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Photographic Tips for Christmas

15th Dec 2007

Many people have tried to capture the beauty of their Christmas tree on film, only to capture well, not very much at all. Of course with Digital cameras you can see what you've taken straight away, but even then some tips on taking the tree might well come in useful.

Here are Eight we've gleaned from others with a bit of personal experience thrown in too:-

• 1. Use a VERY slow shutter speed and a high ISO. Set my camera to TV (shutter priority) mode and let the camera choose the aperture. One expert reckons this works as " ISO is like grit on sandpaper. The higher the ISO, the higher the “GRIT”, like high-grit sandpaper, and there are more nooks and crannies to absorb the available light", very useful in dark situations.
• 2. If you haven't got a tripod, find a sturdy surface near where you want to shoot.
• 3. Use your camera’s self timer as just the movement of pushing the shutter button will move your camera a tiny tiny bit and that will blur your shot. (Use the timer, then you’re not pushing the shutter button as the shot is being taken).
• 4. Ignore your camera, it'll probably be saying that the shot is under or over-exposed. In cases like this you know better than your camera.
• 5. Remember its down to trial and error. Take loads of shots, checking the image on your camera. Is it brighter than you want? Set the camera to a little bit quicker shutter speed. Is it too dark? Open the shutter for a longer time for the next shot.
• 6. Focus carefully (very much easier with an SLR) and remember that sometimes you have to use manual focus or box clever with the auto focus settings so that the camera focuses on the right thing..
• 7. When using a digital camera, choose the RAW format if you can as this will allow you to not “lock in” to your white balance settings. The area of "White balance" is all about the "colour" of the light your camera (digital or film) "sees" and is a bit of a complicated subject. More trial and error and lots of reading your manual I think.
• 8. Experiment with different focal lengths as these will change the perspective (the higher the focal length the closer together things look "depth wise")

Do have fun and a happy Xmas

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