The holidays are such a wonderful time of year! The beautiful twinkling lights, festive Christmas trees, garland and candy canes galore also make wonderful backgrounds for holiday photos. There are also so many people who are getting engaged or saying "I do" during this time, which means most people are looking for a photographer to capture their special moments. Here are 10 tips for better holiday photos on BetterPhoto.com that we just had to share!
1. Compose Creatively and Move In Close
Getting creative with your photos can never be bad! Pay special attention to how you organize all the various elements you have visible in each photo. Here are 2 concepts that you may love:
Off-center your main subject. Instead of having your main focus in the center of the photo, move the subject off to the side. This looks great if you can balance that subject with another object in the background (think Christmas trees???) A great example that they gave is if you are taking a photo of a candle. Place it on the right with the Christmas tree blurred softly into the background (or anything else that you prefer to use).
Move in close. It is good to move in close when your subject is in the center but also when you off-center it, moving in closely will be one thing that makes a huge difference in your picture taking success! The fact is that the audience is always more impressed with a subject in a photo that is impossible to miss. So make your subject fill up your frame.
2. For Better Family and Group Portraits
For family and group portraits, you must take a lot of photos. Photographers will find that many people in the group who are taking the photo tend to hate being photographed, so as a photographer, you need to try and make it fun and friendly. Taking as many photos as you can is important because with a big group, there is always someone who is blinking or looking the other way, so having many photos to choose from is the best way to catch each and every person at their best!
Photo credit: Rebekah Westover Photography
3. Shoot First, Ask Questions Later
You have to be prepared when you trying to capture a wonderful moment. Maybe you are watching a child open a present… if you take time to ask questions, you will not be focused on the subject, and you could miss an amazing shot. You must be ready to take a photo at moments notice!
4. Do Not Use Flash Indoors
The flash can be a lifesaver, but the light from a flash tends to produce harsh, flat and cold light which is rarely complimentary to the subject you are photographing. Try having your subjects in the photo stand by a window to have a lot of natural light (but do not include the window in your photos as this will throw off your exposure meter). If you are shooting indoors at night time, try and find a room with as much light as possible. Use extra lamps if necessary.
5. Use Flash Outdoors
Flash can be a big help when it comes to shooting outdoors during the day. Even in bright sunlight, forcing your flash to fire can often mean the difference between an okay photo and an amazing masterpiece because having a flash outdoors during the day can help to even out harsh contrasts.
Photo credit: Alissa Saylor Photography
6. Look for Reflections
Focus on capturing reflections rather than the object itself is a great way to add that artistic touch to your holiday photos! Interesting splashes of color, like those that reflect from colorful Christmas lights or holiday decorations may be perfect. If it is a rainy day, a puddle in the street could be great to use.
7. Blur, Swirl and Zoom the Christmas Lights
Most Christmas trees look the same, so why not try something new in your photos to give it that extra magic? Set your camera to a slower shutter speed (anywhere from 1/2 second to 2 or 4 full seconds) and then purposefully move the camera while taking the photo. The intention is to blur the colorful lights… but in order to blur a stationary subject, you must have a slow shutter speed and controlled camera movement.
Photo credit: Kevinandamanda.com
8. Give the Gift of a Photo
A family photo is a wonderful and perfect gift idea. Parents and grandparents LOVE family photos and what better time to give them than at Christmastime?
9. Plan Ahead
Just like any other time of year, always make sure your batteries are charged, you have enough film or space on your flash memory card. You would hate to begin shooting that huge family photo and realize you are not totally prepared!
10. Blue Snow Is No Fun!
If you photograph snowy outdoor scenes, most camera meters will be fooled into underexposing the photo. That will leave you with a bluish cast to your snow scene, rather than the beautiful white, bright snow you want.
To overcome this, use your camera’s exposure compensation feature or a manual exposure mode to force an addition 1 to 2 stops of light to reach your film or CCD. If you have a point and shoot camera or a compact digicam, your camera may not feature manual exposure but it will likely have the exposure compensation option.
Photo credit: Jennifer Eileen Photography
We hope these tips for better holiday photos has been helpful to you! We hope you each have a very, merry Christmas! Happy photographing!
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