Pro photographer shares tips for home Christmas photo shoot

’TIS the season to do whatever makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and that may include doing a Christmas photo shoot. While some book a shoot with professional photographers, others prefer to do it themselves.

Durban photographer Lee-Ann Naidoo, of Perfect-Lee Captured, offers these tips which every ‘home photographer’ should consider when doing their own photo shoot this festive season.

Plan ahead
Often, most people have plenty of subject matter they would like to capture, but planning is key. Choose the props you would like to use, and have them ready and on hand as children only give you a few minutes of their time before they get bored.

Lighting
Getting the perfect light source is important. Using natural light is going to be your best option. If possible, place your beautifully decorated Christmas tree near a window so the natural light can shine right onto your subject – in this case, it would be your children or the family. Do not place your family directly in front of the light source as this will give you dark images. Try placing them to the side of it. If you are using a ring light or an additional light source, ensure your phone is placed in the centre or to the side of it with your light facing your subject.

Angles
Getting the right angle is important. Don’t capture images from above. Try to get to the eye level of your subject. This will ensure no weird flooring, etc, featuring in your images. For kids, even if you have to lie on your belly to capture these, go right ahead.

Orientation
Capture your images in landscape, which means you will need to rotate your mobile so your images are landscape. This allows you to get more into one frame. It will create a warmth to your image and will allow you to capture more than one or two people in the frame.

Creative flair
With children, it’s difficult to get them to pose. If you’re lucky, you will get away without them posing. In most cases, we advise capturing a child unexpectedly. These give you the most adorable pictures. Sometimes, placing a lovely fur carpet on the floor, getting the family to lie flat and capturing them from above gives you a great image. Ensure you use a ladder or the couch for height. Get the fur babies involved, as well, as this will make your experience even better.

Editing
If you feel you need to edit your images still, no stress, photographers also edit images to give you the best images. Use the edit feature found in your gallery to adjust brightness and contrast and even to crop the image. There are a few free editing apps you could use, such as Lightroom Mobile, Photofix and a few more you could find online to fine-tune your images.

Happy snapping!

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