How to Make Your Own Photo Invitation Cards

Photo invitation cards are a fun and original way to invite guests to any event, whether it's a party for a graduation, birthday, engagement, wedding, bridal shower or a big business sale. Photo invitation cards are easy to make even if you're not a professional designer, and their custom appearance lends unique power to your message. Here's how to make your own photo invitation cards for any event.

Take your photo

Your photo invitation card image is your focal point, so it's imperative that you start with a great photo. Brainstorm the best way to present your message and allow creative inspiration to fuel the design: a birthday invitation card will be more powerful if it depicts the subject enjoying a well-known passion than a simple head shot. Take your photo with a high-quality camera, preferably an SLR digital camera. If you don't have an SLR, choose a digital camera capable of taking pictures with at least six megapixels for best results. Set your camera to the highest resolution possible (you can always change the size and resolution later), and make sure there's plenty of light when you take your picture. Imagine your photo invitation card throughout this process, and you can come up with a striking scene that turns heads and gets immediate attention, not to mention guests to your big event.

Edit your photo to create your invitation design

Now comes the fun part: you can edit your image to create your photo invitation card design using one of a vast number of photo editing programs. Adobe Photoshop is a professional photo editing tool favored by many industry professionals, but you can also work with cheap or freeware programs such as Paint.NET to create your design. Play with the tools in your photo editor to add text, colors, borders, backgrounds, clip art and other design elements to your photo invitation cards. Some programs even have advanced tools to help you take out any red eye, adjust brightness and contrast, and give your image a faux antique finish.

Prepare your file for printing

The next step is to prepare your photo invitation cards for printing. Start by downloading a free invitation card template from PsPrint, and make it a layer below your actual design (you'll delete this layer before printing). Your template has proper markings and dimensions to ensure your design is in the proper size, resolution and color format, and that it fits in your safe area without being cut off while any bleeds extend to the edge.

Print and send photo invitation cards

Once your design is complete all that's left to do is print and send your photo invitation cards. Fortunately, online printing companies such as PsPrint make the process easy and affordable. Opt for a professional-grade paper stock such as a super-thick 16-point gloss or 13-point  recycled matte, and choose whether you would like your photo invitation cards scored, folded, printed in full color and/or inserted into matching white envelopes. To eliminate the inconvenience of affixing postage and mailing your invitations, have your printing company address, stamp and send them for you. Upload your mailing list and let your virtual "employees" do the rest!