Shoot Your Own Christmas Card Portraits – Part 1

As one of the resident photographers here at 123Print a lot of people ask me how they can get the professional looking shots that the sales brochure for their fancy new camera alluded to. After a sarcastic response like “What? You didn’t see the Ansel Adams mode button?” I tell them no piece of equipment “makes” pro-looking photos, but that I can give them some pointers on how to set up and light the shot like a pro would. This being the time of year people start thinking about getting their family portraits for Christmas done for Christmas cards, you can imagine the situation I’m getting asked about how to shoot these days. Follow along – I’ll introduce you to what we’ll be covering in the next few installments of tips on shooting your own Christmas portrait.

A camera and a few smiling faces results in nice snapshot.  You need a little skill and a few other things to shoot a portrait.  Pros use elaborate and expensive gear and accessories.  We need that for speed and reliability time after time.  You can make do with things around your house and a minimal investment in some accessories.  Let’s take a quick look at what you’ll need – then we’ll cover it all in-depth and talk about putting it to use in future installments.

 A Place to Shoot – A Studio, So to Speak

A room that fits one of the following will work depending on what you like:

•  Traditional: a formal living room with traditional furniture and either a fireplace or nice staircase
• Contemporary: a casual living room with some feature that serves as a gathering place
• Whimsical: a rustic cabin or lodge-style room with lots of wood and stone
• Trendy: any room if you want the popular all white “high-key” or all black “low-key” look

Keep in mind that you need space so that the people can stand out a few feet or more from walls and the camera and other equipment can be a few feet from them. Also note that walls in a bright, neutral color will help with lighting.

 Set the Scene – Props, Backgrounds and Such

You don’t have to overdo the props!  A few Christmas items will get the point across.  Decorate one feature in the room you’ll be shooting in that the family can gather closely near without looking crowded with a few Christmas decorations from your attic.  If you don’t have such a feature, make one with a larger decoration like a decorated artificial or potted tree or a nice table that you can set some items on.

If you’re going for the high- or low-key look, get a bunch of white or black fabric or a couple of king-size bed sheets.  You won’t need any props for this look, but festive clothing adds a nice touch.

 Get Dressed – Look Like Christmas

Anything from blatant reindeer sweaters to whatever is cozy and appropriate apparel for Christmastime in your climate will get the point across.  Other than that it’s up to you.  You can look formal or casual.  You can match or go with a theme.  Let the personality of your family decide but make sure nothing clashes badly.

Gear Up – Tools Beyond a Camera

You obviously have a camera so you’re good there.  Any camera digital camera made in the past five or six years will do, but an SLR will make life easier.  A camera with a remote or timer is helpful too.

Besides your camera, you’ll also need:

•  A Tripod: unless you have a real monster of a camera a $20 floor-standing model will do
• A Flash:  the built-in one on your camera will do.  If you have an add-on flashgun for your camera use it
• More Light:  try to get two “slave” flashes that fire once they sense the flash from the camera – you can get them for around $20 each online or in stores
• White surfaces:  white poster board will do the trick

Alternatively if you have a flash from an older camera lying around, can borrow some or even find used ones at a thrift store or flea market for a few bucks, you can get small attachments that turn any flashgun into a slave flash for about $15 each.

Okay.  Now you have an idea of what you need to take a Christmas portrait that’s more than just a snapshot with stuff you probably have around your house and well under $100 worth of accessories (that will come in handy for any future photography you get into too)!  So start gathering up what you need and check back here in a day or so when we’ll get into the details and really have some fun setting up your photo shoot!