Greetings and Merry Christmas, stamped with the appropriate year, leaving room only for your name? The extent of your creativity may be limited, so youll need to give this a lot of thought before making your final selection.

Finally, many pharmacies, supermarkets and discount department stores will be undoubtedly fighting for your business, offering deals and discounts to those purchasing their finished product from them. But before you decide on anything, shop around, including scouring the internet, for the best deals and options to make your Annual Christmas Photo Card one to be cherished by many for years to come.

Alison Hodges recommends PhotoAffections.com for high quality Christmas photo cards .