Pro Tips for Holiday Pics!
Today’s phones make it easy to capture special moments from our lives and with the holidays fast approaching, now’s the time to snap a creative Christmas, Hanukkah or New Year’s card to send to family and friends. We surveyed a few photography sites to round up tips from the pros, and even some creative ideas when it comes to composition and posing, full of holiday cheer.
Sending Cards and Letters
If you didn’t take the perfect family photo on your summer vacation, there’s still time to snap a picture-perfect shot of the loved ones you live with to send to the loved ones you don’t! Be Funky says location is key. Find the perfect spot as the backdrop for a photo that you’ll likely look back at for decades.
For quick tips on setting the scene, head over to the Washington Post’s top 10 list of how-tos. The advice there is to start by making sure the setting is ready for you (whether it’s your front porch or the park right off Colliers Blvd). Other tips include taking along treats for short attention spans – like kids and pets! And as most of the pros concur – take LOTS of pictures. Even Annie Leibovitz takes multiple shots to get the perfect portrait!
We know you’ll be thinking about what to wear, and maybe it goes without saying, but it’s best to avoid distracting prints or patterns. And don’t wear all-white or all-black – you’ll end up looking bigger than you want to! For a full family photo, WaPo recommends being coordinated but not too matchy-matchy. If you can’t get a friend to hold the camera and you need a photographer, there are a few locals who have received rave reviews online. Check out their work and the nice things people say about them!
Don’t Miss the Perfect Shot!
Two basic bits of basic advice from Nikon’s Alex Podstawski include using “burst” mode to ensure you get the shot. With one click of the shutter button on your phone, you can take successive shots. Just make sure to press when you anticipate something worth snapping – like candid moments trimming the tree, kids putting out cookies for Santa or the pure-delight expression when someone opens a longed-for present – just keep your finger down!
Erin Brooks at the Sweet Set Up has lots of advice for the amateur photographer – things like creating a mood with ambient light and embracing the drama of darkness – scenes lit only by the lights from a Christmas tree. She cautions to pay attention to everything in the frame – what you want to include to tell the story, and crop out what you don’t. Stray items might become a distraction when you go to print or publish the photos.
Erin offers examples shot with both an iPhone X, and a Fujifilm X-T1 camera, and even gives some insider info about editing after the photo is snapped. Scroll through her holiday photos — with two adorable girls — and follow along as she gives tips about creativity, composition and emotion. Finally, she urges the designated photographer to “GET IN THE FRAME”! It’s great to get photos of everyone else, but everyone else is going to want to see you, too, when they go through past holiday pics!
Personality and Pizazz
When it comes to kids and pets, both have personality-plus, so get down to their level for a more natural photo with better scale. And Techlicious encourages using candles and lights for interesting backgrounds. Embrace the Bokeh as they say – which means taking pictures in front of the Christmas tree with subjects in focus in the foreground and tree lights blurred in the background, to make a beautiful backdrop!
For ideas about arranging people and poses, grab some inspiration from Brides.com for couples only, or Postable and Good Housekeeping. And to make those holiday cards, check out Shutterfly and Costco for great deals this festive season!
Picture This: Colliers Hill
Don’t miss the December 14 event at the Overlook! Santa will be on hand to listen to the littles wish lists and there’ll be hot cocoa and holiday crafts from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Erie, Colorado offers small-town living with big-city access just 30 to 40 minutes from any front door in the master-planned community of Colliers Hill. Visit the model homes offered by Meritage Homes, Richmond American Homes, and Century Communities, explore the amenities and find the perfect ranch-style or two-story design — priced from the high $300s.
