Photography by Florida Keys Photographer, Jan Loveland
See my website at www.islandgirlgallery.wordpress.com
or contact me at islgirlbpk@yahoo.com
Make Photo Greeting Cards
Why make photo greeting cards? Wouldn’t it be easier to pick up a ready made card in town? If you searched make photo greeting cards and found this article, you already know this isn’t an option for you.
You love photography and you’ve been taking some really great shots. (Yes, you have…don’t be modest!) Your sister’s birthday is imminent and your creative self won’t let you send some run-of-the-mill, over the counter, mass produced card. Remember that candid shot you took of her on the beach when she thought no one was looking? Well, you could print some photos and insert them into your store bought card, right? Wrong. Your sister (brother, mother, father, friend, etc.) deserves to be showcased and so does your photography. These cards are simple to make with no flashy colors or borders to distract from your original artwork.
Get ready, because when you make a few of these original photo greeting cards, people will say, “You should sell these!”
Things You’ll Need:
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photos
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blank note cards and envelopes
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photo paper
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Greeting card software or photo editing software
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Gluestick (acid free)
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Glasseine sleeves (optional)
Instructions:
1. Purchase your cardstock or blank notecards and envelopes first. If you buy a ream of white cardstock from an office supply store, you can cut your cards any size. Find envelopes in the size you like, then cut the cardstock slightly smaller for an easy fit. For a more professional look, I would suggest buying blank note cards with a fold crease already in them and matching envelopes. I bought my first supplies from a local printer, but soon found I could obtain them at a much reduced price online. I personally prefer smaller cards and use the A2 size, which is 4 3/8″ x 5 3/4″.
2. Get those great photographs organized in your photo software. Move them to a folder called photo greeting cards, because you will be asked for more and you want to find them readily! If you have a fairly good printer, you will want to print your own photos so you have total control over the quality, crop and size. I usually buy Epson glossy 4×6 paper when I make photo greeting cards. Just make sure the paper you buy is compatible with your printer. Print the photos smaller than your notecards and trim off any white border.
3. At this point, you could just glue the photo onto your notecard. Again, this won’t cut it for you. Your photographs have moved into the realm of art and should be treated accordingly. A fine artist doesn’t just sell the painted canvas or watercolor paper; she sells it framed or at least matted. All you need is a thin line border to create the same effect. I use a greeting card software that comes with numerous border options. I select a really simple double line border shown below to create a double matted look.
4. We’re not finished! When you receive a beautiful card that knocks your socks off, what do you do? If you are like me (and most people), you flip the card over to see who made it. This is where you put modesty aside and give yourself full credit. Again, I use my greeting card software to design the back of the card. Something like, “Original photography by ….”, and maybe an e-mail address or website where people can contact you when they want to buy your cards. Be creative on this side also. Find some clipart on your software and make your own logo.
5. Print the front and back of the card first before gluing your photo into the center of the border with an acid free glue stick.
6. Finally, when you start selling your photo greeting cards (and you will!), you should put them in clear glasseine sleeves. This not only protects them, but it gives them that professional looking edge. You can order notecards, envelopes and the clear bags from a few different sources on the Internet.
Voila! You are now a professional photographer … or at least you look like one!
Additional Info can be found by clicking below:
See my Contest Winning Photographs at:
(Page 5, Photographs #58 & 59)
islgirlbpk@yahoo.com sent you a link to the following content:
How to Photograph a Ghost — A Spooky Photographic Trick (That’s Quite a Treat)!http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/how-to-photograph-a-ghost/ The sender also included this note: You can make photo greeting cards for next Halloween with these scary photo tips!
When you make photo greeting cards, you want to have some really great shots. These e-books look like they might have some great tips for improving your photography.
Good luck and Remember to Have Fun!!
via Digital Photography School by Darren Rowse on 10/27/09
Today I spent a couple of hours working through 3 great new ebooks by David duChemin.
The 3 e-books are only $5 (USD) each – yet they contain some really great information that I’m certainly many DPS readers will really find useful.
Lets take a look at each of them in turn:
1. TEN (10 Ways To Improve Your Craft. None of Them Involve Buying Gear.)
David describes this ebook like this:
“10 is my 32 page answer to everyone that’s ever written in and asked me “So, what can I do to make better photographs now? I have the basics but want to take my images up to the next level. Where do I go from here?””
It’s filled with practical tips and inspirational images to illustrate the points David is making.
2. TEN MORE (10 More Ways To Improve Your Craft. None of Them Involve Buying Gear.)
A followup to the first ebook in this one David shares another great 10 tips for photographers wanting to take their work up a notch (or two).
The tips are simple – yet powerful.
3. DRAWING THE EYE (CREATING STRONGER IMAGES THROUGH VISUAL MASS)
This newest ebook from David moves beyond some of the more general tips in the first two ebooks and hones in on principles of composition, ‘visual mass’ and ‘drawing the eye’ of those viewing your images.
All three ebooks are beautifully put together and contain loads of great visual examples of the principles that David is talking about.
Buy one or grab all three – for $5 each they’re a great opportunity to get inside the mind of one of the world’s most respected photography authors.
Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips.
3 Affordable E-books to Improve Your Photography
How do you take a photo from Ho Hum to Wow?
Here is my secret for making a flawed shot look like a work of art.
You know the photo I’m talking about. Maybe that great shot you took on your trip to Alaska. Everything was perfect…the lighting, the composition, the color, the background. Well, almost everything. The wind moved the pine bough the Bald Eagle was perched on just enough to make your once-in-a-lifetime shot come out a little too blurred. Whether you make photo greeting cards or larger prints, this photo is just not quite up to snuff.
