Photo Prayer Cards

Phototips

Wondering how to take a great looking picture that will turn into a great looking prayer card? Below you'll find a few helpful hints. For more photo tips check out this website: www.photosecrets.com/tips.html/

Q. What should we wear?
It's really up to your personal taste, but the outstanding cards from thousands we've done feature bright, coordinated colors. Pastels often wash out with indoor flash or outdoor sunlight. Some prefer native dress from their country of service. Keep in mind that you may need to position addresses or small type near the bottom of the photo; if so, consider dark jackets, skirts and slacks for lower portion of the photo.

Q. Where should we shoot the photo?
Many eye-catching photos are taken outside with trees, shrubs and flowers in the background. Off-season, you may find year-round foliage around banks or manicured office buildings. A dark stone wall or tree bark often provide interesting area for white lettering.

Beware of light sky, sunlit leaves, light filtering through trees, and excess clutter. Shooting during midday with bright sun can produce facial shadows, but don't shoot with bright sun behind the subject because the lens will overcompensate and make faces all dark. A fill flash may help; this is a manual override on most cameras that causes the camera to flash even in sunny conditions.
Indoor "homemade" photography is more difficult without proper lighting equipment. DO NOT shoot under fluorescent lighting!

Shoot an entire roll (24 or more) for the best chance of a winner. Vary the distance, setting, poses, and times of day. Shadows aren't always bad. Make the sun work for you for interesting effects.

TIP: When you get your prints from the lab, number each one to correspond to the negatives before getting them out of order. With similar poses, it can be tough to determine the right negative for the one you want. You are responsible for providing the correct frame number!

Q. What if I don't have the 35mm negative?
Our results from a negative are usually better than your sample's color, because it's adjusted by a human, not a machine. If you have no 35mm negative and must use a studio photo, evaluate your print to be copied on these criteria:

Lighting–should be even overall, especially with larger families. Facial shadows become darker, definition of dark hair against dark background may be lost. Some photographers eliminate this with soft lighting behind you to create a faint glow.Positioning of faces in a clustered arrangement, with adequate space around all sides. Studio photos often have to be used in the Half 'n Half format because they're cropped too tight, or have Dad towering over the rest of the family.
Surface: AVOID textured linen-grain prints which often produce blurry-looking results.

Our PHOTOCARDS are produced digitally. For the best quality, use 35mm, APS or at least a 3.1 mega pixel digital camera file.

Call us if you have any questions!
1-800-347-2848

A Few Points about Studio Photos

Photos taken by a professional studio are almost always taken with a larger-format camera than 35mm size which we require. This means that the negative would not be usable to us, even in the rare case that the photographer would release it to you. When we don't have an original 35mm negative to produce from, the finished result will be reduced clarity and sharpness of color.

Several other cautions should be noted if you're considering the services of a studio photographer, or if you have a studio-type photo you're planning to use:

The photographer has generally been trained to look through the camera lens and "zoom" the photo to sit on your coffee table in a frame. This is exactly opposite of how the photo should be taken for most preferred prayer card styles. Show the photographer a sample prayer card layout from our brochure, and ask if they can back up to provide the depth and extra background needed to accommodate your desired text and graphics above or to the side of the subject(s). If so, perhaps he'd also be willing to shoot the photo with your 35mm camera so you'll have the negative! Many customers have successfully asked these questions as they shopped through the yellow pages, and have found a photographer willing to be cooperative for their business.
BEWARE DEPARTMENT STORE PHOTOGRAPHERS!
More likely than not, the person behind the camera who is offering 88 photos for $3.99 has had less photographic training than you have! If this is really your only option, plan to take charge of the photo session to insure the essentials are observed, because the alternative is a frustrating, wasted afternoon, and added expenses from us.

LIGHTING often seems to come in extremes: very inadequate, uneven or overpowering. If a dark background is used, make sure there is a faint night-light type bulb placed low behind the subject(s) to prevent dark hair and clothing from being lost into the backdrop. Also beware of an overpowering flash on those in the foreground.

The DISTANCE from the camera to each face should be nearly equal. Too much variety in depth will result in great variation in skin tones (dark/shiny), as well as poor focus.

Spacing of FACES should be relatively even - think cluster. Big, uneven gaps between some family members, or one person towering over the rest of the family makes for a poor photo and a worse prayer card.
Ask what BACKDROPS are available: medium to dark blue, gray charcoal work fine; avoid black, brown or light mottled drapes.
Beware: Not all photographers are good with CHILDREN! If pleasant smiles may be a problem, take stuffed toys, puppets, (or use bribery as necessary!) It may be up to you to arrange your own family and adjust heights with chairs or stools. Make sure the photographer is allowing enough border space on the finished photo (top and/or sides) for your desired text and graphics.
Don't violate copyrights! Olan Mills will give you a special release to have us copy their photos: call them at 1-800-251-6320 and request it (send it with your order). Department store photos are also copyright protected; request a release form at the photo session to send us with your order, or print out our copyright release form.

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