As the holidays are quickly approaching, I thought it might be helpful to provide a few photography tips!
Think about the memories, activities, and traditions that make the holidays special for you. Photograph those things, not just a group photo. It’s not necessarily the posed photos that will matter the most to you later. Get the spontaneous in-the-moment shots!
Get close. Sometimes if you shoot from too far away, the image will be too impersonal. You’ll want to see smiling faces and special memories up close. Plus, as you get closer, you will be more likely interacting with the person(s) you are photographing and will more likely get genuine smiles.
Go low. If you photograph kids, photograph them from down at their level. Rather than standing up and looking down on them, get down on the floor with them!
Pets are family too! Be sure you include photos of your furry family members!
Photograph the preparation phases as well.: the setting up the tree, the meal cooking, and all the other parts of the holiday experiences.
Make sure your battery is charged and have a spare!! Also spare memory cards will help ensure you don’t miss out on those special moments.
If your photos are turning out too yellow in your living room, find your camera’s White Balance setting and switch from Auto White Balance over to the Tungsten or Incandescent (light bulb) setting. Just remember to switch it back to Auto White Balance the rest of the time!
Use a higher ISO or Auto ISO for handheld shots, to ensure you don’t get blurry images due to hand movement.
If you are photographing Christmas lights or a decorated tree, try shooting with a tripod, and shift the aperture to a higher f/stop like f/16 or f/22. You’ll see the lights have a starburst effect which can be nice.
Using a flash often produces harsh unflattering light. If you own a flash that mounts on top of your camera, point the flash toward the ceiling or a wall to bounce the light. It will be softer and way more pleasing and natural looking.
Sometimes the best camera might actually be your iPhone / smartphone for some of your photos. Your smart phone camera is more likely to be with you at all times. If you don’t have your camera with you at that special moment you want to remember, you won’t get the shot.
What’s important is not really whether you get the “technically perfect” shot, even though that is a good goal to shoot for. More than the technical stuff, what will really matter most to you later on are the memories. The photos will help you remember the stories as memories fade.
I wish you very happy and blessed holidays.
Kevin
By the way, my photography classes and private instruction can be given as GIFTS! This might be the perfect gift for that photographer in your life (or maybe that’s YOU)! CLICK HERE TO SEE THE CURRENTLY OFFERED CLASSES
UV Filter for Each Lens
You should always keep a filter on each of your lenses to help protect them from damage! Make sure you get the right size for your lens!
Giottos Rocket Air Blaster
This is a safe way to blow dust out of your camera. Help get rid of that dust, otherwise eventually it will work its way onto your sensor!
It’s that time of year when many of us get together with family and friends to celebrate the holidays. Make sure you have a plan to get some great photographs of these special memories! Here are a few tips that might help:
Imagine if you were magically transported to 20 years in the future, and were looking at the pictures you shot during the holidays this year. What images do you envision will matter the most to you then? Photos of loved ones? Perhaps images capturing family traditions, such as everyone gathering around the TV to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life”, or maybe “too many cooks in the kitchen” making a Christmas meal, or shots of the kids being tucked into bed the night before Christmas. Sometimes you can best figure out what to photograph by not thinking “in the moment”, and instead envisioning what photos will really matter to you later on. This probably matters more than the particular camera settings you use!
Use whatever setting is most convenient for you. If you only know the fully automatic mode, use that. If you know how to use Aperture Priority mode, that gives you great control over factors such as depth of field by the aperture value you choose.
If you are shooting in low light, make sure to select a higher ISO value like perhaps 3200 or even higher. The reason for shooting at higher ISO values is to ensure your shutter speeds are fast enough for hand-held shots in low light. A general rule of thumb is to keep your shutter speeds faster than 1/focal-length of your lens. For example if you are shooting at 200mm, then make sure your shutter speeds are 1/200th or faster. Also if you have an image stabilizer, make sure it is turned on!
If you use a flash (speedlight), make sure the flash is not pointed at your subject. Most of the higher-end flashes allow you to swivel and angle the head so you can point the flash at a ceiling or wall, to “bounce” the light, which makes the light much softer and natural looking.
Some exposure modes allow you to set the White Balance. Generally, AWB (Auto White Balance) will do an ok job. If you find your photos are turning out too yellow/amber in tungsten living room light, change your White Balance setting to the little “lightbulb” (tungsten) setting.
Don’t forget your smartphone/iPhone camera. Use that for more candid moments that will pass by all too quickly. (The “best” camera is the one you have with you at the moment when you need it!)
Want a beautiful photo of your Christmas tree at night? Put your camera on a tripod, set it to Aperture Priority Mode (A/Av), then set the aperture to its highest value, such as f/16 or f/22, using a low ISO like 100, and press the shutter button. It will result in a time exposure and you’ll find the lights on the tree will have tiny “starbursts” on each light. 🙂
I could go into SO many more details about all this. I just wanted to at least come up with a list of some highlights of things to consider!
