How to Take Great Holiday Photos!

It’s Christmas and Holiday photos season, a time to create special memories that will last you forever!

Firstly you will need a camera, any camera! Over the next few monthly issues, I will talk more about camera options. This issue, we will explore ways of creating a Christmas Season element to a photo, allowing your photo to tell a story about a moment in time that can never be repeated.

I feel the best images are the candid photos. I like the candid photos of the little girl with her attention elsewhere, the tip here is to have your camera preset and focused for the quick snap. This photo tells me it is Christmas lunch, a cool shady spot, she liked Dora at that time and red being the dominant colour. Hence a moment in time that can never be repeated.

Another candid scenario is of people doing things, like someone carrying the cooked lunch out to the table. They normally have a look of pride and achievement and confidence, which give an un-selfconscious quality to a picture.

Some moments, like gathering to open Christmas gifts, are filled with opportunities like no other, emotion, excitement, anticipation and joy. Be ready for the reactions of the person that gave the gift as well.

At times you can get spontaneous results by being a step ahead with your camera, when ice cream comes to the table, be ready to shoot the happy kids faces.

Another option is taking the photos when people are natural, a simple way is to have your camera ready and call out the persons name, hence a surprise look into the camera lens and snap you have a great photo.

Holiday activities are awesome time to get some photos, beaches, parks and the road trip make awesome backdrops to memories.

Kids playing in a park, riding a bike, building sand castles at the beach can be so much fun to photograph, another tip is set your camera on the self-timer, so you can be in the photo too.

I hope some of these are practical tips are an insight into how to tell a story.This will inspire you to get out behind your camera.
Finally, one last tip, this year photos can be used to make next years Christmas cards!

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!