Jen's Lens: Holiday Cards

I am the owner of Jen Bravo Photography, a company specializing in family portraits, high school seniors and newborns. I started my business over 6 years ago upon moving to Westchase, and have been thrilled to see my business grow and get to know so many wonderful families in Westchase.

With digital photography becoming so easily available, my hope is through this blog I help others take betters images of their families, and inspire creativity in portraits.

The holiday season has many wonderful traditions, and one of my favorites is sending and receiving holiday cards. I love seeing my family and friends cards start to arrive arrive right after Thanksgiving. With written letters seemingly becoming extinct, its special to receive something in the mail during this time of year.

When I started my business 6 years ago, there were very few options for holiday cards. Unless you hired a professional photographer to create your cards, you were stuck with 4x8 glossy prints, or the cards where you had to insert your 4x6 print. Luckily times have changed, and there is a large variety of beautiful, high-end and affordable cards to use. And with most photographers selling digital files, it is even easier to use your beautiful professional portrait on a card of your choice.

This year photography trends have turned to warm, vintage-inspired images with soft tones and dreamy backgrounds. Muted colors like soft cranberry and sage green are very popular this year. Here are a list of my favorite online stores to order your holiday cards. 

• tinyprints.com - Tiny Prints offers a variety of designs, from modern to traditional. The cards are all high quality card stock and they have amazing customer service. 

• mpix.com - I send all of my customers who purchase digital files to MPix for all of their printing needs. They also offer a great selection of cards and print very professional, high end products.

• minted.com - Minted offers fresh, modern looks for your holiday cards. Great customer service and high print quality make this the perfect choice.

• etsy.com - Etsy is a great place to go to support small businesses. If you search Holiday cards on the site, you will find the most variety of cards, ranging is price and designs. 

When the holidays come to a close, don't throw away all of those beautiful cards! Use a hole punch and a pretty ribbon to tie them together and store them with your holiday decor. Then next year, you can look back and remember the year before, while displaying the beautiful memories.

Find Jen Bravo by visiting her website: http://jenbravo.com/