Photographing Christmas Trees & Lights
If your Christmas tree is up and decorated, then it’s time to take some pictures and share them with your friends and family! But before you do, follow these handy tips to make sure your photos have that classic holiday feel— you could even make them into postcards and send them out this year!
1. Be mindful of the all of the light in the room. If you would like to include details like tree ornaments in the photo, be sure to turn on only 1 lamp in the room. Also turn off your flash as it will typically wash out the warm and cozy color in the room.
2. Whether you own a point-and-shoot camera or a DSLR, use a tripod, use a tripod, use a tripod — yes, it’s that important! If you don’t have a tripod, balance the camera on a table or other stationary object – this low light will require a relatively long exposure and your photos will be blurry due to camera shake.
3. If you’re photographing the tree by itself, turn off your flash and use a longer exposure. Set your camera’s ISO to 400 or higher and then take some test shots on Manual or (M) mode instead of Program (P) or Automatic (A). Adjust the shutter speed and/or f-stop until the exposure looks right. As a place to start, try setting the ISO to 400, the f-stop to 8 and the exposure to 1/30th of a second. If the image appears too dark, increase your exposure to 1/15th or 1 second.
**If your camera does not have a Manual (M) mode try the candle light, sunset mode or night.
4. Use the camera’s self timer to avoid shaking the camera during exposure.
5. If your photo appears too orange for your taste, in the camera’s menu, adjust the white balance settings to tungsten (mode to indoor).
6. For capturing outdoor light displays, use the same exposure theory as you would for indoor shots, but switch the white balance settings to outdoor. Photograph outdoor displays around 30-40 minutes after sunset so that the camera can still record the environmental light and capture some color that remains in the sky. Set your camera to aperture priority (A) mode, set your f-stop to 5.6 or 8 and let the camera determine the proper exposure for you.
Want to get this Christmas light effect in your photo? Simply hold a piece of screen in front of your lens as you click the shutter.
You’re all set to snap some amazing pictures of your Christmas tree and all the wonderful outdoor displays.
Happy holidays!
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