Smile! You're Taking a Holiday Photo
by Stacey Paretti Rase
We’ve all come to know the sights and sounds that signal the beginning of the holiday season. There’s the tune of Jingle Bells piped through the grocery store speakers that puts a little bounce in your step, the vast displays of merriment on the cover of every mail order catalog that get you in the mood for shopping, and the bevy of Christmas tree lots that make you crave the evergreen scent that will soon fill your home. Most of the indicators of the upcoming holidays fill me with glee—save one. Any parent out there will agree with me that there is one sight signaling it’s ho-ho-ho season that brings on certain dread and anxiety: Santa Claus set up for photographs in the middle of the mall. It’s that display that forces us to face the dreaded task of taking the ultimate photo to include in this year’s holiday greeting card.
Any parent who disagrees with this sentiment is lying, has perfect photogenic children or has a professional photographer in the family. For everyone else, the mission is enough to make one crave copious amounts of eggnog and hide under the covers until New Year’s Eve. That’s because the goal is to capture a shot of our children to send to relatives and friends that perfectly captures their personality, spirit and (let’s face it) downright cuteness. (You’re sending these photos to the same people every year. If you succeeded in capturing a cute shot of them last year, this year’s has to be cuter, right?) The pressure is on.
For help this year, I turned to advice from local professional photographers Abby Sands Miller, a frequent contributor to IN, and David Guidry, owner of Lakeside Camera Photoworks. Of course, they both advise that a pro is the way to go to capture a great shot of your kids that will knock your socks off. (After all, just because they’re pros at making toddlers’ tears disappear during a photo shoot doesn’t mean they can do the same for their holiday VISA bill!) But Abby and David also realize this ideal may not be practical for many—especially those who wait until mid-December to begin their planning, when you have a better chance of scoring 50-yard line BCS Championship tickets than finding a pro who can turn your prints around in a week. Read on for their quick tips for capturing that great, and most of all, memorable, image for your holiday card photo.
Consider Your Background
Obviously, your photos will have to have a background, and there’s nothing wrong with choosing something holiday related. But it’s better to have a simple background that doesn’t scream Christmas. “If Grandma wants to take your holiday photo and frame it, she certainly doesn’t want to be looking at a Christmas tree in the photo all year long,” says Abby. “If you use a more generic background, it won’t be quickly dated. The same premise goes for dress; not everyone has to be dressed in red and green or in their holiday best.”
Be sure to look at your background as a professional would. Make sure there are no distracting elements such as a television, a large window that might reflect a bright flash or a busy wall full of large photographs. Try to arrange your subjects in such a way as to reduce those distractions.
An even better way to minimize a distracting background is to practically eliminate it by zooming in closely on your subject. Full-length body shots of your kids in front of the mantle every year might be a good way to mark their growth, but they don’t make for very interesting Christmas cards. “Everyone gets really small in a far-away group shot,” says Abby. “Think more in terms of getting personal with your subject. Get in close to capture facial expressions and features. Allowing your subject to fill the frame really gets the attention of your viewer.”
David agrees, adding that filling the frame with your subject allows for a higher quality photo. “If you fill your viewfinder or LCD screen with your subject, you will use all of those mega-pixels that you paid for, and the quality of your image is better,” he says. “Do your cropping in your camera, not later.”
Head Outdoors
Something about being outside makes people less inhibited during photo taking. “People seem freer, less controlled, more genuine when they’re out in nature,” says Abby. She’s also quick to point out that lighting is easier to manage and manipulate outdoors as well, especially if you shoot in the light of the morning or late afternoon.
David explains how to experiment with “fill flash,” which forces a flash outdoors to eliminate shadows. “Most modern cameras will automatically balance the flash and ambient light for you,” he notes. “But forcing a flash ensures that you don’t end up with faces that are too dark. You illuminate details that would otherwise be lost due to underexposure.”
If you prefer to take your shot indoors, use as much natural light from windows as possible. “And if you do choose to shoot inside, include glimpses of your home in the shot,” Abby suggests. “People who have visited your house will connect with the background and remember back to fun times they’ve had there.”
Au Naturel is Best
No, I don’t mean nude photos (although photos of nude babies are downright cute!) To avoid stuffy, boring photos, try to catch your subjects acting naturally. Keep in mind that it’s not necessary for everyone to be looking at the camera. Somehow, it’s the shots of people interacting, looking at each other or looking away from the lens during an activity that seem to make a lasting impression.
Another way to capture great photos of kids and adults alike is to have them walk away from you and then call them to turn back toward the camera. The result is usually a genuine, happy, carefree look on your subject’s face. To capture the attention of very young children, David suggests that parents work in tandem. “One can take the picture and the other can do the entertaining,” he says. “Try distracting them with something that will amuse them. One of the best things to use is a brand new colorful (obviously, clean) feather duster.”
Less is Not More
To get a great shot, you’re going to have to take a lot of photos. It’s just a fact of life; little Johnny will be blinking in half of the shots and baby Susie will be blinking in the other half. Having a large number of shots will give you a better chance of capturing everyone at their best. Plus, taking many photos back to back while a child is playing usually catches images that you never even considered. When my first child was 11 months old, I dressed her like an angel and tried to get her to pose for a picture. (I was a new mom—by their very nature, naïve.) While I never got the shot I was envisioning, I caught one better. She wouldn’t stop clapping her hands during my picture taking and I caught a shot of her hands missing a clap. The result was the cutest pose that actually never was posed. It remains my favorite Christmas card photo to date!
Kill Two Birds With One Card
If you have new and exciting news to share around the holidays, consider expressing it through your holiday photo. Moved into a new house? Take your shot on the front porch or by your mailbox and include your new address info in the card’s message. Had a new baby? Abby showed me how she once cleverly combined a great shot of a new baby with the message “Cheers to a new life and a new year!” Expecting a baby? Find a witty way to tell your card recipients through a photograph. I’ve actually seen a Christmas card photo where a young couple is decked out in holiday garb, standing by an open oven, holding a pan with a great big bun on it!
Number One Rule
The main idea behind sending card photos is not to try to out-do your neighbor or to make your life seem perfect through one family image. On the contrary; what most people want to see is a little bit of humor and a lot of sincerity. A holiday photo is a wonderful way to share with our family and friends those unique emotions that are the essence of the holidays: love, happiness, togetherness. Think about the flood of cards you’ve received over the years. It’s not the ones where everyone is perfectly coiffed, sitting on Santa’s lap that we recall. It’s the ones where the kids in the shot are barefoot, wide-mouthed laughing and being their true selves that stick in our memories. Make your goal of this year’s holiday photo to create a moment where each person who views it will smile.
