How to Take a Family Photo for Your Christmas Cards
Consider possible themes or staging options., Choose a setting for the photo., Decide what kind of clothing or costumes you want., Figure out which camera you’re going to use., Ask a friend to take the shots or practice using your camera’s timer...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Consider possible themes or staging options.
Once you’ve decided to take the family photo for your Christmas card, think about what you’d like the photo to look like.
For example, you might decide that you want a true-to-life arrangement that features your family doing an activity you all love, such as cooking, camping, or playing catch.If you’re a creative type who loves big, over-the-top projects, you can even develop a concept complete with matching wardrobe, props, and staging.
If you consider your pets to be a part of your family, consider including them in your photos.
After all, your Christmas card photo will be all the more memorable and touching if it captures your family in its natural state, and nothing would be more unnatural than excluding an important and much-loved family member! If you’re drawing a blank when it comes to holiday inspiration, browse through some online photo galleries such as Pinterest and Tumblr to get your creative juices flowing. -
Step 2: Choose a setting for the photo.
Once you know what genre you’re going for, you can decide where you want to shoot the photo.
Traditional arrangements often feature simple living-room backgrounds of fireplaces, colored lights, and Christmas trees, but you don’t have to limit yourself to these options.
If you live near some snowy landscapes or pine or spruce forests, you could set up an outdoor photo shoot with everyone bundled up in winter gear.
Or, if you’re more of a city mouse, urban landscapes such as brick facades, old trains, and parks can make for beautiful and unique backdrops to your photo.You can also check out the events calendar in your local newspaper for any upcoming parades, winter festivals, or concerts which could provide effective backdrops for your photo. , Your grandparents’ family portraits probably stipulated that everyone wear matching black sweaters or all-white ensembles, but contemporary photography demands no such uniform.
Just make sure you’ve planned it ahead of time so that everyone knows what they need to show up wearing on the day of the photo shoot.
Depending on what kind of theme and tone you’re going for, you can all wear uncoordinated, everyday clothing, themed sweaters, cozy pajamas, or even goofy matching onesies.
Many photographers will advise their subjects not to wear anything too distracting—for example a loud print or something with a lot of text on it—so keep this rule of thumb in mind if you’re leaning toward letting everyone pick their own ensemble., Plenty of camera snobs and pros will tell you not to bother to take your own photos if you’re not using a professional-grade camera, but this axiom isn’t necessarily true.
As long as you’ve adjusted for lighting, exposure, and composition, you can use a basic digital camera or even a cell phone camera to capture your Christmas magic.That being said, if your cell phone is relatively old or has less than eight megapixels, you might want to ask a friend or family member to use their better quality device.If you love taking photos and challenging yourself to get that perfect shot, you might want to consider investing in a high-quality camera.
Check seasonal sales and specialty stores to find a good deal. , Since you’ll want to take as many different and varied photographs as possible, it’s probably easiest to ask someone not posing in the photo to snap the shots.
If there’s no one available, though, make sure you familiarize yourself with your camera’s timer function or remote control.
Practice taking shots of yourself and others using these functions, then review the results to make sure you’ve got the knack.You can improvise with setting your camera on any available flat surface and adjusting the height, but it’s probably easiest and most dependable to purchase or borrow a tripod. , Lighting is one of the most important conditions determining photo quality, so pay attention to the time of day and the devices you’re using.
If you’re using natural light, shoot in the morning or evening when the sun is on the horizon, as these are the times when light is most dramatic and provides the sharpest contrasts.If you’re photographing indoors, try to shoot in plenty of natural light, or use a ring flash to create effective, rich contrast and shadows.Unless you’re using a fancy, pro-grade camera, try to avoid using the flash.
A basic flash shoots parallel to the camera lens, creating flat, washed-out photos with no background., Traditional family portraits generally demand that everyone line up looking toward the camera with grins frozen on their faces.
There’s nothing wrong with this kind of photo necessarily, but taking lots of photos throughout the shoot—including ones with candid conversations, laughing, and turned heads—is more likely to capture your family’s natural and unique dynamic.
If you’re using a cell phone camera and it has a burst function, use it! The rapid-fire sequence of shots will be more likely to capture a moment when no one is blinking or making an awkward face.While you shouldn’t discourage movement and natural gestures, aim to keep everyone grouped closely together in order to avoid uneven gaps in your composition., Everyone who has ever attempted photographing a group knows the struggle of getting a shot when no one is blinking.
Though it can feel like a game of roulette, you can take the chance out of the equation by having all of your subjects close their eyes.
Count to three and have everyone open their eyes on the third count.This trick isn’t fool-proof, and it won’t work when you’re taking lots of candids, but it’s a useful way to make sure you get at least one or two uniformly wide-eyed shots. , You don’t have to be a certified Photoshop expert to tinker with your photos and improve some basic exposure and contrast issues.
When reviewing your photos and deciding which are candidates for your Christmas card, play around with the sliding exposure and contrast scales or the red eye tool—two of the easier functions to master in most photo editing software—and see if it helps. -
Step 3: Decide what kind of clothing or costumes you want.
-
Step 4: Figure out which camera you’re going to use.
