by Warren Tang

As the holidays are upon us, many of us are feeling the need to capture memorable photos of friends and family, food and fun, and the sparkle of joy in the eyes of the little ones.  Whether you’re wielding a $2,000 professional DSLR camera, snapping with a slim and trim compact camera, or dusting off an old film camera for this annual tradition, your holiday photos don’t need to be boring line-ups of the usual suspects or posed mug shots with artificial smiles.  Here are hints to help you create some inspired photos you’ll cherish for years to come.

Turn Off The Flash And Use A Tripod -

Most amateur photographers assume that a flash, whether built-in or add-on, is necessary for indoor photos.  The truth is a flash will light up Uncle Bob’s toothless smile or little Jimmy’s rosy cheeks with a bright white light while the background will fall into indistinguishable darkness.  If you have a DSLR with an add-on flash you may be able to tilt the flash upward to “bounce” the light off the ceiling, and succeed in lighting the background as well as little Jimmy’s adorable grin, but you’re still drowning the scene with sterile, ambiance robbing white light.  Part of what makes the holidays charming is that golden glow of holiday lights – candles flickering on the table, a yule log burning in the fireplace, the warm twinkle of a thousand Christmas tree lights.  To capture this magical light you’ll need to turn off your camera flash and mount your camera on a tripod.  Why do you need a tripod?  Because without a flash, the dim indoor lighting in most homes would cause the camera to use a 1 second or longer exposure.  Since nobody can hold a camera perfectly still for 1 or 2 seconds, the result will be a very blurry photo.  Go ahead, grab your tripod and give it a try.  Turn off your flash and you’ll be rewarded with dreamy photos bathed in the golden light of the holidays!

Stay tuned!  Holiday photo tip #2 is coming soon!