Zobbie's Tips for Photographing outdoor and indoor Christmas lights

People often see a great display of lights they want to photograph but when they try they get pictures that are too dark, Or blown out by the flash, Blurry, or fuzzy , or don’t work for a number of reasons.

I am by no means an expert but here is a few handy tips that have worked for me.

1. Turn off the flash. You don’t need it and it. It will light up what is right in front of you but not the scene you are actually trying to capture.

2. Grab a tripod or find another means of stabilizing your camera. The shutter speed is going to get low and hand holding just isn’t going to work and you will see some blur from the camera shake. Plus if it is really chilly, and you are a wuss like me you might be shivering which also adds to camera shake. Also if you have a shutter release cable or wireless one use it, if not try the self timer to help reduce shake..

3. Pick a good time to shoot your pictures. I like to try to capture them at dusk. The sun has set but the skies still have a little light and color to them. This combination with your holiday lights can make for some great shots. Don’t worry if you can’t get out there at dusk, full darkness works just fine, but try for dusk if you can. The light fads fast at that time of day!!

4. Set your white balance to tungsten. Most holiday lights are tungsten balanced. This also makes your dusk sky look great, so it is a bonus. As you can imagine trying to do a CWB in this setting might be a little on the tough side.
5. Don’t be afraid to shoot from different angles aside from straight on. Getting down low to include some of the sky can produce some great images. If you can find some reflective surfaces like a puddle or snow that can add an interesting effect also.

6. Camera settings. There is no right answer for this, you just need to play with things till you hit it just right. Do not be afraid to bump up your ISO a little either to help shorten the exposure time, especially if you don’t have a tripod or if it is breezy and your lights are swaying. Bracketing can work to your advantage for some thing like this, it is a great tool for helping to find just the right exposure settings. I tend to use ISO 400 but have gone up to 1600. Take some test shots till you get the look you want.

7. Shoot raw if you can to give yourself a bit more flexibility in the editing process.

8. For the star effect you can set your aperture between f5.6 and f8 to get this naturally, and the other great way is to buy a filter that produces the effect for you. The filter will be more pronounced and the non filter way is a bit more subtle, it is personal preference.

9. Take lots of pictures. With the digital age you can take a number of pictures and worry about deleting any stinkers later.

10. Now don’t forget to put the camera away and soak up the lights with your human eyes and enjoy what you are seeing.

And sincee a few people have asked for them here is the indoor tips, which are pretty close to the outdoor ones..

Christmas lights Inside

This is not much different from my notes on outdoor shots but here goes…
People often want to capture the beauty of their Christmas tree after decorating it with the lights on. This is not as easy as it seems. You can end up with pictures that are too dark, or blown out by the flash, Blurry, or fuzzy, or don’t work for a number of reasons.

I am by no means an expert but here are a few handy tips that have worked for me.

1. Turn off the flash. You don’t need it and it. It will light up things too much and you will not see the glow of the lights.

2. Grab a tripod or find another means of stabilizing your camera. The shutter speed is going to get low and hand holding just isn’t going to work and you will see some blur from the camera shake. Also if you have a shutter release cable or wireless one use it, if not try the self timer to help reduce shake from clicking the shutter..

3. Since most people have their Christmas tree in front of a window or right next to one you want to wait till it is dark outside so that any light from the window does not distract from subject. Also turn off any other lights in the room.

4. Set your white balance to tungsten. Most holiday lights are tungsten balanced. Lets face it to do a CWB in this situation might be a little on the tough side.

5. Don’t be afraid to shoot from different angles aside from straight on. Getting down low, stand off to the side, stand on something to get a taller vantage point, be creative. If you have a mirror in the room reflecting light that can make for some fun shots too.

6. Camera settings. Just as is the case for outdoor shots there is no right answer for this, you just need to play with things till you hit it just right. Do not be afraid to bump up your ISO a little either to help shorten the exposure time, especially if you don’t have a tripod or a good way to steady the camera. Bracketing can work to your advantage for some thing like this; it is a great tool for helping to find just the right exposure settings. I tend to use ISO 400 but have gone up to 1600. Take some test shots till you get the look you want.

7. Shoot raw if you can to give yourself a bit more flexibility in the editing process.

8. For the star effect you can set your aperture between f5.6 and f8 to get this naturally, and the other great way is to buy a filter that produces the effect for you. The filter will be more pronounced, and comes in several varieties for number of star points, and the non filter way is a bit more subtle, it is personal preference. (I love the way a star filter looks)

9. Take lots of pictures to make sure you get exactly what you are looking for... With the digital age you can take a number of pictures and worry about deleting any stinkers later.

10. Now don’t forget to grab a cup of hot cocoa, turn on some Christmas music and curl up on the couch and enjoy your holiday lights.