Here are eight tips to help you take better pictures for the holidays, whether you’re using an iPhone or a professional camera.
- Use whatever camera is available
Now of course a more professional camera will take better quality pictures than an iPhone, but if you’re just trying to capture memories that you can hold on to, feel free to grab whatever camera is available.
- Know the light
Look around. If you’re outside, find the shade. If you’re inside, are there windows or light fixtures in the roof? You need to know where the “good light” is coming from. If you’re outside in the shade or it’s overcast, that is similar to being indoors with light fixtures in the roof. At this point, you can roam free in this soft, even lighting. If you’re outside and there’s no shade, that’s similar to being indoors with window light; it’s coming from a particular direction and ideally you want that light source to be at your back.
- Use flash sparingly
A lot of times if not used correctly, the flash can create an unflattering look. Cameras are smart. They do a pretty good job of reading the available light in the room and adjusting accordingly. On the iPhone, you can tap the screen where you’d want the camera to focus, and then slide up on the screen to increase the brightness of the image.
- Use camera on burst mode
Moments come and go so quickly, and people can sometimes get so stiff for a picture but then give the biggest smile after it’s taken. Shooting in a burst mode can help with that. It allows you to capture that moment that you saw and the additional seconds after. Bloopers make for great memories too.
- Shoot wide
Two reasons that you’d want to shoot wide are (1) you can capture more of the environment which adds to the story of the picture and (2) you can always crop after the fact. Get as much as you can in the frame in the camera; then once captured, you can decide on how much you’d like to remove or not.
- Watch your mood
Whether you’re the designated photographer or just doing it for yourself, you need to watch your mood. Your mood determines how people react to you and it affects the mood of the environment. Can you imagine someone’s smile vanishing when they see you?
- Identify the “life of the party”
There’s always that one person – that one person who makes people’s faces light up when they walk in; they make everyone laugh and they lighten up the mood in the room. Follow them. Use them.
- Step away from the Christmas tree!
Have you ever seen those pictures with people near the Christmas tree and they look like they’re trying to get inside it? Stepping away from the Christmas tree and the background in general tends to make for a better image. It creates a separation from the background, blurring it out in the images and leaving you, the subject, more in focus. Step away from the Christmas tree!
