- Make sure you know your camera
- Charge your batteries, empty your camera
- Don’t stage photos too much
- Make sure you have enough light
- Change your location
- Let someone else take pictures for a while
- Share your photos
- Put down the camera and enjoy your time together
Great you got that new camera last month and now its time to prove it was worth all that money. Make sure you have experimented with your camera and know how everything works before the holidays. If you can set the white balance for indoors.
There is nothing worse then missing your child opening a present because your batteries died. So make sure you have them fully charged and maybe buy yourself a early present an pick up a new battery. If you have Thanksgiving pictures or worse yet last Christmas pictures still on your camera now is the time to move those over to your computer and free up room on your memory card.
Candid moments can often be more memorable than staged photos. Let the day flow, you will be less stressed and your photos will look more natural.
Natural light is almost always better then camera flashes, so try to get as much natural light into the room as possible. Open blinds, turn on lights.
Variety is the spice of life, so don’t be afraid to move around and get a photo from a different location. Get down low and take photos from a child’s perspective.
Don’t be left out of the photo, you will want to remember the holiday together as a family.
Don’t procrastinate too much, take your photos of your camera, edit them and share them with your family (Facebook, print them, flickr)
A great photo is wonderful, but your time with family is priceless so enjoy it.