How to Take Pictures by the Christmas Tree

Christmas is a magical time of year.  Baking Christmas cookies, driving around to look at the lights, the anticipation of Santa Claus, radio stations playing Christmas music non-stop…  It’s a time of year full of traditions.  You might want to add a new tradition into the mix of taking a picture of your kids by the Christmas tree.  It’s a little trickier than it seems, so here are a few tips on how to take pictures by the Christmas Tree. Your tree is trimmed, and it’s beautiful.  It’s a perfect “backdrop” for your pictures.  But before you bring your kids into the room, take a few practice shots to ensure your camera settings are correct.  It’s a perfect time to move a couch or coffee table out of the way.  The window of opportunity is relatively small with little ones, so it’s best to take care of these things before you tell them to say cheese. One of my favorite things about Christmastime is the lights.  I love Christmas lights.  They add so much to the atmosphere, but depending on the mood you’re going for in your pictures, they don’t always give off enough light.  If your pictures turn out too dark, turn on a lamp in the room.   They may not seem as magical, but you may need to show Grandma how her grandchildren look in the holiday outfits she bought for them.  In this case, Grandma’s happiness trumps the magical glow.  If you want the magical glow from the twinkling lights, it may be too dark to see the faces of your little ones.  In this case, I suggest you ask your child(ren) to get as close as possible to the tree (without knocking it over).  Ask them to put an ornament on a branch.  Ask them to look for their favorite ornament.  This type of interaction will show the warm glow of the lights on their faces and their excitement and wonder of the season. If you want your pictures to have a blurry Christmas lights background, you can accomplish this in several ways. One way is to adjust the aperture on your camera.  Check out your camera’s manual to see how to change this.  Set your aperture to the lowest number possible to achieve a blurry look.  Depending on your lens, it might be f/1.8.  It could be f/3.5 if you’re using a kit lens.  When you have a wide aperture (low number), anything you are not focusing on will be blurry.   Another way to achieve the blurry lights look is to create distance between your Christmas Tree and your children.  Have them step a few feet away from the tree.  If your room is large enough, have them step away as far as possible while you still have them and the tree in the frame. Taking pictures by the Christmas tree is a great way to add some magic to your family pictures.  I hope this becomes a new tradition for you and your family.