Christmas Photography- Using Professional Lighting Techniques To Get Stunning Christmas Photos
Many times when I teach photography, people will ask me what settings I used for my series of shots. I generally reply “it’s different for each one.” Many respond with “how do you know what setting is right?”
That’s easy. It depends on the light.
In fact every photo I take requires that I pre-plan what I do first. This means that I look at the light first and then work out what will work and what won’t. Does this take long to do? No, not really. What about the internal light meter? Isn’t it easy to simply work off that? Yes, of course it is. However, not all readings give you the exposure you want. This is why it is important to know your camera and how it produces images.
So what about Christmas lights? There are so many wonderfully exciting opportunities for shooting the prettiest photos of lovely coloured lights at this time of year. I have compiled a series of photos using the star filter, Tungsten white balance and a tripod with a shutter release cable.
I used a 6 pt star filter for the photos of the lights, Tungsten white balance, a pretty large f stop (around F3 and 4), and a slow shutter speed (around 40th of a second), and of course I used my trusty tripod.
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Nice shots!
I think the way you have made them into stars, where can I get one of these filters?
Hi Julie, I agree they are lovely aren’t they?
You can buy star filters at most camera shops.
picture is very good, amy when you do photogrphy?
Anahn, I do photography professionally- portraits mainly. Then I also do it for myself too, mainly landscapes and nature. I work at various times and work it in with our photography ezine.
When you are new to digital photography it’s really hard to work out what to do. Thanks for making this easier for me Amy.
I tried doing what you said Amy and my Chrissy lights turned out beautifully! Thank you so much!- Kit
You are so welcome!
Amy
THX that’s a great aswner!