A Creative Card

At A Creative Card we are proud to get amazing results from your picture. However the better the photograph the better the outcome. Please read our photo tips and photo submission.

Pictures taken with lots of natural light work best. The best pictures are the ones taken against a light color background or a contrasting color or outdoors. Avoid dark backgrounds behind dark hair, since it will be hard to distinguish between background and hair. Your photos should be clear, with good focus and not blurry. If you are indoors, use natural light from window and the flash from the camera. Outdoor photos use the natural sunlight. Candid style photos will work beautifully also. We recommend professionally processed 35 mm prints or high resolution digital images for your cards and photo items. Up close but not too close, glossy color photographs produce crisp images for your photo cards and items. Pay special attention to arms and feet that way they are not cut half way from photo. Even snapshots work very well and look very natural.

It is best for the baby to be in front of a plain light colored, or simple background like white sheets or comforter, natural lighting and your camera flash works the best. Dress up your baby in just a diaper or light colored clothing. Photograph baby in sitting position, by seating him or her on the car seat or bouncy. Try to include your baby head to toe and don’t cover your baby up to neck in a blanket. Leave at least chest and arms outside blanket for interest. Hands are cutest up near face. Hands close to body work best than hands extended. Interesting baby photos are when baby is sleeping or calm. Another tip will be to make the parent the photo surface. Drape the parent with a plain blanket and lay baby on parent, that way he will feel more comfortable. We could always crop out along the baby.

If you have twins:
You can send separate but similar poses of the babies and we will arrange the rest.

What type of photos do you accept?

We prefer to start from a color print, even for our black and white, or sepia photo items, since we would then convert them in black and white or sepia. We cannot work from negatives or polaroids. For best results, we recommend you send several photos for us to choose from. Please indicate your photo preferences and just let us know which one you would like the best.

1) We can use a digital photo as long as it is in high resolution to do a nice print 300 dpi or better (dots per inch). Please take your photos with the highest resolution that your camara supports, and also save your digital pictures in the highest resolution that your camera supports when you download the photo and send it to us in jpg or tiff format. Do not crop or edit in any way. We will do that part. Also do not put thorugh any other photo programs to send them to us lots of times, some photo programs like the HP photosmart, your scanner programs etc, lower down the resolution, in order for the files to go through the internet faster. Please do not alter the resolution of the photos.Although low resolution images look good in your computer they will produce poor quality once they are resized.

2) We could also scan your original picture and we will send it back to you with the order any size from wallet to 8” x 10”. If you are scanning the photo please scan the photo at least 300 dpi or higher. Most scanners are preset to 150 dpi at default, just change the dpi to 300. Do not crop or edit in any way. We will do that part. Save your image as a jpg or tiff format, at the highest resolution available. Please see our scanning tips below.

3) If you want to use a photograph taken by a proffessional photographer, we will need a photographer's release form from the photographer. Most photographers are willing to do this release if they do not offer photo cards or photo items. You could mail us or fax us the form.

4) You could also mail us your prints, and we will scan your photos professionally for you. Remember negatives, polaroids, color photocopies or any other image printed on an inkjet are not accepted. Please send them to the following address and we will return your photos with your order.

Note: We do not accept any color photocopies, or any photograph image printed on an inkjet, laser or photo quality printer, because they typically do not have high resolution. Nor do we accept negatives or polaroids. If we do not think that your print or digital photograph will result in a high quality, we will let you know. You will then have the option of providing another photo for us to use, or mail us the photo for us to scan it, free of charge.

Yes, we will resize and crop your photo, take off blemishes etc to enhance the quality. If the photo as a blemish such as a birthmark that you would like us to leave please let us know. What we cannot do is to fix missing parts such as hands, ears, heads etc. We could always remove your photo if it is accompanied with other people.

Can I email you photos from snapfish, shutterfly, HP direct or any other sharing photo website ?

No, please email us the actual jpg file to us. When you send photos to any of those sharing websites, your photos go through a process of optimization, for viewing on the web and sharing. These makes the photos have a lower resolution. The quality is reduced from your original photos and are not good for printing.

First use a good original which is very important in determining the quality of the final outcome. Photos that are out of focus, dirty or poorly exposed will never look great no matter how much time is spent retouching them. Also keep your scanner clean that way it does not put any dust in the photo. Use alcohol to clean the scanner if necessary on a lint-free cloth.

Please do not hesitate to email us if you have any questions or even call us at 305-300-5401.