Your membership has expired

The payment for your account couldn't be processed or you've canceled your account with us.

Re-activate

Save products you love, products you own and much more!

Save products icon

Other Membership Benefits:

Savings icon Exclusive Deals for Members Best time to buy icon Best Time to Buy Products Recall tracker icon Recall & Safety Alerts TV screen optimizer icon TV Screen Optimizer and more
    HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS

    How to take a good holiday photo

    Here are some tips for capturing memorable shots during the holidays

    Published: November 26, 2014 03:15 PM

    Find Ratings

    If you're getting together with family during the holidays, you may want to capture the moments by shooting candid photos or even a formal portrait. To get the best results, try these tips:

    Know your equipment

    Before you start, take a moment to learn your camera equipment and settings. Depending on your camera or device, you may be limited in the number of settings you can change, but it's best to understand them before you're ready to shoot. Here's a good example: I shot a selfie of my wife and me (see below) with the front-facing camera on my iPhone. That produced a low-resolution photo (around 1.2 megapixels), which is fine for uploading to Facebook. But if I had wanted to make a large print from this photo, I'd be out of luck since it's not a high-resolution shot. I would have been better off taking the shot with the higher-resolution rear-facing camera on the iPhone (although I wouldn't have been able to see the image on the phone's screen) or, better yet, with a digital camera. So, take a little time to learn about the settings on your camera. (To see what can go wrong when shooting a holiday photo, check out this blog post I wrote about how not to take a holiday photo.)

    Using your phone's front-facing camera generally produces low-resolution photos

    Seek out good lighting

    Whether you're shooting indoors or outdoors, look for good lighting. Despite what you might think, a sunny day is not ideal for outdoor shots. An overcast day is better, since the clouds filter the sunlight, which prevents harsh shadows from appearing on your subject's face. If you want to shoot on a cloudless day, plan ahead. Try to take the shot during the early morning or early evening, when the sunlight is softer. The photo will be more visually pleasing.

    If you're indoors, you'll probably need to use your camera's flash. First, try using the auto setting on your camera's flash. If you're not satisfied with the results, turn on the slow-sync-flash mode, which leaves the shutter open after the flash fires. The downside: If there's any movement in the scene, you'll get some motion blur, although you can also get some very cool effects with slow-sync flash. It's worth experimenting with. If you have an external flash on an advanced camera, such as an SLR or mirrorless camera, try angling the flash so that the beam of light bounces off the wall or ceiling. This creates very natural lighting and helps avoid the red-eye effect. (If you do capture photos that have subjects with red eyes, don't worry: You can generally correct it by using image-editing software or a mobile app.)

    Here's an example of a subject with red-eye effect.

    Check our Holiday Gift Ideas page for suggestions of top-rated gifts and expert shopping advice. Or check out our interactive gadget gift guide for a camera that fits your budget.

    In this double portrait, I kept the composition simple and focused on my subjects.

    Get close to your subjects

    Whenever possible, move physically closer to the subjects you are shooting. This is known as "zooming with your feet" and lets you fill the frame with your subject or subjects. It's also a great way to emphasize facial expressions in your photos. Here's another tip: Try to avoid extraneous or distracting details in your photos.  

    Consider composition

    Pro photographers will often emphasize that composition is crucial for producing an exceptional photograph. But you may not know what they're referring to. Composition simply means the placement or arrangement of visual elements or "ingredients" in an image, which is different than simply considering the subject of a work. So, you may be shooting a photo of your son, but how are you capturing him? Is he in the center or to the side of the frame? Is he surrounded by other objects? Does his face fill the entire frame or is he very far away?

    For good holiday shots, avoid backgrounds that are too busy or congested. Also, vary your viewpoint: If you're taking photos of small kids, get down on their level, crouching down or even getting below them and shooting up at them; this creates an interesting perspective. Don't be afraid to put your camera right down on the floor.

    Also, try turning on the grid on your camera's LCD (that's the tic-tac-toe like pattern). Then compose your shot using the Rule of Thirds to help direct the viewer's focus.

    Let your subjects have fun.

    Look for expressive gestures

    One way to create captivating holiday photos is to look for expressive gestures. For example, when my relatives get together, their faces can be very animated when they're engaged in conversation. Also, look for moments when your subjects are joking or clowning around since they're apt to be less self-conscious, and their faces may exhibit a lot of emotion, which can make for a wonderful holiday shot.

    Follow these tips and you could wind up with some great photos for your holiday cards!

    —Terry Sullivan

    Sign up for What's New at Consumer Reports, our free monthly e-mail newsletter!

    (Consumer Reports will not sell or rent your email address to third parties. See our Privacy Policy.)

    Thank you. Your registration is complete!

    Check your inbox for our most recent edition of the What's New e-mail newsletter.

    Gadget Gift Finder
    It works on your mobile device too! gifts.consumer-reports-online.org

    More holiday gift ideas and tips

     


    Use our interactive Gadget Gift Finder to discover the best electronic gifts for the athletes, movie buffs, music lovers, photographers, and travelers that may be on your holiday shopping list.


    Visit our Holiday Gift Ideas page where you'll find our experts' picks on:


    - Top tech gifts for kids and teens

    - Top tech gift for Mom and Dad

    - Top tech gifts for Grandparents

    - Top tech gifts for $200 or less

    - Top tech gifts for $100 or less


    Find Ratings

    Cameras Ratings

    View and compare all Cameras ratings.

    E-mail Newsletters

    FREE e-mail Newsletters! Choose from cars, safety, health, and more!
    Already signed-up?
    Manage your newsletters here too.

    Money News

    Cars

    Cars Build & Buy Car Buying Service
    Save thousands off MSRP with upfront dealer pricing information and a transparent car buying experience.

    See your savings

    Mobile

    Mobile Get Ratings on the go and compare
    while you shop

    Learn more