April 8, 2013

Some Assembly Required; The Importance Of A Quality Picture For Your Invitation



There is no better way to personalize a birthday invitation than with a picture of the birthday boy or girl. In today's post I will show you how to choose an image to include on your invitation. 

There are a few options for getting an image for your invitation.

The best option is using a professional photo for your invitation. Be sure you have permission to print the image from the photographer. You want a high resolution 300 dpi image. This will provide a clear and crisp image for your invitation.



Another option is to take a photo with your camera and take advantage of a photo editing service such as this one from Lemonberry Moon for $4.99 per image. You send them your image and they professionally edit it for you, making your image the best it can be.




Lastly, you can use an image from your camera or camera phone. While camera phones are much better than they used to be, using a phone is not the advised method. Images are often blurry or pixelated, especially when printed at 5x7 or 4x6 for an invitation.

When taking your own photos, use these tips to create a quality image:

1.  Go outside! Outside light is always better than indoors. Find an evenly shaded area, avoid dark forested area and direct sunlight.

2.  Have your subject looking towards the light (such as the sky) but not into the sun. This will get nice catchlights in the eyes, but not make them squint.

3.  Take your time. Take a minute to look at the details. Do they have breakfast on their face still? Is half their collar sticking up? Is their hair sticking straight up?

4.  Hold steady. Camera shake causes blur more often than your subject moving. 

5.  Focus on the eyes. Set your focus point on your subject's eyes.

6.  Check your exposure. Review your picture after you have taken it to be sure it is not too dark or too bright. Adjust and retake as needed. 

When taking your own photo it is still a good idea to have it professionally edited for a sharp image with crisp, bright colors and contrast.

Be sure the image you submit will fit on your invitation! If the invitation allows for a vertical photo, submit a vertical photo. If it requires a horizontal photo, submit a horizontal one. Otherwise parts of your photo may be cropped out in order to fit in the design correctly. 

Do not crop your photo as close in as you'd like it for the invitation, let the designer do this or you risk having important aspects cropped out when the designer goes to fit your image into the design. You can always add a note to the designer to get as close in as they can.


The quality of the image used has a huge impact on your invitation!

Professional Image Used

To catch up on past Some Assembly Required Posts use the links below!


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