Taking great photos of your Christmas Tree

It’s Christmastime and every holiday season we get asked, HOW do you take a good photo of the kids in front of the Christmas tree?!

It’s not hard, but if you’re working with a toddler or any child who can’t sit perfectly still for around 2-3 seconds (Sounds easy, but it’s not, trust us!), then the results will still be good but not as perfect as others with older children.

What you’ll need to conquer this task:

• Your camera!  It doesn’t need to be expensive. As long as it allows you to shoot in MANUAL mode and change the settings, it’ll work.
• A tripod or solid, stable surface to place your camera on
• A remote is very helpful, but again, not necessary
• A willing participant.  If you can’t find anyone, no worries.  The dog or cat will do, or just practice with the tree alone.  You can also zoom all the way in and focus on your favorite ornament!

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Now that you have everything you need, lets get started.  We will explain each step below, since it’s helpful to have an idea of WHY you’re using the settings you are and why certain things (like a tripod or table) are necessary.

1. Let’s get the camera on a steady surface. If you have a tripod, it’ll come in VERY handy at this point.  You will NOT want to hold the camera in your hand while taking your tree photos.  The reason is, is because shooting in low light situations requires a very low shutter speed.  Shutter speed, in laymans terms, is just how fast your camera’s shutter opens and closes.  That amount of time, determines the amount of light that will be let in and go to your sensor.  For tree shots, shooting with a full ONE or TWO SECOND exposure is often needed to create a beautiful portrait.  If you move even the slightest bit in that short span, your photo will be blurry and ruined.
2.  Once you have your camera stable where you won’t need to hold it to take your photo, you’re ready to change your settings.  We will start with your ISO.  If you remember using film cameras, you’ll remember seeing the boxes of ISO 100 film with a photo of bright sun on it.  ISO 800, you’d probably see a night scene on the box.  ISO is the speed of the film but without a more in depth explanation, it’s easiest to remember that the lower the number, the brighter room/area you are in. The higher the number, the darker the area is.  For these photos, ISO 500-800 should be perfect depending on the settings your camera has.
3. So now, we have the ISO at 800, the SS at 2 seconds and now we need to focus on the Aperature/F-Stop. The smaller the number, the less will be in focus (generally).  The doesn’t always need to be the case, but it’s a great starting point.  Aperture settings generally range from 2.8-22.  If we set our aperture somewhere in the middle, we should get everything in focus just fine.  So, we will go with f/8.
4. Shut off all the lights in the room, except for the tree, and take a test shot to see where you’re at!!  Don’t worry about getting your subject in the shot until you’re totally ready to go.  If your photo looks too dark, you can either lower your f/stop to f/4 or you can raise your ISO.  If your photo is too bright, you can lower your ISO to 100, or you can raise your shutter speed to just one second or 1/2-1/4 of a second.
5. Play with your settings and once you get the look you like of your tree, add in your subject!
   Remember, this is for FUN!  Your settings may be totally different than mine, depending on your camera, lens quality, any other light hitting the area, etc.  The holidays are a great time to practice your photography, especially if you get a new camera under the Christmas tree! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the studio and let us give you a hand!! – Image is Everything Studios