10 Tips to Take Better X'mas Photos
04 December 2009
Christmas is a time of the year where the whole family gets together to give, share, have a good time, eat a big bird and get a bit tipsy. So, it only makes sense that one would want to capture this on camera so that the digital files can be viewed over and over again to reminisce the festive antics for years to come.
If you need a bit of guidance to ensure that you get some great photos this Christmas, why not take a look at our 10 Tips to Take Better X’mas Photos:
1. Importance of the Subject
Picking out the focal point for your photo is important. Usually there are a lot of things going on at Christmas. Figure out what the point of interest is in your photo and compose your shot appropriately.
2. Be Aware of the Elements
Also, be aware of your surroundings. Consider whether the decorations in the background would cause too much of a distraction to actually detract the attention away from the main subject. It is nice to get the Christmas decorations in the photos to give it that festive feel, but be aware of how it corresponds to the subject of your photo. Think about whether the image would look better with more elements in the frame or less.
3. It’s All About the Details
Get up close to pick out some of the details. You don’t necessarily need a really expensive set-up just to get macro shots, as a lot of compacts these days feature a macro mode (it’s usually the flower button) to allow you to get the details of things close up. Try getting macro shots of various items. For example:
The Christmas lights
The presents.
Food. E.g. Christmas pudding,
cookies etc.
4. Focal lengths
A lot of compacts feature an optical zoom that ranges from Wide to Tele. DSLRs have a lot of options in this area too with an array of interchangeable lenses available that consist of a variety of zoom lenses and various focal length primes.
Wide: use this to capture more elements in the frame. Perhaps you would like to use this for photos at the dinner table, group photos or when the family are playing games together, when you want to put the subjects in context of the environment or action.
Tele: use this to put more emphasis on the subject. Great for portraits and capturing the emotions and expressions on faces. Perhaps you could use this for when your family open their presents, when the point of interest is them and their reactions. Tele is also useful for cropping out any distracting decorations in the background also.
5. Set it right – Aperture, Exposure, ISO
If you want some shots without flash, be sure to set an appropriate Aperture, Exposure and ISO value to reduce the chances of having all your photos blurred and shaky.
Aperture: you will most likely need a large aperture like f1.4, f1.8, f2.0 or even f2.8. The smaller the number the larger the aperture is. A large aperture lets in more light so that you don’t need such a long exposure. However, one down fall of a large aperture is that you have a smaller depth-of-field, i.e. the background to your subject will be thrown completely out of focus.
Exposure: A long exposure increases your chance of camera shake.
ISO: The higher the number, the more sensitive the sensor is to light. You will probably need an ISO value of 1600 or higher for indoor shots.
6. Use Video
Most compact cameras these days feature a video mode, and more and more DSLRs have added video-shooting capabilities to their feature set recently. So why not make the most of it and use it for to capture your holiday festivities? There are certain moments where a still image might not be enough to do the “moment” justice. Here are a few examples where using the video mode would be useful:
Opening gifts: record the moment that your kids open their presents and the happiness they get from seeing what they got.
Preparations: video the moments before Christmas, when you’re putting the tree up and the moment when you put the star on top; film the food preparations and the moment the Turkey is brought out of the oven.
Fun & games: when the kids are playing with their brand new toys or when grandpa makes the funniest of gestures when playing charades.
7. Points of View
Christmas doesn’t just have to be from your point of view – let everyone take the photos. If the kids don’t have a camera to use, perhaps let them have a go (providing that they are not at that age where they would throw it around).
8. Christmas Lighting – Flash Photography
As most people will spend Christmas day indoors, a flash is recommended to ensure that your subject is well lit. A lot of Compacts and DSLRs feature a built-in flash, which is sufficient. To understand more about the basics of flash photography, you can take a look at our guide to Understanding Flash Modes.
Although you might feel that the direct flash from your camera’s in-built flash is a bit harsh. Something you could try is to cover the flash with a bit of translucent paper to diffuse the power of the light to give a more flattering light. This is something we highlighted in our article for Brightening Holidays with Better Indoor Photography.
If you have the option of external flash, we would recommend this option, especially as you have more flexibility – you can bounce it off the ceiling, walls of a reflector. If you’re still new to using external flash, a good place to start is our Basics of an External Flash article. 9. Dreaming of a White (Balance) Christmas
Usually at Christmas, there are a lot of different colours of decorations and lights around the house. It brighten ups the house a treat, but it plays havoc with cameras auto white balance. Not too sure about what white balance will do for your photos? You might like to read our article on White Balance: A Guide to Colours. This is quite important if you shoot in jpeg, as you have less flexibility for post-processing.
10.Get Yourself an Early Present
Well, it’s not necessary to invest in more kit just to get great shots for Christmas, but you may need to acquire some new gear in order to get the right effect. DigitalRev is offering a Christmas Promise – we guarantee that we will get your order to you in time or we’ll give you cash in return. Read the full details here.
