Christmas Photography Ideas
- Traditional Christmas photos are classic and make wonderful Christmas cards. Pose the family around the tree. You might like to pose in a dark room so that the tree lights sparkle, but be sure there is enough light to illuminate faces. Or have everyone dress in winter clothes and go for a sleigh ride. Take multiple pictures of the joy sleighing brings to your family. These make great Christmas-themed action shots.
- Forget the cold and snow of December, and remember the fun and sun of summer by using a photograph from vacation. Use family shots from the beach, or other outdoors locations. If you are willing to plan ahead, a shot of the family at the beach in bathing suits and Santa hats makes a cheeky image, as does a shot of unwrapping gifts under giant California sequoias. For the perfect Christmas photo, find a beach near a hillside, have the kids write out "Merry Christmas" in the sand in giant letters, then get capture the shot aiming down with the family waving next to the holiday message.
- With a little planning you can create a Christmas scene from another time. Wait until the week after Halloween, when costume shops get all their rented costumes back, and choose a costume theme for the family. Then pose the family in typical holiday scenes such decorating the tree, exchanging gifts, or eating cookies. Friends will get a kick out of seeing a family of ancient Egyptians standing confused around a Christmas tree, or a medieval family angrily shaking a string of half-lit tree lights. Dress as Vikings attacking a reindeer lawn decoration. This option allows kids to be creative and really ham it up.
- Sometimes it isn't possible to get all the family members you want into the same photo, especially with college students or children living with different parents. A solution is to pick a short and easily identifiable story or joke, and storyboard it. Have each shot tell part of the story, and assign each family member a character. This will allow some shots to be done by family members far away, then emailed back to whoever is in charge of placing the photos in order and creating the comic strip story.