Top 10 Holiday Photo Tips are designed to help every photographer capture the holiday spirit whether they use a smart phone, a point-and-shoot or a digital SLR camera.
1) Reduce harsh shadows with soft lighting. Just like a cloudy day diffuses the sun better than a bright sunny day, the same rule applies indoors. Try using natural light from windows or other diffused ambient light. Strong lights, like potlights, send a focused beam of light that often creates reflections off of glasses and foreheads.
Three shots are better than one. Gathering a group together again for a retake is never fun. With multiple shots to choose from, you can delete any scrooge-like shots.
4) If using a flash, always try to reflect or diffuse it to achieve soft lighting. Using a direct flash often makes subjects look like ghosts outlined by harsh shadows.
5) During the holidays it's all about abundance. Fill up your glass with eggnog and fill up your camera frame with your subject. Doing this keeps the focus on the people rather than the coffee table in the foreground or the artwork on the wall behind.
6) Capture fleeting moments like opening gifts or that New Year's kiss by shooting in burst or continuous mode to improve your chances of that perfect shot. Digital images can easily be deleted, but you can never recreate the magic once it passes. A bonus is that the more photos you shoot, the more people become relaxed around the photographer.
7) Sending your holiday cards early and taking your pictures early on are both smart ideas. Too often photos are taken late in the festivities when everyone is tired and kids are delirious. As the family photographer, get your work done early to capture everyone at their best. Even better, you'll be able to relax and enjoy the rest of the event listening to Aunt Alice's favourite stories.
8) When photographing children, get down on their level or even below, for a new vantage point. How many shots of kids do you have where your child is looking down at the camera instead of up?
9) If using a smart phone, download free or low-cost photography apps. They often work better than the default option and improve the photo editing options.
10) Imagine how the photo would look on a cover of a photo book or a calendar. Is the photo one that you'd be happy with or should you reshoot it to create something that better captures the memory?