If you're able to take a moment away from the holiday rush of festivities and last minute shopping, soak in the environment around you to identify the rich decorations, vibrant colors and twinkling lights that come with the Christmas season. These are all beautiful elements that can make for fabulous photographs. Christmas lights are a traditional holiday decoration, but they can be particularly difficult to photograph. By following some simple tips, you can capture their essence even with a basic digital camera.
Timing
The key to a beautiful Christmas light image is the timing. For a composition that includes holiday lights plus other objects such as the sky or a house, you must take the photograph at the right time of day to be able to properly expose both the background and the lights. Be prepared with your holiday lights on and camera ready around sunset. The right light will appear between sunset and full darkness. Including the sky in the frame will add another element to your photograph.
Manual Settings
If you are working with a digital SLR camera, you can fine-tune your exposure by manually controlling your aperture and shutter speed. Start by stopping your aperture down to f/14 or more. Your lens now has a greater depth of focus, allowing the lights to appear more crisp. Next, play with the shutter speed until you have the right exposure. Because you are working with a generally low-light setting overall, anticipate the shutter speed to be around 1 second to make up for the lack of light being allowed in with this aperture setting.
White Balance and Lighting
The metal in the filament of most Christmas light bulbs is called "tungsten." This used to be the standard for many household light bulbs (incandescent bulbs) until they started getting phased out by more energy-efficient options. Incandescent bulbs emit a light with a blue tint that the human eye adjusts to automatically, but a camera does not. Because of this type of bulb, you want to adjust your camera to the tungsten white balance setting on your camera. This is often displayed with a light bulb icon. By creating this balance for the camera, you will bring out the true colors of the lights as the human eye sees them. In addition, turn off the flash. Turning off the flash will allow you to capture the magical glow of the lights.
Stability
You will most likely have a long shutter speed to make up for the low aperture setting, so it is recommended you use a tripod for stabilization. While many cameras or lenses now have stabilization features, this will not be enough to turn out a crisp image with these long exposure windows. You can also set the timer on your camera and place it on a stable surface. This way, the camera will be completely motionless when it takes the picture because you won't have to be pressing the button at the same time.
If you're able to take a moment away from the holiday rush of festivities and last minute shopping, soak in the environment around you to identify the rich decorations, vibrant colors and twinkling lights that come with the Christmas season. These are all beautiful elements that can make for fabulous photographs. Christmas lights are a traditional holiday decoration, but they can be particularly difficult to photograph. By following some simple tips, you can capture their essence even with a basic digital camera.
Timing
The key to a beautiful Christmas light image is the timing. For a composition that includes holiday lights plus other objects such as the sky or a house, you must take the photograph at the right time of day to be able to properly expose both the background and the lights. Be prepared with your holiday lights on and camera ready around sunset. The right light will appear between sunset and full darkness. Including the sky in the frame will add another element to your photograph.
Manual Settings
If you are working with a digital SLR camera, you can fine-tune your exposure by manually controlling your aperture and shutter speed. Start by stopping your aperture down to f/14 or more. Your lens now has a greater depth of focus, allowing the lights to appear more crisp. Next, play with the shutter speed until you have the right exposure. Because you are working with a generally low-light setting overall, anticipate the shutter speed to be around 1 second to make up for the lack of light being allowed in with this aperture setting.
White Balance and Lighting
The metal in the filament of most Christmas light bulbs is called "tungsten." This used to be the standard for many household light bulbs (incandescent bulbs) until they started getting phased out by more energy-efficient options. Incandescent bulbs emit a light with a blue tint that the human eye adjusts to automatically, but a camera does not. Because of this type of bulb, you want to adjust your camera to the tungsten white balance setting on your camera. This is often displayed with a light bulb icon. By creating this balance for the camera, you will bring out the true colors of the lights as the human eye sees them. In addition, turn off the flash. Turning off the flash will allow you to capture the magical glow of the lights.
Stability
You will most likely have a long shutter speed to make up for the low aperture setting, so it is recommended you use a tripod for stabilization. While many cameras or lenses now have stabilization features, this will not be enough to turn out a crisp image with these long exposure windows. You can also set the timer on your camera and place it on a stable surface. This way, the camera will be completely motionless when it takes the picture because you won't have to be pressing the button at the same time.
About Photography
photography.about.comAbout.com Photography is the place for photo lessons, tips, contests, reviews, friendly forums, free desktop wallpapers, and much more.
Strobist: How to Photograph Christmas Lights
strobist.blogspot.com/2006/12/how-to-photograph-christmas-lights.html
Dec 13, 2006 Normally when we talk about balancing light on Strobist, it usually means balancing ambient with flash. But getting good photos of holiday lights
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Taking Pictures of your Christmas Tree August Tea Photography ...
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How to Hang Christmas Lights HomeTips - HomeTips Expert
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Photo Tips
www.kodak.com/.../Tips_Projects_Exchange/Learn/Photo_Tips.htmTips for Great Pictures, Kodak provides advice on photography. Learn the art of photography at Kodak.com
Photography and Photos of the Day - National Geographic
photography.nationalgeographic.comWallpapers Photo of The Day Landscapes Animals People and CultureNational Geographic is the source for pictures, photo tips, free desktop wallpapers of places, animals, nature, underwater, travel, and more, as well as photographer ...
Photography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography
Photography (derived from the Greek photos- for "light" and -graphos for "drawing") is the art, science, and practice of creating durable images by recording light
Christmas Lights Personalized Photo Cookie Gift Tins
www.personalizationmall.com/Christmas-Lights-Personalized-Photo...Buy Christmas Lights Personalized Photo Cookie Gift Tins and search for personalized Christmas Clearance from PersonalizationMall.com
Welcome to Ugly Christmas Lights.com!
www.uglychristmaslights.comUgly Christmas Lights ... This site is here to show those houses where the residents are likely celebrating a happy holiday, but have no sense of decency in how they ...
Simple Photo Tips: Use your tablet computer as a light source:
connect.dpreview.com/post/6259749917You can use your tablet computer as a light source to create an interesting and colorful platform for small still life subjects.
23 Christmas Lights Photos With a Twist
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