The Right Christmas Picture
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Outside Pictures of Lights
Depending on what your Christmas decorations are, you should consider taking at least one Christmas picture of the old homestead. Just observe the instructions on
night time photography tips.
Just remember to use a tripod since you'll be taking a long exposure shot. (And turn on the house lights first!)
As you travel outside, keep on the lookout for an interesting Christmas picture or two you can capture.
And, if you don't happen to have your tripod with you, all is not lost. Adjust the ISO to as high as possible without loss of quality. Then find some stationary platform to rest the camera on (DO NOT HOLD IT).
Set the self timer, so you don't have to be physically touching the shutter button and possible cause "camera shake," which is very easy to do with long exposures. By the time the timer runs down, the camera should be rock steady for the length of the exposure.
Christmas Pictures of Gifts
With Christmas, there's usually plenty of gifts around. Taking pictures of gifts isn't a challenge. Taking unique ones or ones that truly look good is.Here is an example Christmas picture of gifts perfectly posed. Other natural ideas are:
- Gifts under the tree
- Kids opening gifts
- Take the gifts out of the boxes and replace them with a small child, baby (properly supported, of course), or pet.
- Adorn with appropriate or funny clothes, hats, scarves, etc.
- Arrange unopened gift boxes in a geometric pattern with the strategically placed heads of relatives, forming a memorable portrait.
- After the bedlam wears down... play around with getting some humorous Christmas pictures of kids covered in wrapping paper and such.
As with any major event, it's a good idea to prepare a list beforehand of those "must-have" shots we always tend to forget about taking once we're there (wherever "there" happens to be).
Are there relatives in attendance who are rarely at holiday events? Better take their photos while you can.If anyone is getting up there in years, make sure you take an extra photo or two, just in case.
Specific Christmas Photo Opportunities
When you look at the pictures from Christmas past, how happy are you with the results? Since people are usually rushing around like a crazed Santa, taking the best possible photos may not be everyone's top priority. If anyone is getting up there in years, make sure you take an extra photo or two, just in case.
And as with all important pictures, take at least 2 shots of the same group... the larger the group, the greater the chance that somebody blinked!
Take advantage of these 2 unique holiday categories: Decorations, and Macro.
The Creative Use of Decorations:
- After all the gifts have been opened, it's OK to get playful. Use the opportunity to cover a sleeping relative with ribbons, bows, mistletoe, and streamers.
- Use mistletoe with the family pet, all the cousins, or with a decorative reindeer (snowman, Santa, elf, etc).
- Combine numerous colors in one photo
Ultra-close up shots (Macros):
- Gift bows
- Tinsel
- Flowers
- Holding Hands
- Toys
One final thought for the holidays... this is the perfect time to create a photo collage. The number of themes are endless, and here's a few to get you started:- All the relatives; divided by sex, age, and/or sub-family grouping
- All the gifts, either lined up precisely or in one big heap
- Just the children and/or babies
- Each person opening one of their gifts
For a super easy way to do collages, this is the best software I've found. They also have an outstanding demo video that shows how easy it is.
Once you start to get into the fun of Christmas digital photography, check out all the holiday gift possibilities you can do with your photos.
Prepare for Christmas with these useful articles:
Christmas Scrapbooking
10 Unique Christmas Gift Ideas