-
Step 5: Ask a friend to take the shots or practice using your camera’s timer function.
-
Step 6: Shoot in the early morning or late afternoon.
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Step 7: Experiment with different poses and expressions.
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Step 8: Direct your family to close their eyes and open on three.
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Step 9: Do some light photo editing.
Detailed Guide
Once you’ve decided to take the family photo for your Christmas card, think about what you’d like the photo to look like.
For example, you might decide that you want a true-to-life arrangement that features your family doing an activity you all love, such as cooking, camping, or playing catch.If you’re a creative type who loves big, over-the-top projects, you can even develop a concept complete with matching wardrobe, props, and staging.
If you consider your pets to be a part of your family, consider including them in your photos.
After all, your Christmas card photo will be all the more memorable and touching if it captures your family in its natural state, and nothing would be more unnatural than excluding an important and much-loved family member! If you’re drawing a blank when it comes to holiday inspiration, browse through some online photo galleries such as Pinterest and Tumblr to get your creative juices flowing.
Once you know what genre you’re going for, you can decide where you want to shoot the photo.
Traditional arrangements often feature simple living-room backgrounds of fireplaces, colored lights, and Christmas trees, but you don’t have to limit yourself to these options.
If you live near some snowy landscapes or pine or spruce forests, you could set up an outdoor photo shoot with everyone bundled up in winter gear.
Or, if you’re more of a city mouse, urban landscapes such as brick facades, old trains, and parks can make for beautiful and unique backdrops to your photo.You can also check out the events calendar in your local newspaper for any upcoming parades, winter festivals, or concerts which could provide effective backdrops for your photo. , Your grandparents’ family portraits probably stipulated that everyone wear matching black sweaters or all-white ensembles, but contemporary photography demands no such uniform.
Just make sure you’ve planned it ahead of time so that everyone knows what they need to show up wearing on the day of the photo shoot.
Depending on what kind of theme and tone you’re going for, you can all wear uncoordinated, everyday clothing, themed sweaters, cozy pajamas, or even goofy matching onesies.
Many photographers will advise their subjects not to wear anything too distracting—for example a loud print or something with a lot of text on it—so keep this rule of thumb in mind if you’re leaning toward letting everyone pick their own ensemble., Plenty of camera snobs and pros will tell you not to bother to take your own photos if you’re not using a professional-grade camera, but this axiom isn’t necessarily true.
As long as you’ve adjusted for lighting, exposure, and composition, you can use a basic digital camera or even a cell phone camera to capture your Christmas magic.That being said, if your cell phone is relatively old or has less than eight megapixels, you might want to ask a friend or family member to use their better quality device.If you love taking photos and challenging yourself to get that perfect shot, you might want to consider investing in a high-quality camera.
Check seasonal sales and specialty stores to find a good deal. , Since you’ll want to take as many different and varied photographs as possible, it’s probably easiest to ask someone not posing in the photo to snap the shots.
If there’s no one available, though, make sure you familiarize yourself with your camera’s timer function or remote control.
Practice taking shots of yourself and others using these functions, then review the results to make sure you’ve got the knack.You can improvise with setting your camera on any available flat surface and adjusting the height, but it’s probably easiest and most dependable to purchase or borrow a tripod. , Lighting is one of the most important conditions determining photo quality, so pay attention to the time of day and the devices you’re using.
If you’re using natural light, shoot in the morning or evening when the sun is on the horizon, as these are the times when light is most dramatic and provides the sharpest contrasts.If you’re photographing indoors, try to shoot in plenty of natural light, or use a ring flash to create effective, rich contrast and shadows.Unless you’re using a fancy, pro-grade camera, try to avoid using the flash.
A basic flash shoots parallel to the camera lens, creating flat, washed-out photos with no background., Traditional family portraits generally demand that everyone line up looking toward the camera with grins frozen on their faces.
There’s nothing wrong with this kind of photo necessarily, but taking lots of photos throughout the shoot—including ones with candid conversations, laughing, and turned heads—is more likely to capture your family’s natural and unique dynamic.
If you’re using a cell phone camera and it has a burst function, use it! The rapid-fire sequence of shots will be more likely to capture a moment when no one is blinking or making an awkward face.While you shouldn’t discourage movement and natural gestures, aim to keep everyone grouped closely together in order to avoid uneven gaps in your composition., Everyone who has ever attempted photographing a group knows the struggle of getting a shot when no one is blinking.
Though it can feel like a game of roulette, you can take the chance out of the equation by having all of your subjects close their eyes.
Count to three and have everyone open their eyes on the third count.This trick isn’t fool-proof, and it won’t work when you’re taking lots of candids, but it’s a useful way to make sure you get at least one or two uniformly wide-eyed shots. , You don’t have to be a certified Photoshop expert to tinker with your photos and improve some basic exposure and contrast issues.
When reviewing your photos and deciding which are candidates for your Christmas card, play around with the sliding exposure and contrast scales or the red eye tool—two of the easier functions to master in most photo editing software—and see if it helps.
About the Author
James Reed
Specializes in breaking down complex practical skills topics into simple steps.
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