The most wonderful time of year
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! That time of year where everything just seems to have a little bit more magic. If you’re anything like me, I try to bottle up this magic every year in the form of photographs! Here’s a few tips if you’re trying to do the same.
Don’t skip tradition
I love getting some of the same pictures every year: picking out our tree at the tree farm, baking Christmas cookies, the kids in front of the tree, and opening presents on Christmas Day. I have clients that take a picture in front of their home every year - and I love this idea, too!
Color matters
With just a little extra planning, you can give your pictures some extra wow simply by thinking about the colors that you’re wearing and the setting that you’ll be in. The holidays lend themselves to rich tones of red, green, burgundy and blue; or soft colors of glittering gold and silver. I also love using complimentary colors, so if I know I’m shooting against green trees, I’ll try to dress my children in some red so that they pop against the background. Embrace all of the festive colors of the season, you won’t be disappointed in how your images turn out.
I’m not afraid to get a little festive and wear lots of red and green around the holidays!
When she wanted to wear this hat at the tree farm, I nearly squealed with delight. I knew it would go well against the blue sky and green trees.
Bokeh-licious
The holidays and twinkly lights go hand in hand. Those beautiful pictures you see with the dreamy blurry lights? That’s called bokeh, and there are several ways you can achieve this. If you’re shooting with a DSLR camera, use a longer lense and a wide aperture. No DSLR? That’s ok! You can also achieve a blurrier background by moving your subject as far away from the lights as you can...the distance from the subject to background increases the blur.
Another creative idea is to buy a set of battery-operated fairy lights and wrap or dangle those in front of your camera or phone for some fun foreground bokeh. You might have to experiment a little to get your subject framed the right way.
The top image I used fairy lights and wrapped them around my lens. Actually, it’s a double exposure because the self-portrait component made it a little difficult to get it all in one shot!
And how about those holiday lights in the second image? Be-bokeh-eautiful!!
Change your perspective
Ok, I know not everyone has a drone camera, but remember that traditional shot I mentioned above about my family at the tree farm? Well this year I decided to change my perspective and shoot from above. Like, REALLY above.
Get creative and see what you can come up. Taking pictures of your tree? Grab a step stool, chair, or small ladder and shoot DOWN and see what you come up with! Shoot THROUGH things. Mix it up - you might come up with something that you love!
Steady yourself, and your subject
When we think of shooting images of our tree or Christmas lights, often times it’s at night when the sun is down. So, this means you may need to slow down your shutter speed if you’re shooting with a DSLR to let in more light, or you may need to crank up your ISO. To avoid camera shake, brace yourself against a wall and keep your elbows in, or invest in a tripod to place your camera on.
For this image, I had a REALLY slow shutter speed of 1/13. I had my camera on a tripod because even trying to brace myself, there would have been blur. I also had to tell my little elf to hold REALLY still.
Please, please, please don’t forget to print your pictures. They say our generation is the most photographed generation and yet we will have nothing to show for it. Your memories in photographs deserve to be printed, they deserve to be more than just “digital dust” on your computer. I recently read a quote that I thought was so true.
“It’s just a file until it’s printed, then it’s a photograph.”
Invest in preserving your memories with something that is easy to pass down from generations. Wondering which consumer lab to print your own photographs? Not all labs are created equally. Check out this article for some side by side comparisons.
Another thing I like to do is save our Christmas card from every year. I tuck them into our family photo albums and they are so fun to go back and look at!
Photo credit for the “Joyful” Christmas card goes to Alyssa Crawford Photography in South Dakota!
Now, go out and make some holiday magic with your camera! And I’d love to see what you come up with! Tag me if you post on social media!