How to Take Great Holiday Pictures!

Get on your knees, hop on a chair, keep moving to capture that perfect photo!

By Kathi O’Leary, SF Bay Area Photographer

Kathi O'Leary

Creating photos with appeal and power is a process and a journey. As a San Francisco Bay Area photographer and teacher, I’d like to share a few of my favorite pointers that will help you take memorable holiday photos!

1. Where Should You Point Your Camera?

You can photograph anything that has enough light for the camera to record a picture (point and shoot!). But will that photograph be attractive to look at or represent the moment you are trying to catch?

SF Bay Area Photographer Kathi Oleary compositon photo

The composition of this photo demonstrates the impact of repeat elements.

Keep in mind that certain general shapes and tones tend to make good photos. We are drawn to repeats like a row of columns, or picket fences. And in the two dimensional photographic print there is pleasure in seeing deep color, separation of tones, or objects with patina like rust and bark.

For subject matter, it is eye catching to show well-isolated people or animals, flowers, or simple tools that allude to human activity like coffee cups, dinner plates, a pile of coats or shoes left outside a door.

2. Frame Your Photo!

Remember that filling your photo rectangle is just as demanding as filling a canvas with paint. Fit all the interesting things inside the rectangle and exclude that which is not part of your artistic statement.

An oil painter would not paint a rose in a pot, and then add a Fed Ex truck in the background to help the composition. But, when photographing in the real world…we all know…life happens. Delivery trucks lurk around every corner and sign posts seem to grow out of people’s heads like mushrooms after a rain shower!

Pay as much attention to your background as to your subject!

3. Consider Your Compositional Choices.

This photo pays as much attention to the background as to the subject!

You can shoot off-center, climb up on a chair and shoot aerial, lie down on your back and shoot upwards, shoot in a sepia color setting, position your subject next to something that emphasizes the moment etc.

The point here is that… composing is not static, it’s kinetic; you’ve got to move! Get on your knees, hop on a chair. Move the subject into different lighting conditions.

And finally that one thing that makes all the difference!

4. The Grand Daddy of all Compositional Tips, Shoot at “The Decisive Moment”!

This refers to scenes that are very familiar during the holidays…moving objects! Kids and pets scurrying through the house, food going in the oven or out of the oven, family and friends talking and moving about!

Waiting for a moving subject to come clearly into your composition, is the mark of a patient, confident photographer. It takes persistence and luck too. But like the lotto, you’ve got to play to win, so get that camera and start creating your own perfect photos this holiday season.

A few minutes of your time and effort will create lasting memories and joy for a lifetime!Kathi O’Leary has been capturing eye catching portraits of families and professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area for 14 years. She teaches digital photography to individuals and groups, holds workshops for kids during school and summer breaks, hosts Picture Parties in her studio and conducts walking photography tours of San Francisco. To learn more please visit her website; KathiOLeary.com.

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