I love this time of year! It’s the season I look forward to all year long. It’s the time for cozying up by the fire with a creamy cup of cocoa. It’s a time for nostalgia, reminiscing, and creating new memories with friends and family. So as we venture into the holiday season, I’ve gathered together a few photo ideas to help you capture the holiday season in photos!

1 | The Christmas Tree!

As with any type of photography, there are several different ways to capture the glowing ambiance of your Christmas tree! I love to capture the sparkle of the lights, so in the photo below, I chose a very small aperture of f/22. This creates the sunburst effect you see around each light. I love that! As for my other settings, I chose an ISO of 400 to prevent as much grain from appearing in my photo as possible. I used a shutter speed of 6 seconds, which required the use of my tripod.

Infuse life into your Christmas tree photos by looking for opportunities to capture sweet memories of your children in the glow of the lights!

Photo by Michelle Johnson (shot with an iPhone)

Will Santa be making an appearance at your house? Be sure to capture the peaceful moment after the gifts have been placed under the tree Christmas Eve!

Photo by Stacy White

2 | Sentimental Ornaments and Decorations

After you’ve captured your gorgeous Christmas tree, you might want to photograph an ornament or decoration that has sentimental meaning to you. To ensure the focus goes right to your subject, use a wide aperture. I like to use f/1.4 or f/2.8 for these types of shots. This will result in a luscious bokeh effect, while separating your subject from the background.

Photo by Stacy White

Shoot from a low angle to help set the scene and invite the viewer into your photo.

Photo by Shannon Killion

3 |The Great Outdoors!

Remember the excitement you felt as a child when you woke up in the morning to discover a blanket of snow outside your window? It’s super tempting to stay inside where it’s nice and warm, but make sure you venture outside at least once this season to capture the beauty of the glistening snow.

Photo by Nina Jensen

Capture the sparkling details of the fresh fallen snow by shooting at a low angle!

Photo by Nina Jensen

What I love most about this time of year is the lights glistening around the city! Try capturing the essence of the season by focusing (or should I say de-focusing) on the lights themselves. Make bokeh the star of the show!

Photo by Alishia Osborn

If you have a Lensbaby or tilt-shift ability, experiment with blur in your photos to enhance the movement of the falling snow.

Photo by Shannon Killion (shot with a Lensbaby lens)

These are just a few of our favorite tips for capturing the holiday season. What are your favorite ways to photograph memories this time of year? We’d love to hear! Leave a comment below…