How To Take Better Holiday Pictures

How To Take Better Holiday Pictures – Photography Tips

December 17, 2013
Posted by: David Williams
category:
- Photography Tips
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Happy Holidays Try these holiday photography tips out this season and notice the difference in your images. This post is focused on taking photos INSIDE.

The tips are in NO particular order:

1) Avoid The Phone

If you own a regular digital camera, please try to avoid using your phone to capture images INSIDE unless you know for sure that your phone provides better images than your regular camera. A phone should serve as your backup or on the go camera not your main camera especially for important family holiday photos. Again, it really comes down to the quality of your phone camera vs. your regular digital camera. If your phone is your regular camera, then try to do the best you can with it. The phone apps do make using a phone nice, but you can use a site like PIXLR.com to do some of the same things your phone app does. Pixlr is FREE.

2) Use A Flash

It’s amazing how many people shoot digital without a flash. Sometimes NOT using a flash is the best thing to do; however, don’t be scared to use a flash (even outside). If you have a DSLR flash that attaches to the hot shoe and has an adjustable head, don’t use the flash straight on. You should bounce the flash using something like a small Rogue FlashBender.

3) Use Light To Your Advantage

Just because digital images can look good in low light, don’t be afraid to turn on some room lights or open up a curtain to let light in. A well lit room will give you better images unless you are trying to capture the low light for ambience. But most of the time when you are taking images of family and friends, it is likely going to be better to LET THE LIGHT SHINE. More light will reduce the NOISE in your images (grainy look). Try having someone stand beside a window with the sun lighting their face. Imagine a little girl holding her doll looking down at it with the sun shining through the window…Get the point?

4) Don’t Pose Every Shot

It is good to pose some shots, but try not to pose every shot you take. Let the kids open their gifts and get those surprised looks, those natural smiles and those real moments rather than trying to say LOOK AT ME AND SMILE JUNIOR. Do make sure you get some posed shots of all the family together, but be sure to have some fun getting those candid moments.

5) Make Sure AutoFocus Does The Job

Autofocus is nice, but it’s not always accurate. Autofocus can pick up on other parts of the scene making your main subject out of focus. So make sure you are aware of how your camera’s autofocus works to get the best images possible. It’s really disappointing to see an awesome shot on the back of your camera screen and think WOW only to put it on your computer and say OH NO, I GOOFED.

I hope these simply holiday photography tips will help you.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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David Williams

Owner at RTP Photo and Video, Inc.

Short Bio About The Author: I'm David Williams a professional commercial photographer focusing on corporate and business clients with some personal branding, lifestyle photography in the mix. My love for photography began in late 1981 while still in High School. I started making money with his camera in 1982. Brenda, my wife, and I started working together in photography in 1988 shortly after we met. Brenda and I married in 1989 and have two adult daughters. Please be sure to get a quote for services if needed. Call or Text: 919.723.8453. Please reach out to connect with me on LinkedIn.