Holiday Photography Tips

Here is the holiday photography tips blog I did as a guest post the other week. Enjoy!

1. Get Prepared

We are already into December, so now is the time to get a fresh memory card and fully charged battery into your camera. Keep an extra battery (or at least your charger) in your purse so you are never without it! Trust me, It is the worst feeling ever to be at your party and see that red flashing battery after your first photo!

2. Go Macro

Most handheld digital cameras come with a macro mode, and those with an SLR have it for sure! I love shooting with my Canon 50mm lens to capture the details of fun event: ornaments on the tree, table decorations, sweets in a bowl, nativity scene on the mantle, mistletoe in the doorway... sometimes it’s these tightly cropped images that are the "golden photos" of the night!

3. Get Candid

That being said, there is nothing wrong with pictures that are posed. In fact, I encourage it for Christmas card, or more formal photos. But, you can create a variety of images for your next Shutterfly book by taking candid shots at a family or social gathering. Have your camera out and ready when people are engaged in conversation, opening a gift, singing carols, or goofing around with that crazy uncle!

4. Try a new angle

Get your hands dirty! Down on the floor, up on a ladder, do the splits if you have to! Everyone has seen a photo of a Christmas tree before. What makes yours pop? Take a new angle.

Now, for those of you learning to use your SLR to it's maximum potential (like me!):

5. Watch Your Aperture

I quite often shoot in Aperture Priority mode ("Av" on your SLR) on a day like Christmas! I'm generally too busy preparing the hors dourves or wrapping a last minute gift to shoot in manual (to control every aspect of my photo).

So, for example, when taking shots of a champagne flute, I’ll select a large aperture (a small number like f/2.8) to throw the background out of focus. But for a shot taken from the end of the table of everyone sitting down to eat, I’ll choose a small aperture (like f/8 to f/11) to give me a larger depth of field and keep everyone in focus. This gets easy with just a bit of practice, promise!

Thanks for having me Amy, and feel free to come on over and see what I'm up to!