As with many other American Traditions, Custom Christmas Cards have found there way over to the UK. It is becoming more popular to photograph and make your own, either using photography or crafting. As you know I love a DIY project and my photography so why not combine the two. Creating your own cards is an amusing way to spread cheer to your loved ones and here is how.
1. Find inspiration
I found the card made by Joe Jonas as well as Mena Suvari extremely amusing. I don’t have a pet myself, but it was the concept that really makes me smile. The thought of myself and Chris posing in funny jumpers with an animal inspired me to re-create this. Although we don’t have our own pet we both love animals as well as stupid toys with faces on (as my close friends and family will know). So I decided to do something similar with stupid random toys we own that make us smile, to hopefully pass on this amusement to others.
2. Take good photos
When taking the photos for this I looked at the inspiration for reference on how to pose and the lighting. Both are quite dramatic as if taken in a light studio, which of course I don’t have access to! Being creative with your photography is important in order to get the right feel. Chris and I used my filming lights to create more shadow in the frame and give our look more dramatic interest.
3. Edit your design
Luckily I have Photoshop from my Illustration Uni days so I use that to edit all of my photos. To edit my picture like the inspirational references it took a few simple Photo shop processes to achieve what I wanted. If you don’t have Photo shop then you can edit images directly on the website Snapfish. The great thing about photo manipulation and editing is making something unique and personal. Bringing out your personalty in Custom Christmas Cards is the best part about doing them.
4. Be playful with wording
You don’t have to do this but I personally think adding text just gives it more of a ‘greetings card’ feel to it. Match up the text to the look of the image, with a slogan to suit the occasion and feel of the card. For example you can go comical with a pun or traditional with something like ‘Merry Christmas from the Smith family’. The beauty of doing this is adding that extra touch of thoughtfulness when sending out cards. I went for a funny caption to match the photo, saying ‘Merry Christmas from the three of us’, including the reindeer teddy was a silly comical bonus. The great part of the Snapfish designs is the different styles have text built in for you to add to your images.
5. Quality is key!
When making Christmas cards the best thing to do once completed is to get them printed professionally. I sent my design off to Snapfish for a pack of 25, which will be enough to send to friends and family. This service is a great way to complete your custom card making process and I highly recommend it. You can also choose other products with your image if you want to create a fun photo gift for someone. I went for the Classic Type Christmas 7×5 card, with lovely star print back design but there are loads of other card designs to choose from.
And that’s it! It’s so simple to create your own Custom Christmas Cards and they help add a bit of personality to your present giving. If you follow these steps then you are bound to get a few fun reactions from your peers. I can’t wait to receive my order in the post and send to my loved ones. Make sure to keep an eye on my Twitter where I will share a photo of them when they arrive.
xxx