How to Take Great Christmas Photos
Taking photos at Christmas is no different form any other time of year with a few exceptions:
* Because of the lack of quality light (in the northern hemisphere), you generally have to use flash.
* Getting people together for the holidays to “eat drink and be merry” means that the end of the night people aren’t always looking their best:)
So, here are a few tips for great holiday photos:
* If you’re going to be taking photos of people gathering for a meal, remember the following:
* Take photos are the beginning of the evening. The table looks better freshly setup, and everybody looks fresh – believe me, they’ll thank you later for doing any photos early;).
* Avoid the “long” shot down the length of the table. Your flash will NOT be able to illuminate a long table easily leaving the people in front at a different exposure than the people further away. Ideally, shoot parallel to a long table, and get the people to turn around rather than shooting along the table from one end.
* If you shoot LOW down to the table, frame the shot to AVOID the inevitable glasses sat in front of everyone. Plates aren’t very high, but glasses are (relatively) high when someone is sitting down. They don’t add to the photo, and with just a couple in front of you, makes everyone look like they’re on a mission to get plastered – again, shoot early, and people with thank you afterwards.
* If you’re taking group shots, then get people heads at different levels from each other. A combination of standing & sitting is better than everyone at the same level which can look like a “line up” photo
* Be aware of your flash – make sure that the path from your flash to your subjects is clear of other people, your fingers, glasses, table decorations etc. since it’ll add a nasty shadow to your photo.
* Depending on the environment, when using you flash, think about what’s behind your subject. Shooting with a mirror, or windows directly behind them will fool the camera with the reflected flash, and you’ll end up getting a dark photo with a little white hot-spot reflected back to you. If you get into this situation, angle yourself 45 degrees to any reflective surfaces to avoid the problem
* In dark environments, people eyes dilate to cope with the light level. If you have a “red-eye” function on your flash turn it on to avoid everyone looking like they’re possessed.
* If you only have a small built-in flash they the power output is fairly low, so stay close to your subject, say 3-4 metres (9-12 feet) maximum.
