8 tips for Photographing your Kids on Christmas Morning! - Written by Ariel Hawkins Photography - Tonawanda, NY

I was sitting around the other day thinking about the value I could bring to you all with some of the knowledge I have as a photographer for the last 8 years and I thought what better subject then Christmas! So here’s some tips and tricks for capturing great Christmas memories of your littles, enjoy!

Tip #1 Be Prepared.

In the days, weeks to come before Christmas arrives check out the scene where your tree is. Observe the lighting in the morning and where the best light is. Make sure the night before you move any clutter that may end up in your pictures. Make a “must have” shot list. The night before make sure your battery is charged if you’re using your DSLR, your lenses are clean and your memory card is cleared. If using a phone or ipad, make sure it’s charged and you have room for photos on it.

Tip #2 Grab a Prime or Wide Angle Lens

If using your DSLR, choose a wide angle lens or a prime lens such as a 24mm, 35mm or a good old nifty 50mm. Prime lenses don’t zoom, which means you have to move to get a closer shot but they are perfect for low light situations. The last thing you want to do is mix a bunch of artificial light ( from lamps or overhead lights) with natural light and have color issues. Using a prime lens give your wide open apertures so you can get the most available light. You also won’t want to use a flash. Using a flash creates an interruption in the moment.

Tip #3 Check Your Settings

If you’re using a kit lens that zooms make sure you are using the lowest aperture to soak up all the natural light! You can also crank up your ISO to get more light, but don’t go crazy you’ll get a lot of grain in higher ISO settings. Make sure you watch your shutter speed if shooting in manual mode as well. I suggest you try to stay above 1/200th of a second so your photos aren’t blurry. You can practice a few days before Christmas morning in the morning with the same lighting situation so you feel confident on the day of. If ALL else fails, you can always shoot in automatic mode. Just remember you won’t have as much control.

Tip #4 Natural Light is YOUR friend!

Natural light is your friend for sure! Try to set up your scene so that you’re able to use as much available light as possible. This way you can stay in the lower ranges of ISO with less grainy photos. Back lighting is a beautiful way to capture a nice ring of light around your subject ( This means your light source - i.e. a window - is behind your subject" ). Try to position your tree around the windows in your home so it can be seen in the daylight.

Tip #5 Tell their Story.

Try not to get wrapped up in posing and getting stressed out about the kiddos “looking” at you. This is about them and it’s about telling THEIR story. You can start the story the night before by documenting story telling, getting Santa’s cookie tray and milk ready, then move on to them waking up in the morning and peeking down the stairs, right into opening the presents and all of the moments in between. Any little detail is a part of that story. Their bedhead as they wake up, their cute little christmas jammies, a yawn because they just couldn’t sleep from all the excitement… you get the idea!

Tip #6 Find a Different Angle.

You don’t always have to shoot standing up and looking down. Try to get down on the kiddos level as well. Take and document the tree, the lights, the glow of light coming in over the scene in the morning. The kids hands, the wrapping paper, the presents, the stockings. the eaten cookies, etc. There are countless things to document and different ways to do it. Finding different ways to angle is what Art is all about.

Tip #7 Get in the Photo!

For goodness sake, get in a couple of photos too! For so many years I have avoided being in front of the camera and it’s truly a shame. There will be gaps in memories for my kiddo. So do yourself a favor, grab a tripod and jump in a photo or three! Have your hubby take a photo of you and the kids as well. You deserve that mama!

Tip #8 Make a Keepsake that you can share.

When it’s all said and done, make sure you download your photos and back them up but don’t end it there! Have the kids help you with making a keepsake such as an album, a slideshow or ornaments for the tree. Make it fun and a great experience for you and the kids to remember for a long time to come.

I hope you enjoyed reading along with me today, if you have any questions, reach out! Live.Laugh.Photo. Love, Ariel