Tips for taking great festive season snapshots
Below are some of his tips and tricks for when you’re taking photographs at Christmas time.
Christmas lights and markets can be challenging to photograph, especially when locations are bustling with people. The lights are flashing and you are working in difficult lighting conditions.
Acclaimed photographer and social influencer Nige Levanterman uses a range of Canon cameras for his low-light and long-exposure photographs.
Favourite Christmas markets
“I like to take photographs in places with lots of charm, character and energy,” explains Levanterman.
“Christmas markets are ideal for this.
“I particularly like how the Christmas markets across Europe are set up, providing plenty of movement and scope to take my signature long-exposure photographs.
Long-exposure photography
“Contrary to widespread belief, long exposure photographs do not require a very long exposure.
“There are no rules.
“People can expose photographs for just one second or for longer periods depending on the results you want.
“Patience is essential when trying to capture a quality long-exposure photograph, play with the exposure settings and simply allow room for trial and error.
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Finding a vantage point
“In busy city locations, it can be difficult capturing the perfect photograph.
“If possible, seek a slightly elevated viewing point to get the camera above the crowd steps or a stable wall could suffice.
Avoid the flash
“I choose not to use a flash when shooting at Christmas markets or the festive city lights. This may surprise many, as a flash can be important in low-light conditions.
“A flash could potentially drown out the ambience of Christmas lights and instead highlight subjects in the foreground.
Using the right settings
“At Christmas, there are lots of sparkling lights, so to get a starburst effect I may use a narrow aperture or a wide aperture for shooting bokeh balls.
“If you use a tripod, choose a low ISO, such as ISO 100.
“A low ISO will give your photograph a vibrant depth of colour and minimum noise.
Stop your photographs blurring
“A tripod will prevent the camera from shaking and can transform a photograph, but when walking around busy Christmas markets you may decide not to take one along.
“To counter blur, adjust the manual exposure settings.
“To avoid blur caused by pressing the shutter button and moving the camera, you can set the camera to drive mode.
Shooting bokeh
“Good bokeh adds a touch of magic to photographs, especially around Christmas, and there are several ways to accomplish this.
Increase likes on Instagram
If you want to get your photographs noticed on social media you need to have a unique image to grab people’s attention.
“When an image receives lots of likes, Instagram will prioritise it and feature it in more people’s feeds.
“However, you will need a unique or eye-catching image to make this happen.
“If you are very lucky, the photo could go viral with the help of Instagram’s algorithm.”
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