Taking pictures of Christmas lights is fun and challenging, but mainly fun. Most places only have their lights on display a few weeks out of every year, so get those shots while you can!
The biggest mistake I see people making with Christmas lights is taking their little point and shoot and trying to take photos from a standing position with the camera set to automatic. This will not work.
Step one if you live in cold climate is to review our cold weather shooting suggestions to equalize the camera temperature before rushing it outside from a warm room.
Other than that you’ll need a tripod, a remote release for your camera, and an external flash, if you have one.
If you opt for a wireless remote release instead of the kind with a cord, do be careful to check that they are compatible with your camera’s “B” or Bulb setting. Wireless triggers and bulb operation can be problematic on some cameras.
It may not be totally intuitive that the best time to capture Christmas lights is after sundown but before it gets completely dark. That way you can preserve some of the color and texture in the sky instead of the inky blackness of space.
You’ll want to use the tripod and turn your camera flash off, otherwise your poor camera is going to run the flash setting up to Ludicrous Power in an attempt to light the night. If you want to add a foreground subject later, that’s where the external flash comes in.
In the old days setting your camera’s white balance was easy as most everything outdoors was tungsten balanced. Today there are more LED Christmas lights in the mix and most of those will balance closer to daylight.
This is one instance you may want to consider white balance bracketing and seeing which one looks the best for the particular display you’re shooting.
As it gets darker, when the sky fades to black, and after you get a few good shots of the whole display, then you can break out the external flash and start adding foreground subjects and use the light display as a backdrop. Follow the same general guidelines that are in our night photography article.
The main thing is to get outside with the family, have some fun and take great pictures. Let your imagination run wild and take pictures until your card is full.