Photograhy Tips and a Discount Code from the #HallmarkTour in Dallas

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Last week I was invited to the Magnolia Hotel in downtown Dallas to meet some of the great folks of Hallmark. I even received an exclusive invite in the mail.

For real!

This tour includes a six city stop and The Big D was on their list!

Some of the greeting card writers, the photographers and the creative minds behind the brand were at our fingertips.

We focused on birthday party ideas at the tour.

I don’t know about you, but I have been a Hallmark fan for years.

I have a greeting card organizing box, with dividers and all, for storing greeting cards. I have had the box itself for probably 8-10 years and it actually came from Hallmark.

I love their cards, their Christmas ornaments, their unique gift ideas.

I will say I get into a Hallmark store less and less since having our three littlest kids, but I still love a relaxing trip to the card store.

One of their leading photographers gave us photo shooting tips and a peek inside their staging warehouse.

Yes, they have warehouse full of every item you could image for setting the stage to make a greeting card.

The Hallmark headquarters is located in Kansas City, Mo. They are known for having open door photo shoots where locals bring their kids for a chance to make the front of a greeting card.

And, they have a department that scouts out local photo opps. Meaning, if they pass a beautiful home, say in the historical district, it is not beyond the folks at Hallmark to knock on your door and ask if they can stage a shoot in your lovely dining room, for example.

So, how are greeting cards made? Hallmark let us experience a mock brainstorming session.

They placed photographs on our tables and gave us less than five minutes to pick a photo and create it into a card.

This is truly how they brainstorm!

Here was the photo I chose.

Let’s just say I am a humor birthday card writer.

I will not tell you exactly what my card said, but image this guy all grown up at one of your future birthday parties. That is all I am saying…

We also celebrated a birthday party while we were there.

Are these customized birthday party plates not just the cutest you have ever seen!?

Right now you can use the promo code BLOG30 to get 30% your next customized plate order. How cool!

I am so getting some of these for our kids’ next party. (There are themes for adults as well!)

Hallmark sent us home with a nice stash of goodies.

I have a lovely new collection of birthday cards, their recordable books, and my littler boys are digging their new text bands- watches that spell things out.

What an awesome treat this was!

And I did share my super crafty birthday invitation kit idea with these guys. I told them to call me… we can talk specifics. (ha!)

7 Photography Tips from the Hallmark Folks:

1. Position yourself in various places throughout the room to see the subject you are photographing at different angles.
2. Pay attention to the details and be observant of what is going on in the room. Often times, the unexpected, unprompted shots are best.
3. Kids are very aware of the camera. Try being discreet with your camera and catch them when they are not looking.
4. Have someone help you. Have another person stand behind you to make silly goofy faces, tell jokes, wear something silly, etc., so you can get genuine smiles from the kids.
5. Have fun and play around with all of the elements of the mark to make it pretty. There is no right or wrong way to set something up. Look in magazines and on Pinterest for ideas to help you think outside the box.
6. Pull out photos from previous b-day parties or moments captured through the year and display them as decorations for this party.
7. Have a “photobooth” to add some cleverness and fun to the party! You can give these pics are party favors!