Need tips on how to get that perfect photograph for your photo birth announcement?
Just remember, if you send us a blurry, grainy or dark photograph of your baby, then your announcement might be blurry, grainy, or dark. So here are some tips on how to take the best photograph of your child.
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Here are a few examples of some great photos sent by a few of our customers.
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Time of Day
The best time to take photographs of your new baby is usually right after he or she eats or wakes up from a nap. Fussy babies and photography do not mix, unless you are actually going after that crying baby face.
Think about colors
Since we offer custom hand tinting for your photographs, it is a good idea to think about what colors you would like to be in the photograph. Dress your baby in comfortable clothes that have a hint of color. Busy patterns are distracting from the baby so keep things simple. Or you can simply just have a diaper on her and add a small toy that we can hand tint. It is best if the background is light. Lay your baby on a white or light colored blanket. Please avoid dark colors.
Focus, Focus, Focus!
Focus on the baby's eyes. Take your time and make sure the photo is in focus. If you send us a blurry out of focus photo it will still be that way on your announcement.
Lighting
Use bright lighting. Make sure that the baby's face has no shadows covering it. You want to show off that beautiful face, not hide it with a shadow. Use lighting from a window or use a flash along with other lamps or bright lights. Avoid photographs taken in bright sunlight. The high contrast of the bright sun does not make a good card. Avoid taking the picture with any back lighting, (i.e. placing the baby with it's back in front of the window) as your baby's face will be dark. If you send us a dark photo we can lighten it but the print quality will not be great. The best photos are those with a nice soft light on their face.
Move in close
Fill your frame with your baby. Don't leave too much room around her. Avoid having other items in the photograph unless it is a small toy or item you would like us to hand tint. Just make sure the small object is not by the baby's face. Don't forget to remove the pacifier as it too will distract from that beautiful face. When looking through the camera's view finder, look at the area around the baby and make sure the blanket is the only thing in the background.
Baby acne and scratches
Love the photo but where did that scratch come from? It is very comman for a baby to scratch their face or have baby acne. Don't worry we will touch it up and make it look flawless!!
The Film and The Camera
The best type of film to use is 200 speed film. Not 400 or 800 speed film. It will be too grainy. Please send us a sharp focused color photograph. We will convert it to black and white. Use a camera that has a lens that will focus. Please do not use a disposable camera.
Take lots of pictures!
Sometimes you can take a whole roll of film to get one great photograph. If that is what it takes then do it. It will be worth the effort when you receive your beautiful birth announcement.
Can I send a professional photograph?
If you are sending a professional photograph, please be sure to include a signed release from the photographer allowing us to use the photograph.
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How do I submit a photograph of my child?
We accept images both electronically (E-mail) and through postal mail. Below explains how to submit your child's photograph using either method.
Submitting photographs electronically (E-mail)
Digital photos work the best. For digital photos we recommend a 3 mega pixel camera or higher, set at the highest resolution possible. Save digital images in a large JPG or TIF format.
We do accept “zipped” images if you need to reduce the size for emailing. Digital photos can be emailed or saved to disc then mailed to us. Your image must be large. 300dpi and 1800 x1200 pixels
Changing the resolution of your photo in the computer to create a higher resolution image would only result in a poor image quality end result. Do not re-touch or crop the photo, or re-save to a smaller or larger file size. Please ensure your digital camera is set to the very highest setting.
- We prefer to scan images, (35mm photos only) but if you are going to send a scanned image, here are a few guidelines to follow:
- Scan images at 300 dpi and scaled at 100%
- Most scanned images are created as bitmaps (bmp) files. If your email provider allows for large attachements,
send the photograph as a bitmap.
Otherwise, save it as a tif or jpeg
For the best scan be sure your scan surface and photos are lint and smudge free. Please do not crop your image. We will crop for best effect on your announcement.
- Images should be emailed to: sendphoto@littlefingerslittletoes.net
Do not mail or scan a printed digital image no matter the print quality; resolution is lost in the recapture to computer. Please do not crop your image. We will crop your photo to best fit your announcement.
Submitting photographs through postal mail
- Please send a color 35 mm photograph. Most images are converted to black and white, but color is required
if any hand tinting is requested.
- Please write your order number on the back of the photo, lightly with a pencil not a ball point pen. We will return all regular photos (with your order) in the condition which they were received
We cannot accept any photos produced from a printer or copier and no Polaroid photos.
- If you are sending a professional photograph, please be sure to include a signed release
from the photographer allowing us to use the photograph.
- If you are unsure of which picture to send you can submit more than one and we will aid
in deciding on the best choice.
- We do accept digital photographs on floppy disk or CD.
- Mail all photographs and any necessary documentation to:
Little Fingers, Little Toes
401 N. Walnut Street
Murfreesboro, TN 37130
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If we receive a photograph that we feel will not work for the birth announcements we will contact you immediately so you can send us another photograph.
The color photo is the actual photo that was sent.
The black and white is what we did to the photo to make it work for the announcement.
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