Well the holidays are over, the ornaments are stowed and the glitter is swept. Cindy Lou Who has gone back to doing whatever the residents of Whoville do in the off-season (herding "roast beast"?) So I thought it the perfect time to give you a behind-the-scenes look at how Jettoe's holiday card came together in 2017.
The final card front (at left) and back (at right)
2017 was a tough year. When concepting the card, I wanted something that had a hopeful, positive message without directly referencing the tough times. So the idea of having candles in front of a San Francisco landmark (imagery which is a big part of the Jettoe brand) seemed right. The painted ladies of Alamo Square are featured heavily in the Jettoe look as Alamo Square Park is close to where I live (and therefore near and dear to my heart) and it's also just an iconic view.
But, knowing that the San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department, not to mention the SFPD, would probably frown on a live fire in a city park (even candles), I decided to pull this together in Photoshop. I took the photo below with my phone.
The raw photo
The sky that day was a little blah, so I combined it with this photo of a sunset I took in Newport Beach earlier in the year.
I knew this would come in handy when I took it but had no idea what I'd use it for. It became the sky in the holiday card when combined with the photo above.
With color correction, cropping, and a slight blur to simulate depth-of-field, the background came together. The candles are from a stock photo. I took special care to ensure that the flames were partially transparent around the edges.
By the way, a big challenge with this card was getting the right sunset/dusk tone without being too dark. I wanted it to look dark enough that the candles would stand out, yet light enough that it wouldn't look muddy and depressing. Right mood: crisp winter evening where candles warm the soul and spirit as the sun slowly sets. Wrong mood: spooky Halloween night with fire that brings to mind the villagers chasing Frankenstein.
I'm proud of the final result. Many of you may have received the card, and if you didn't, I'm sorry I overlooked you. Drop me a line and I will make sure you get one next year.