My favourite from last year

Another favourite

The Christmas season is a perfect time for photographers to give friends and relatives some photographs. That could mean a framed photographic print, but personally I like to give Christmas cards.

Last year, at this time, I wrote about an early December visit that my wife and I spent in San Francisco, California, and the scene we were greeted with when we decided to spend an afternoon on a picturesque beach at John Muir Park. There were three young people involved in what we assumed was the production of a Christmas greeting card for a barefoot young woman that stood at the water’s edge wearing a long dark skirt, a billowy white shirt, a red vest, and a Santa Claus cap. She posed and smiled as she supported a gangly four-foot Charlie Brown Christmas tree at her side and her friends laughed and photographed her as the surf rolled in. What a great idea for a card!

There are stacks of generic greeting cards being offered at stores, but for photographers it’s a perfect excuse to give people photographs. Personally, I want people to see and enjoy my photography, even if it’s only as a 5X7 card. I go through the many images languishing in my hard drive, add some festive greetings and voila! I have some cards for the Christmas season.

It is rare that we give the same picture to more than one person. And not all our cards say Merry Christmas. To me, it doesn’t matter; Happy Holidays, Season’s Greetings, a good New Year, and anything else I think fits a particular picture.

It doesn’t even need to have a Christmas look at all. (Actually, they rarely do and are usually pretty silly) What matters is the picture and it’s important that the card is unique. And I really don’t care what they do with the card I sent. I hope people like what I give them, however, if it gets thrown out with the gift-wrap after the holidays it doesn’t matter either, they had the opportunity to see a photograph taken by my wife, Linda, or myself, and that’s what’s important.

Don’t be a Grinch and hide your pictures away. Just showing some picture on your iphone or facebook isn’t enough. Print it, make a card, put it in an envelope, and give it to someone. And it’s easy, just get a 4×6 print and glue a photo to card stock or construction paper and write something festive on it. In my opinion Christmas cards don’t really need to be just about Christmas. Call them greeting cards, holiday cards, or whatever you want. That way if it’s a bit late for Christmas they can be sent or delivered anyway.

I enjoy all comments. Thanks, John

My website is at www.enmanscamera.com