Pro photographer shares tips for home Christmas photo shoot

TIS the season to do whatever makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside,and,that may include doing a Christmas photo shoot. While some book with professional photographers, others prefer to do it themselves.

Durban photographer, Lee-Ann Naidoo, of Perfect-Lee Captured offers these tips which every ‘home photographer’ should consider when doing their own photo shoot this festive season.

Plan ahead
Often most have a lot they would like to capture but planning is key. Choose the props you would like to use  have them ready and on hand as children only give you a few minutes of their time before they get bored.

Lighting
Getting the perfect light source is important. Using natural light is going to be your best option. If possible place your beautifully decorated Christmas tree near a window so that the natural light can shine right onto your subject in this case it would be your children or the family. Do not place your family directly in front of the light source  this will give you dark images,. Try placing them to the side of it. If you are using a ring light or an additional light source, make sure your phone is placed in the center or to the side of it with your light facing your subject.

Angles
Getting the right angle is important. Don’t capture images from above. Try to get to eye level of your subject. This will ensure no weird flooring etc featuring in your images. For kids even if you have to lay on your belly to capture these, go right ahead.

Orientation
Capture your images in landscape which means you rotate your mobile so you images are landscape. This allows you to get more into one frame. It will create a warmth to your image and will allow you to capture more than one or two people in your image.

Creative flair
With children, it’s difficult to get them to pose. If you’re lucky, you will get away with it. In most cases we advise on capturing a child unexpectedly. These give you the most adorable pictures. Sometime placing a lovely fur carpet on the floor, getting the family to lay flat and capturing them from above gives you a great image. Ensure you use a ladder or the couch for height. Get the fur babies involved as well, this will make your experience even better.

Editing
If you feel you need to still edit your images no stress, photographers also edit images to give you the best images. Use the edit feature found in your gallery to adjust brightness, contrast and even to crop the image. There are a few free editing apps you could use such as Lightroom Mobile, Photofix and a few more you could find online to fine tune your images.

Happy snapping!

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