The Holidays Are Here!

There are several great things about the holidays. There's always great food around. You get to see all of your relatives. You get to open gifts. You get to eat lots of great food. You get time off of work. Free food....etc!

With the whole gang together, people usually try to take a big group shot to commemorate having everyone together. Now obviously, your best bet is to just hire a professional to come take the portrait. But what if you want to do it yourself? I'll give you some tips to get you pointed in the right direction.

Tripod

This is probably the biggest thing to remember: make sure someone brings a tripod. A tripod, combined with a camera with a self-timer, makes the holiday group shot a LOT easier. It also eliminates that uncomfortable decision of who has to take the shot and not be in the picture. Its always uncomfortable when there a family friend, new girlfriend, or other non-family member at the event and they have to be excluded from the shot. Bring a tripod and get everyone in the picture.

Light

Good light can make ore break a good photograph. Pay attention to where the lights are in the room. If there is a large window, consider using that as your light source. The brighter the room, the easier it will be to get a good exposure. Of course, your camera probably has a flash that will help with lighting, but the more help you can give it, the better. Otherwise, you can end up with dark shadows in the background- which doesn't look very festive.

Shoot Away!

One of the best things about digital photography is that we have virtually unlimited shots. It isn't like the old days when you said, "I've got three shots left on this roll, let's use all three!" Now there is no excuse to shoot a bunch of shots. The more people in the group shot, the more likely it is that someone will blink or look away. Take a lot of shots and put the odds in your favor. Some cameras can actually be programmed to take 3-10 shots in a row - so you don't have to keep running back and forth to the camera to start the timer. Pretty cool, huh?

Give It A Try!

So grab your Point & Shoot camera, iPhone or better yet- your DSLR, and start taking those holiday photos. Remember, even if it doesn't come out exactly as you had hoped... its still better than no picture at all. Let your creativity run wild!