Mail guides
Readable photos
Make the sender and mailing label easy to read without sharing the rest of your mail.
Keep other letters out of a mail photo
Photographing a catalog on top of a pile of other mail is a common mistake. Other addresses in the frame can confuse identification and may show information that belongs to someone else.
Flatten a curved catalog before photographing it
Catalogs that arrive rolled often stay curved. The curve can throw part of the label out of focus and cast shadows across the print. Flattening the catalog first helps prevent a blurry photo.
Retake a mail photo taken in dim light
Check a dimly lit mail photo at full size before submitting it. Small label text can be unclear even when the whole page looks readable on the phone's screen.
Handle a faded or smeared mailing label
If moisture or a printing problem has made the label unreadable, do not fill in the missing characters from memory. The photo needs to show the sender and the recipient details as printed.
Remove glare from a glossy catalog photo
Glossy paper reflects light straight back into the camera, and the bright spot can wash out the mailing label. Changing the angle or the light usually clears it.
Keep the phone's shadow off a mailing label
When a light is directly overhead and you hold the phone between it and the label, the phone can shade the label. Moving the light to one side usually fixes it without special equipment.
Fix a photo that cuts off the apartment number
It is easy to cut off the bottom of a label when it sits near the edge of a large catalog. The result is a photo missing your apartment or suite number and ZIP code.
Capture a sender printed on the other side
Some catalogs and ad mailers print the company name on the back and the mailing label on the front. Your photo needs to show enough to identify the sender, so check both sides before you shoot.
Photograph a mailing label with tiny print
When a label is printed in very small type, a standard snapshot can come out blurry or too small to read. Moving closer and setting focus before you shoot fixes most of these problems.
Photograph an advertising window envelope
Advertising window envelopes combine plastic film and paper, so they can produce glare from two surfaces. The insert can also shift so the address no longer lines up with the window.