Nothing ruins a holiday family portrait more than missing heads. My mom is notorious for decapitating my dad, grandparents, brothers and her grandkids in Christmas pictures.
While the season is filled with hundreds of magical moments, if you are not careful when wielding a camera, you can turn festive photo ops into pictures you’d sooner forget. For example, if you are like millions of other amateur photographers out there, then you don’t pass up the opportunity to snap keepers of loved ones opening gifts on Christmas morning. The annual tradition yields an array of emotions that are highlighted in facial expressions. To ensure you don’t miss a moment of the action, switch your camera to burst or continuous shooting mode. When employed correctly, you’ll end up with a series of shots that capture the anticipation of receiving the wrapped gift through the excitement of finding out what’s inside. Of course, the present’s contents could also lead to disappointment, but if you have your camera ready, you can capture that genuine emotion as well.
Don’t forget to note your lighting conditions, so you can properly preserve other holiday memories too. For example, consider using your flash to fill in the shadows if you are taking close-up shots of the dishes on your Christmas buffet. In addition, you can get a slew of candid shots if you take aim at kids throwing a tantrum while getting dressed in their Christmas outfits. This type of photo op calls for using your camera’s zoom. You can also vary the angle of your shots by bending on a knee or standing on a stool and shooting down at your subject.
Finally, don’t forget to take before and after shots of your home on Christmas morning. Before the kids wake up take a few photos of all of the presents sitting neatly wrapped under the tree. Then, once the kids have ripped open their loot, take another shot of the sea of wrapping paper strewn around the tree.
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