Do you toss it into the recycle bin? Delete it from your hard drive? File it with your other marginal vacation photos?
Not yet!We’ll assume you’ve already tried the Sharpening tool in your photo editing software and that didn’t work out too well.
Ok, here is how I transform a blurred shot into an artistic masterpiece: The Watercolor Effect.I use Photoshop Elements 7.0, however, any good photo editing software should have the Watercolor Effect in the tool bar.Try it out, then print the photo on Watercolor paper. Voila! You have an impressionistic painting or a Monet-like photo.
When I make photo greeting cards this way, people look at them and do a double take trying to decide if it is a photo or a painting.
I was recently asked to display my collection of Flamingo photographs in a local shop. Out of all the prints, the one using the Watercolor Effect and printed on watercolor paper sold first.So there you have it.
Don’t we love our photo editing software?
Yeh, Baby!
Do you want to see your photos looking like beautiful works of art? Check out the great specials and deals Adobe has on Photoshop Elements by clicking on the link below:
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I love to make photo greeting cards, because it combines two things I love…photography and letter writing.
But sometimes, like today for instance, when I am trying to create a unique birthday card for my Dad, none of my photographs really fit the bill. I want to create a greeting card that says something about the person I am sending it to. Who are they? What are their interests?
I don’t have much time. I need to get this card in the mail today. So here is what I do:
I start with a Google Image search. If the recipient of your greeting card has a specific hobby, sport or talent, this will be easy. Golf? Tennis? Accordian player? There are thousands of images to choose from. For the card I created today, I searched on my hometown of Grosse Ile, Michigan. Grosse Ile is an island where I grew up and where my parents still live. Now I live on an island in the Florida Keys, so I am still an Island Girl. But I digress. Back to business.
Bingo! Searching on Grosse Ile, Michigan gave me exactly what I needed. First of all I found an aerial shot of the Naval Air Station where my father was stationed when he was in the Navy at the southern end of the island. This is also what I see when I fly into Michigan to visit.
Next, I find this fabulous old Navy plane flying over the tip of Grosse Ile. My Dad was a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy and was in charge of maintaining the electrical systems of the planes. I can’t believe my luck in finding such great photos. This is going to be a nice masculine card right up his alley.
Even when I make photo greeting cards, I use a greeting card software. In this case, I used Printmaster software by Broderbund. I imported the photos into my art gallery there. I like to call it Island Girl Gallery. After selecting the Half-Fold greeting card, I placed the image of the plane on the front of the card. Clicking on View and selecting Inside, I placed the aerial shot and added text…. “I love my Navy Dad” and “Happy Birthday!” On the back view, I typed Island Girl Greetings and under that, “Created especially for Chief Petty Officer Rex Lawcock.” You get the picture. When you make photo greeting cards from your heart, the right stuff just seems to come your way. It sure did this time. I added my handwritten note inside, telling him how seeing the aerial shots of Grosse Ile made me miss him and home and voila! A completed card in just a few moments.
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Do you make photo greeting cards? Have your friends and family given you glowing compliments on your cards and suggested that you sell them?
I had been making cards for years when a co-worker mentioned having looked for cards the previous day and finding nothing interesting or suitable. She suggested I go to the store she had visited and see if the owner would be interested in selling my cards. I was doubtful, but she convinced me the cards the owner currently had for sale were not as good as mine. This is what I did and I’m sure it will work for you too!
Here are some essential steps to get started:
- The first thing I did was to research what kind of cards were selling. Luckily, I live in a touristy area and there is a big demand for local color; i.e. scenery, architecture, flora and fauna, etc. I concentrated on photographs that were unique to my particular environment and something people couldn’t buy back home. Your first step should be the same. Find what is unique about your area and make photo greeting cards that reflect that uniqueness. Something that brings a smile to their face and makes them want to send it to others.
- Secondly, I checked out how the cards were presented. I found that the classier, more professional looking cards were protected in crystal clear bags. This not only made them look good, but the store owners appreciated the protection the bags provided from constant handling by customers.
- Next, I looked at pricing. Find out what comparable greeting cards are selling for in your area so you know what to ask for your cards. And when I say comparable, I don’t mean mass marketed bargain cards. Your customers will be looking for unique works of art, so compare your cards to other quality photo greeting cards.
- Consider two scenarios. The first and preferred method is to sell your cards directly to the retailer. They usually mark them up 100% to cover their overhead and to make a profit. Don’t sell yourself short. If you take half of the price you are seeing in the stores, determine if it will cover the cost of your materials and give you a decent profit worthy of your artwork.
- The second method is to sell your cards on consignment.. When you are just starting out and your work is unknown, this may be the only way a shop owner will agree to take your work. If your cards don’t sell, they’re not out any money and this is, obviously, less risky for them. The percentage each receives is negotiable. Maybe 60% for you and 40% for the owner, but you might have to settle for 50/50 to get your foot in the door and get some sales under your belt.
- Time to find a retailer. Think of obvious local Gift Stores and Card Shops, but don’t forget Bookstores, Coffee Shops, Florists, Galleries, and Visitor Centers. Call ahead for an appointment by asking for the owner, manager or buyer. Tell them you have a unique product that you feel will fit in well with their business. They will schedule you for a time that is typically slow for them and therefore, will have more time to look over your photo greeting cards. Present yourself in a confident, professional, business-like manner and you will be treated accordingly. You can show up like a ditsy, starving artist type, but if you do, don’t quit your day job yet! You’ve decided to sell your work, so you’ll need to wear two hats. One of an artist and one of a business person.
Good luck selling your greeting cards,
but leave time to photograph and create new images.
It’s all good and it’s all fun.
