{"id":500,"date":"2011-09-15T13:03:33","date_gmt":"2011-09-15T17:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.123print.com\/?p=500"},"modified":"2015-07-16T21:42:58","modified_gmt":"2015-07-16T21:42:58","slug":"shoot-your-own-christmas-portraits-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/shoot-your-own-christmas-portraits-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Shoot Your Own Christmas Card Portraits \u2013 Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-502\" title=\"Santa Photographer\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Santa-Photographer-217x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"221\" height=\"313\" \/><\/p>\n<p>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 \u201cWhat? You didn\u2019t see the Ansel Adams mode button?\u201d I tell them no piece of equipment \u201cmakes\u201d 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 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.123Print.com\/Christmas-Cards\" target=\"_blank\">Christmas cards<\/a>, you can imagine the situation I\u2019m getting asked about how to shoot these days. Follow along \u2013 I\u2019ll introduce you to what we\u2019ll be covering in the next few installments of tips on shooting your own Christmas portrait.<\/p>\n<p>A camera and a few smiling faces results in nice snapshot.\u00a0 You need a little skill and a few other things to shoot a portrait.\u00a0 Pros use elaborate and expensive gear and accessories.\u00a0 We need that for speed and reliability time after time.\u00a0 You can make do with things around your house and a minimal investment in some accessories.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take a quick look at what you\u2019ll need \u2013 then we\u2019ll cover it all in-depth and talk about putting it to use in future installments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0A Place to Shoot \u2013 A Studio, So to Speak<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A room that fits one of the following will work depending on what you like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0Traditional: a formal living room with traditional furniture and either a fireplace or nice staircase<\/li>\n<li>Contemporary: a casual living room with some feature that serves as a gathering place<\/li>\n<li>Whimsical: a rustic cabin or lodge-style room with lots of wood and stone<\/li>\n<li>Trendy: any room if you want the popular all white \u201chigh-key\u201d or all black \u201clow-key\u201d look<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0Set the Scene \u2013 Props, Backgrounds and Such<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t have to overdo the props!\u00a0 A few Christmas items will get the point across.\u00a0 Decorate one feature in the room you\u2019ll be shooting in that the family can gather closely near without looking crowded with a few Christmas decorations from your attic.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re going for the high- or low-key look, get a bunch of white or black fabric or a couple of king-size bed sheets.\u00a0 You won\u2019t need any props for this look, but festive clothing adds a nice touch.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0Get Dressed \u2013 Look Like Christmas<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Anything from blatant reindeer sweaters to whatever is cozy and appropriate apparel for Christmastime in your climate will get the point across.\u00a0 Other than that it\u2019s up to you.\u00a0 You can look formal or casual.\u00a0 You can match or go with a theme.\u00a0 Let the personality of your family decide but make sure nothing clashes badly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gear Up \u2013 Tools Beyond a Camera<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You obviously have a camera so you\u2019re good there.\u00a0 Any camera digital camera made in the past five or six years will do, but an SLR will make life easier.\u00a0 A camera with a remote or timer is helpful too.<\/p>\n<p>Besides your camera, you\u2019ll also need:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0A Tripod: unless you have a real monster of a camera a $20 floor-standing model will do<\/li>\n<li>A Flash:\u00a0 the built-in one on your camera will do.\u00a0 If you have an add-on flashgun for your camera use it<\/li>\n<li>More Light:\u00a0 try to get two \u201cslave\u201d flashes that fire once they sense the flash from the camera &#8211; you can get them for around $20 each online or in stores<\/li>\n<li>White surfaces:\u00a0 white poster board will do the trick<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Okay.\u00a0 Now you have an idea of what you need to take a Christmas portrait that\u2019s 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)!\u00a0 So start gathering up what you need and check back here in a day or so when we\u2019ll get into the details and really have some fun setting up your photo shoot!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,23,13],"tags":[258,259,453,804,893],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9037,"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions\/9037"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.123print.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}