Christmas Morning Photographs!

[Deb Evans]

Tips for Capturing the Christmas Festivities

by Deb Evans

 

If you are celebrating with children, then you know that Christmas morning will be a blur of flying ribbon and ripped wrapping paper. Capture this excitement and chaos with a fun technique using a slow-sync flash. Usually when we use camera flash, the camera chooses a fast shutter speed that blocks out ambient [existing] light, makes the flash the main light, and freezes action. The slow-sync technique uses a slower shutter speed that allows that ambient light and color to seep into the image. The camera fires a reduced power flash to throw a bit of extra light on your subject without the "deer-in-the-headlights" look we're used to from the flash. To get this, turn some of the room lights off, set your camera to "night" mode or use the "slow-sync" flash setting, if your camera has this. Shooting manually, set your flash to "fill" and use shutter speed priority with 1/45 second. Adjust the settings as needed for the available lighting.  This image will have warm colors and a bit of blur to capture the excitement of the moment. Do not use this technique for all your photos - you won't want your kids to be blurred in every shot - but for a few, it will add a great feeling to your images from the day.

 

For most of your shots, you will need to use the dreaded on-camera flash. Unfortunately, there will probably not be enough light in the room to shoot with a fast enough shutter speed to capture sharp images. Remember, your pop-up flash has a range of about 4-15'. Any closer, and your subject will be white as a ghost. So back up and zoom in to get the best lit shots. One trick is to tape a piece of white tissue wrapping paper across the flash, creating a light diffuser that softens the light and makes your image look better. If you have an external flash, point your flash at the ceiling and bounce the light, spreading the light around the room, rather than targeting one thing in the image [with everything else often going dark]. 

 

Another advantage of backing up and zooming your lens is that your kids are less likely to "play" to the camera, either hiding their faces or hamming it up, depending on their modus operandi! Remember, Christmas is about people, not things! You'll want to capture lots of great expressions, emotion, and family interactions. By being a bit away from the scene, your subjects, i.e. family, will act more naturally, and you'll have more opportunity to capture natural, realistic images. Set the camera on "P" and shoot away. Don't worry about the settings, focus on capturing the "moment". 

 

For a beautiful portrait, try shooting with natural light. If your room has a large window, turn off the room lights and let the window light illuminate your shot. Position your subject close to the window so that he or she is lit by the window light. Turn off the flash and turn up the ISO to 8OO or so. You're looking for a shutter speed of at least 1/6O and an f-stop of f4 or f5.6. Adjust the ISO to get these settings. Or, use aperture-priority with the widest f-spot your lens will give, as long as your shutter speed is 1/6O or faster. IF your subject will pose and smile, then shoot away [you will not capture action with this technique, it is for portraits.] Your resulting image will have a beautiful, natural look.

 

For a fun shot, take a string of Christmas lights [make sure they're cool and not warm], plug them in and wrap them around a willing subject. Turn down the room lights and use that slow-sync technique discussed earlier for some fun shots. [If you shoot with full flash, it won't look good, so use that "night" mode or slow-sync setting. 

 

Be sure to shoot some images of your decorations and details. Use the natural light approach and capture some beautiful shots illustrating the hard work you put in preparing for the day. Don't forget the "calm after the storm" shots - hugs and snuggles, maybe a child curled up, resting, amongst the clutter.

When you're through playing, be sure to return your camera's settings to what you're used to. You don't want to miss a candid shot because the camera was still set to night mode. 

 

Most of all, have fun and enjoy your Christmas!!

 

Merry Christmas!

Deb Evans

copyright 2O1O

 

[Mat Cantu]

Thanks for the tips Deb. I'll try some of those tomorrow. Merry Chistmas.