8 tips on how to take beautiful holiday family photos

Christmas holidays are usually the fondest memories you have of home and family. It especially evokes pleasant feelings when you look at the photos you took at the Christmas gathering. It rarely happens that such photos are suitable for framing on the wall. Let's look at the tips recommended by professional photographers for beautiful family photos.

How to take a nice family photo? Simple! Even if you like to spend Christmas as traditionally as possible, every festive season brings something new. That's why it's important to create a good photo only when you forget about taking photos and enjoy spending time together.

1. Choose a suitable moment for the photo

Think about which elements of the holiday are important to you and your family. In addition to decorating the Christmas tree and unwrapping presents, there are also preparations for Christmas lunch or dinner, waiting for Santa Claus, or any such situation that is precious to you. Make sure you always have your camera ready during these activities.

2. Focus on important things

When shooting portraits, you often move furniture and unnecessary decorations. When shooting like this, you can only choose a good angle, or you can create a blurred background by setting a wide aperture. This puts the portrait in the foreground and blurs the background.

You only create a good photo when you forget about taking photos and enjoy spending time together.
Photo: Elina Fairytale / Pexels

3. Use props

For an outdoor Christmas photo, you need elements - lights, decorations, trees. You can overdo it, but there should be a little bit of everything. Also take care of more formal clothes, as sportswear is not appropriate clothing for a Christmas picture. You have to pay attention to coherence, composition and colors, because things can quickly become distracting in a photo.

4. Use lenses

When photographing a small group of people, always stand at such a distance that you will use the 50mm lens. For a larger group of people and in a smaller space, use a wide-angle lens. But be careful, because this one can distort people.

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5. Photographing children

The best photos are taken when children are playing, opening presents. That's why you should join them for a fun photo shoot. You will capture the best moments precisely in such situations.

6. Playing music

Try to avoid silence while preparing for your family photo shoot. With the help of music, everyone gathered will relax, they will become smiling and happy. Therefore, the photos will express joy, fun and a pleasant atmosphere.

7. Take care of pets

Christmas lights and toys are always interesting and exciting for pets, so you will most likely be able to take cute and fun Christmas photos with them. The cat will play with ribbons or holiday lights, and the dogs will happily play outside in the snow. These are all great opportunities for fun Christmas shots.

8. Taking photos in rows

If you choose to place people in two rows for a family portrait, always choose an aperture around f / 4-5.6. This will keep all family members in focus. When placing family members in different levels - higher, lower, left, right, you need to determine the person who will be the center of the picture. The key is the correct organization, which you can repeat several times to create that right balance in the picture.