• FRAME, POSE, SHOOT, REPEAT.

  • This guide will give some hints and tips on how to take good photos for your Teamprintz. 

    You may already have individual photos of each of your team members and you can most likely use those if you do. If you need to take some photos, then we hope this guide will make it quick and easy. It can typically be done in about 5-10 minutes, depending on your group size. You don't need an expensive camera, a mobile phone will do just fine.

    Steps to taking great photos

    1. Pick a spot with a good background and light.
    2. Line up your team or group.
    3. Check clothes and hair.
    4. Frame up your shot.
    5. Choose your pose.
    6. Get a smile.
    7. Take your shot.
    8. Repeat.

    More tips tips on using your mobile phone camera.

  • PICK YOUR SPOT

  • Find a spot with a good background and good light

    The thing that will affect the quality of your photo the most, is good light. Strong sunlight is your enemy here, it will cast harsh shadows and result in a poor looking photo. You'll get a better result if there is cloud cover which will diffuse the light and result in more even lighting. If you do shoot in full sunlight, shoot with the sun behind your subject so you're facing the sun. Make sure you tap on the face of your subject so the exposure is set for your subject and not the background.

    Some of our designs remove the background from the photo so it's just the subject, but others do show it. Make sure your background looks tidy with as little clutter as possible, a plain background such as grass or wall usually looks best. If you use your phone's portrait mode it will blur the background which can help if your background isn't as clean as you'd like.

  • LINE 'EM UP!

  • Take photos of the whole group at one time

    You can take each member aside on their own and take a photo, or ask each to take their own photo and send it to you, but you may find each photo will have a slightly different look and won't look quite as uniform when shown together in your print.

    We have found the quickest and easiest way to take consistent looking photos of your group, is to stand in a line and have each take turns standing in the same spot while you quickly take your snap. This way you only need to set your shot up once, and each photo will have the same lighting and background. Done this way you can get through a large group in minutes.

  • LOOK SMART

  • Check clothing and hair looks decent

    We think your print will look best if the while group is dressed in their kit or uniform. You may want to put out a group message to make sure they're all wearing their proper kit on the day you take your photos. Before you take your snap, make sure their kit is sitting evenly and tucked in or hanging down as you want. Also look out for under layers that might look unsightly. Check hair is looking tidy.

  • FRAME UP

  • Set up your composition

    For your members to fit nicely in the image boxes on our designs, you need to take your photos in Portrait (Vertical) format. Get quite close so the subject fills up the photo from the waist up, but make sure they're not so close that any part of them (other than their legs) is cropped out of the photo.

  • STRIKE A POSE

  • Choose your stance

    It's your choice, but for Teamprintz, we think it works best if your subjects have their arms at their sides or behind their back. This creates a nice uniform look to your print and means the photos will appear larger on your print than they would be if they had them stretched out.

  • DON'T SAY CHEESE

  • Try and get a natural smile

    Once you're ready to take your snap, the last thing you need is to get that facial expression right. Assuming you don't want serious and moody, that's probably a smile. Saying cheese doesn't really give you a natural smile, one Hollywood trick is to say money instead, or better still make them laugh with a joke or something silly. Ask your subject to look at the camera make them laugh or smile and take a few shots, one of them should be the one.

    Once you're happy with the shot, ask the next subject to stand on the spot and repeat. Each snap need only take a few seconds if you have everything prepared.

    Before you rush off and take your photos, please check out these technical tips for using mobile phone cameras.

  • HINTS & TIPS

  • Tips on how to use a mobile phone camera

    1. Clean the lenses - you'll be surprised how dirty they get on phones.
    2. Don't use the zoom - this can lower the quality of the photo, move yourself closer instead.
    3. Set your focus - your phone usually does this for you, but tapping on your phone screen in a certain spot will focus the camera on that area, so tap on the eyes of your subject to make sure their face is nice and sharp. This will also make sure the exposure is right.
    4. Use portrait mode - if you have portrait mode on your phone use this to get blurred backgrounds which make your subject stand out.
    5. Try HDR mode - if you have HDR mode on your phone, try turning this on for a test shot to see if it looks better, it can often help to create more even looking photos.
    6. Stand still - the final tip is a simple one, make sure you're keeping the camera as steady as possible when you tap to take your snap.

  • TRANSFER

  • Transferring your photos from phone to computer

    For now, creating a Teamprint is best done from a desktop computer or laptop, the small screens on mobile phones don't allow you to see the detail on our complex prints. If you need help with transferring your photos, see our How to transfer photos from phone to computer article.

    Have fun taking your photos and creating your Teamprintz.