Plan ahead

Spontaneity is the spice of life and you never know when the magical moment is going to happen, but you’ll be better prepared to capture those fleeting moments if you plan ahead.

Make a list: List all the photo opportunities you can think of prior to taking out your camera. For example, kids in front of the Christmas tree, the Menorah in the window, Grandma serving her famous turkey dressing, close-up shots of Santa’s cookies, a loved one opening a present. You’ll be thankful you planned ahead when you’re in the midst of the holiday hubbub. All you need to do is pull out your list and check it twice to make sure you don’t forget anything important.

Bring supplies: No power means no pictures, so be prepared and charge your camera batteries ahead of time. Bring one extra camera battery with you at all times, and don’t forget to pack extra memory cards too.

Consider the light

What is "good light"? For portraits, it's typically any light that makes your subject look attractive—most of the time this will be soft, even light.

Sunlight:If you’re shooting outdoors in bright sunlight, look for open shade. If you’re shooting in early morning or late afternoon light, you’re in luck. When the sun is low in the sky it provides a soft, even glow that makes everyone look beautiful. The low, directional sidelight also gives dimension and form to landscape photographs.

To flash or not to flash:The warm glow of lamps, candles, and outdoor lights are often blasted into darkness with an on-camera flash. Here are two ways to remedy the problem.

1. Turn off your flash and raise your ISO to let in more light and reduce blur.
2. Use your camera’s Night Flash or Slow Synch setting to illuminate your scene. This setting uses a slower shutter speed that captures the ambient light in the background while still flashing your subject. Hold the camera very still or use a tripod to reduce blur.

Go outside: If you’re having a problem lighting everyone’s face indoors, just step outside to take advantage of beautiful, natural light. Late afternoon, wintertime light provides soft, even lighting on faces. If you’re seeing harsh shadows or squinty eyes, move your subjects under the open shade of a tree or building.

Choose your background

When you’re looking through your viewfinder it’s easy to neglect what’s going on in the background, yet it’s a very important element in your final image.

Simplify: When looking for a background, search for an area that does not compete with the people in your shot. You can choose something holiday related, but think “less is more.” Avoid distracting elements behind your subjects, a television, plants, pictures, or a reflective surface can detract from the main point of focus in your image. If all your background options still look busy, here’s a way to isolate your subject and blur out the background: shoot in Portrait Mode or AV Mode (Aperture Priority Mode), use a wide aperture, (f/2.8 or f/3.5), move your subjects at least four feet away from the objects behind them, then stand back and zoom in to fill the frame.

Get Creative

Break out of the conventional approach and open yourself up to news ways of looking at things. It’s ok to be silly and experiment.

Reflections: Our world is full of reflective surfaces, especially during the holidays—shiny ornaments, teakettles, mirrors, windows, and water, are a few. Look around and see if you can find an interesting way to reflect what you see.

Change your point of view: If you’re photographing kids, get down on their level and zoom in to fill the frame and capture their personality.

For every photo situation, think about all the angles you might try. Shoot from up above, down below, eye-level, from behind, far away and close-up.

Details: Tell a story with your images by getting in close and capturing the details. Incorporate a wide shot, a medium shot, and a close-up shot within every picture moment and you’ll have a more compelling slideshow or photo album for your friends and family to “wow” over later..

Be Candid

Both formal and casual portraits offer opportunities for candid images. It could be the emotion shared between people before or after a formal pose is struck, or the natural reaction to something funny that occurred during the casual pose. Whatever happens you need to be ready to anticipate and capture those important moments.

Do Something: Stay away from those police line-up “cheese” poses. If you’ve rounded up people for a group shot, don’t let them just stand there. Suggest a little action to add some visual interest, “group hug” or “kick up a leg” always works for me.

In order to capture a candid moment, I often give kids something to do or something to play with that diverts their attention. I’ve also found that kids have a lot more fun as photo subjects when you give them playful ideas for poses.

Use the Continuous Mode: When an emotion or reaction occurs, capture every second by using the continuous mode setting on your camera. Hold your finger down on the shutter button to capture multiple frames in quick succession.

Say “Thank you”

Whether it’s Aunt Erma’s fruitcake, a book, or tickets to a ball game, every gift-giver needs to be acknowledged. Now it’s easy to send your friends and family a unique thank you card that conveys your heartfelt appreciation—just use your digital camera to capture an image that shows you using or holding the gift, then print it out using your home printer. (This is a good opportunity to use your camera’s self-timer or ask someone else to take the shot.)

When I print my thank you cards, I like to use the Canon ES30 compact photo printer. I can use it anywhere in the house, and the Creative Print functions make it fun to decorate my photos with frames and clip art. When I combine the Creative Print functions with a Gold or Silver Easy Photo Pack, my creative elements have the metallic sparkle that’s perfect for the holiday season, or anytime I want to add more punch to my photos.

Fa-la-la-la-la! May your pictures be jolly and your holidays filled with joy.

- Erin Manning