Take Note! Designs has high standards for the photos we will accept because we want your announcement to be beautiful! Getting a great shot is not as easy as one might think - this is why take note photo cards have only 1 or 2 images and not a collage of photos as many other companies do. Why? Getting one really good picture is tough, getting 5? MUCH tougher! Why only black and white? Again, we want the final to be wonderful, and colors will often conflict with the design colors, and it is tough to get a true match of skin color, plus we love the classic elegant look of black and white, and we hope you will too!

IMAGE/CAMERA QUALITY: Photos from a high mega pixel digital camera only (scans will only be accepted if the original picture is of excellent quality and scanned at a min. of 300 dpi) Please take the photo in color, and we will convert to black and white.

CAMERA SETTINGS: The camera MUST be set to the very highest setting BEFORE you take your picture, in order to provide the quality of picture we can use. The pixels should be close to 1600X1200 (1200X680 only if a very good picture). If you are not familiar with “pixels” no problem, just make sure the camera is on the highest setting, and the image is not re-sized. The (print) quality setting should be in the menu section of your camera. Now that your camera settings are ready for you to take your photo, you should set aside some time to for your baby's “photo shoot”.. These important photo pointers will guide you in achieving a photo that we can use to create a beautiful birth announcement featuring your baby: (You may want to print this out)

1. CLOTHING: Your baby's clothing should be light colored and not an overly busy pattern.

2. BACKGROUND: Make sure that the backdrop is not cluttered, busy, dark, or a strong pattern (patterned couch, cluttered or busy room, etc.) A light backdrop is important, not only for the overall picture quality and feel, but your camera will want to focus on any pattern or object it sees, and the focus may very well end up not being on your baby. Try draping a light colored blanket, towel, or sheet, over a couch, bed, changing table; maybe place a pillow behind the baby if on a bed, and drape the blanket over the pillow, creating a light backdrop. If someone is holding the baby during the photo shoot, you can drape a blanket over them as well; sometimes putting a blanket over a highchair or stroller and then snuggling your baby in, allows your baby to be slightly propped (even especially cute if your baby is snoozing), and allows the surroundings to be light. Remember to keep the majority of the camera frame in your “photo shot zone”. The goal is to have a light colored neutral backdrop so that it does not interfere with the true star of the photo - your baby!

3. FOCUS: MOST important! Pick a focal part on the face, eyes (eyelashes) are best, lips are great too, and make sure the camera is sharply focused on this part of the face, before you snap the picture. Keep trying until you get a crisp focus, if your baby keeps moving, try again when he/she is sleeping. We know achieving the focus on the face, and not the blanket or arm, etc, can be difficult, but don't give up! Your picture needs to have the focus on the facial features or it will not print well, and you will be so happy you stuck with it! We promise!

4. LIGHTING: Natural light is ideal, but if you are inside, you will need to use a flash in order the get a sharply focused, well-lit image (poor lighting is the number one problem for being unable to achieve a sharp focused picture, and producing grainy, dull images). Remember, when using a flash, there IS such thing as getting too close, so it is better to use your zoom lens and step back just a little so the flash does not wash out the baby's face.

5. ZOOM IN: If you want a closer final image, rule of thumb is that the image you provide should crop about mid-torso, providing enough room around the head so that we have some room to crop, this will ensure you are not too close. Leaving room around the baby is important, each individual design requires us to crop the image in a particular way. However, beware of being too far away, if you are, then when we crop, your baby's features will be grainy. Please, let us crop your image. If you have special requirements about how you would like your photo cropped, just provide them in the body of the email when you send your photo.

6. VERTICAL OR HORIZONTAL?: If you haven't selected the card you want, then take the photo with horizontal orientation(holding your camera traditionally); however, if you have selected your card, you may want to look at the image in the card, and copy the layout (if it is shown with a vertically favored photo, you should take it vertically (holding your camera sideways)); or you can email us and ask what type of photo is best for your design choice.

7. AWAKE OR ASLEEP?: Usually the very best result is a sleeping baby, often with a flash, there will be a lot of light reflection on the eyes and/or red eye. A sleeping baby usually means a still baby and you can get a close up, sharply focused picture of the baby's facial features, and this is the goal. A baby's face is usually more relaxed and natural when they are sleeping (and the parent's are too!). We do highly recommend taking a photo of a sleeping baby. We can also work with “less then perfect” images if the baby's eyes are closed. If you really want your baby's eyes open, make sure that your baby is not looking directly at the camera, and that you are not overly close to the baby.

SENDING YOUR PHOTO: Now that you have captured that perfect shot, how do you send it to us? Please send your RAW image; this means send the image directly from your camera, without any editing or re-sizing, which generally means you can by-pass your photo software. Your best result is to download the image from your camera, to your desktop and then attach that image to an email and send. This is your best bet to make sure you do not accidentally send the “thumbnail” version (small size). * If your picture is not on your camera and already in a file in your image software, just make sure you are selecting the option that ensures you are sending the original size image. WE WILL CONVERT to black and white, and we will crop.

* Please remember that your printed image can only be as good as the picture you provide, and we will need to reject photos that are not printable quality. Printing onto card stock and not photo paper, is a less “forgiving” media, and is a softer effect. The elegance of printing on cotton paper is wonderful and much more traditional and elegant than photo paper, however, it does mean that because the image is softer in the final card, the original we begin with needs to have a clean sharp focus. We print with ink, and not toner; we do not use laser printers (toner based), but instead print with professional grade photo printers, which print with ink, for that maximum print quality feel.