Holiday Portraits

The holidays are a good time to take family and individual portraits. Getting great portraits takes planning, a cooperative subject and good camera skills. Here are some ideas to get you started on your holiday portraits.

There are several aspects of holiday portraits that need to be planned ahead of time, such as the subject, theme, location, time, clothing, props and equipment.

Subject. Decide who will be the subject or subjects of the portraits. You may wish to do a mix of individual photographs and group shots. If you want to be in some of the photographs, you can solicit someone outside the group to take the photograph. Alternatively, you can use a timer on the camera. If you are doing more than just a group photograph, make a list of the different individuals and groups that want their photograph taken. It will make things go more smoothly on the day of the photographs.

Theme. Some people choose to do a holiday theme for their portraits. Choose a theme that will work for all the subjects of the photograph. Make sure the clothing and props for the theme are accessible for everyone. If you order outfits, make sure you have plenty of time for them to arrive before the shoot. The theme can revolve around the decorations, food or clothing traditional for the holiday. For example, for a Christmas holiday portrait, the theme could be a group shot with Santa, the family surrounding the holiday food, an outdoor family activity or a group portrait in front of the Christmas decorations. We had a friend take a photograph of our family on the stairs at our church with the Christmas decorations in the background.

Collect the necessary clothes and props for the day of the photo shoot. Remember to have a backup plan too. It never hurts to be extra prepared.

Location and Time. Your location may be determined by your theme but if it isn't, consider going outdoors to a park or a place that is very familiar to the subject of the portrait. If you choose an outdoor location, make sure you have a backup plan in case the weather doesn't cooperate.

Clothing and Props. For clothing, you will get the best effect for a group shot if everyone is wearing similar colors. For a nice portrait, avoid wearing short-sleeved tops or shorts. Bring several different props that can be held in your hand.

Equipment Check. Make sure your camera batteries are fully charged and that you have enough memory on your card or film for your camera. An extra memory card or film would be handy.

On the day of the photo shoot you need to be organized and ready to have some fun. If you relax it will help make sure everyone else has a good time. Here are some tips for good camera skills when taking portraits.

Background. Keep your background uncluttered and free of distractions. When choosing a background for the subject, try to choose a color that contrasts with the subject's clothing. Use natural light if possible. If lights are needed, use as little as possible and avoid a flash.

Group arrangement. While group portraits can feel and look unnatural, try to arrange people so they look comfortable. Arrange people so that no one is directly in front or in back of another person. Try to vary the heights of the people by using natural height when possible. Otherwise use steps, benches, fences, stools or chairs to vary height. If a member of the group needs assistance or needs to be sitting down, start your arrangement with that person and then arrange the other people around them.

Engage the Subject. For an individual or small group, you can do more work to engage the subject. Often you can do this by distracting them. Ask them questions and get them talking about their family, pets or favorite hobby. Doing this will loosen them up and make the experience more fun. If you are lucky you will get them to smile naturally.

Multiple Shots. The most important thing about taking the photographs is to take a lot of them. This is especially true with group shots. It can be hard to get a large group shot with everyone's eyes open and looking in your direction. But if you take a lot of shots then the chances are increased that you will get a good one. You may choose to switch your camera to ‘continuous shooting' mode and fire off consecutive shots rapidly.

Vary the types of shots. There are several things you can do to can make your portraits different from everyone else's. Some of them are simple, such as remembering to use both the horizontal and vertical orientation of your camera and giving your subjects something to hold in their hands. Some take more thought such as the photographer changing the angle from which he or she is taking the shots and putting the subject off-center in the photograph.

Remember to be friendly and keep the photo shoot as fun as possible. By planning ahead and taking care with your photographs you can get some great shots for memorable holiday portraits.