How to Create Personalized Business Cards With Photos

Which business card stands out from the crowd?

Some ventures cry out for business cards with photographs, particularly if that business relies upon your personality to drive sales and disarm clients. To create a business card with your photo, you needn't be a technological Rembrandt, but you will want to follow some rules. Pictures on business cards hog space, so if you plan to put enough information on your card to recreate the Gettysburg Address, you might want to rethink your design. Short of that, grab some card stock, your computer and a great head shot and go to it.

Things You'll Need

• Head shot
• Page layout or word processing software
• Card stock
• Paper cutter

Instructions

1. Have a friend take a tight head shot of your face or have one taken at a studio if you're sensitive about facial angles or shadows. Save the photo as a JPEG. Transfer the image to a thumb drive, burn a CD, transfer the image from the camera or download it from the photographer's website. Reduce the photo to no larger than1.5 inches square. If you are comfortable using image manipulation software (e.g., Photoshop) and your picture needs retouching, do whatever you need to do.

2. Boot your computer and open your favorite word processing or page layout software program. You'll get great results using programs like MSWord or InDesign. Open a new, 2-column, 8.5-by-11 inch document (if it's not already your default, set the gutter at ½ inch) with ½-inch margins on all four sides.

3. Drag or insert a text box that approximates the size of a standard business card: 2 inches high by 3.5 inches wide. Place the card box at the very top of the left column. You'll be creating just one business card using these directions. Once you have positioned the image and your copy, you'll replicate the card art on both sides of the gutter.

4. Import, paste or drag your photo onto the card. Placement will be your call, but traditionally, business cards feature pictures on either the left or right side of the card. To produce a more unusual layout, put your image in the center, but make certain there is room on both sides for all of the information you plan to include.

5. Select your photo and add a frame that is no wider than 1 point.

6. Grab your cursor and keystroke any of the appropriate information listed here: Your name, company name, business address or P.O. box number, city, state, zip, website and/or e-mail address. Run the spell check. Adjust copy and photo to make certain the layout is to your liking.

7. Select both the text and the photo using the shift key, then locate the "Group" command from the appropriate pull-down menu. Select the grouped card and make nine copies (copy/paste nine times or use the step-and-repeat command). Stack five cards on each side of the gutter. Use your program's ruler to make certain all of the cards are spaced correctly.

8. Boot the printer, load the paper tray with plain or pre-scored card stock, then print out a sample sheet to check for problems. Use a paper cutter to separate the cards. Mind your ecological P's and Q's by printing only the number of business cards you need to satisfy the immediate future. After all, you may decide to change the photo, move your offices or change your last name as a result of dropping your picture-embellished business card into a fish bowl at a meet-and-greet singles event.

Resources

• Other Great Card Ideas
• Photo Card Tips