6 Unique Ways to Improve your Festive Family Photos, Without Any Tears!

The festive season is an incredibly important time of year so here are a few quick ideas with tips on taking better festive photos that will give you a set of unique and heart warming family memories for you to treasure.

1) Timing

Whether you are out and about at a fair or at home celebrating with close or extended family, group photos are usually taken at the end of the day when everyone is looking their worst. For a more polished shot, take it earlier in the day, when everyone has arrived and is looking their best! Be sure to make there is enough daylight in the room too.

Think about special family relationships; the bond grandparents have with their grandchildren can be such a special thing but can be quite tricky to photograph. Catch them naturally rather than posing them.

2) Continuous shots

One of the best ways to avoid the problem of everyone moving in a shot is to take multiple photos quickly. If you have an iPhone, use ’burst mode’ when taking photos of people and take short bursts of shots. The first shot is often no good but the one or two directly after it often give a group that looks a little less posed and more relaxed.

To use burst mode on an iPhone:

• Launch the camera app from your iPhone or iPad's Home screen.

• Hold down the Shutter button or Volume button to take a burst of pictures.

• iOS will automatically choose the best photos from the burst. If you don't like the photos it chooses, you can choose your own.

3) Go outdoors

If you don't feel that your house has the space for everyone, take your camera or phone outdoors for a lovely, wrapped-up family walk; but remember the sun goes down before 4pm in December in the UK so make sure you go out before sunset!

4) Smile

Yes, you should smile! There’s nothing worse than a grumpy stressed person taking your photos. Have fun and enjoy the process of getting shots and you’ll find everyone else will too.

5) Be present in photos

Make sure you hand the camera or phone over to someone else and encourage them to take some shots, especially the natural ones, make sure you are in some of the photos with your children too!

6) Celebrate key moments

Celebrate moments like the first time your children help by decorating. Use simple prompts like “How high can you reach?” or “Point me to your favourite decoration?” This will make the photos look much more natural and less ‘posed’ as they have their focus on something new or interesting. Ask them to tell a festive story and capture the joy on their face!

And from Pictorial Photography, have a very Happy Holiday season!