Christmas is a great time to be a photographer. Glittering decorations, colourful lights, and family celebrations all make for great shots, and with a little preparation you can make sure you have a great set of festive photos to look back on.

With this in mind we bring you our top tips to ensure you record the big day in the best way possible.

Be Prepared

Being prepared is possibly one of the most important traits of a professional photographer and even more so at Christmas.

  • It might seem obvious but – Remember to pack your camera! When you’re rushing around trying to get everyone to a relative’s house for Christmas dinner, it’s easy to forget even the simplest things. 
  • Make sure your battery is fully charged
  • Pack extra batteries and memory cards – just in case
  • Check out the lighting in the room that you’ll be photographing in. What’s the light like? Will you need a flash? Is the background busy and distracting?

Outdoors

Photographing outdoors during winter can produce some truly stunning shots. Remember your camera even if you’re just going for a walk through the park – this way you’ll always be ready to take advantage of every little opportunity.

People

You couldn’t get a better opportunity to capture special family memories than during the festive period. Try and get the family group shot nailed as soon as everyone arrives in order to capture them looking as fresh as possible. Instead of trying to get people to pose for endless pictures, shoot candidly to capture great looking natural shots without them getting bored or restless.

Details

Get up close and creative by capturing the small details of lights and decorations. Festive albums can often end up being heavily portrait based and these types of shots can add some real vibrance and variety.

Insurance

We often see an increase in claims around the festive period, and without adequate preparation professional photographers can easily fall victim to accidents and crimes that leave them with no other option than to claim on their insurance. In the unfortunate event that this is the case, you need to ensure you are fully covered.