The photo is the heart of a personalised football card. The name, the rating and the stats are the fun bits, but it's the picture that makes a child stop, stare and say "that's me!". The good news is that you don't need a professional camera or a studio to get a brilliant result. A phone, a bit of daylight and five minutes in the garden will do the job nicely. Here's how we'd suggest going about it.
Lighting and location: keep it simple
Soft, even daylight is your best friend. Head outside on an overcast day, or find a spot in the shade if the sun is bright, and you'll avoid the squinting and harsh shadows that come with direct sunlight. Late afternoon light is lovely too. If you're indoors, stand your child facing a big window with the curtains open and switch the flash off. Flash tends to flatten faces and give that startled, red-eyed look nobody wants on their card.
Background matters less than you might think, because we cut your child out and place them on the card design. That said, a plain background makes our job easier and gives you a cleaner finish. A garden fence, a brick wall, a plain door or even a bedsheet pegged to the washing line all work well. Try to keep the background a different colour from your child's kit so the edges are clear, and make sure there's nothing poking out behind them, such as a tree branch that looks as though it's growing from their head.
The pose that looks like a real card
Football cards have a distinctive look, and a little bit of posing goes a long way towards recreating it. Have your child stand rather than sit, with the ball under one arm, at their feet or held in both hands in front of them. Shoulders slightly turned and chin up gives that confident, ready-for-kick-off feel. A big grin looks great, but so does the serious "game face" that so many children love to pull, so take a few of each and let them choose.
Take the photo from roughly chest height, and get the whole of their upper body in the frame with a bit of space around the head. Portrait orientation (phone held upright) is ideal because that's the shape of the card. If you can, get them in their kit, whether that's the team strip or their favourite training top, and ask them to wipe any mud off their face first, unless the mud is part of the story, in which case leave it exactly where it is.
One more tip: take lots. Children move, blink and pull faces, so fire off ten or fifteen shots and pick the best one afterwards. It's far easier than trying to nail it in a single frame.
Sending your photo and what happens next
When you upload your photo at the checkout, send the original file straight from your phone rather than a screenshot or a picture that's been through WhatsApp, as those get compressed and can look a little fuzzy when printed. Sharp, well-lit and not too dark is all we ask. If you're not sure whether your photo will work, send it over anyway and we'll take a look. Our team in Lincoln checks every image before it goes to print, and we'll get back to you within one working day if we think a different shot would give you a better card.
Everything is made here in our own factory in Lincoln and shipped within two working days, with free UK delivery on orders over £35. If you're in a hurry, Next Day Delivery is £10 when you order by 12pm, Monday to Friday. And because we stand behind every card we make, the Kids Merch Promise means that if you're not happy with the finished result, we'll reprint it free of charge.
So grab the ball, find some good light and get snapping. When you've got the perfect shot, head over to our personalised football cards to turn it into a card they'll treasure. Remember, when you buy one card, you get a second one half price, so there's every reason to make one for a teammate too.