The Holiday Season is fast approaching and I was thinking about all the pictures that will be taken during that time.  More images are captured during this time of the year than any other.  This is the time we get new cameras and brush off the dust on the old one.  You can improve the quality of your shots by thinking ahead and following a few tips. Here is my Top 10!

1. Tell a story of your entire Holiday, not just Christmas Day.  Think of yourself as a news photographer whose job it is to document your Christmas.  Keep your camera handy and include pictures of decorating the tree, preparing dinner, guests arriving and that all important milk and cookies for Santa. 
2. Increase the camera’s ISO setting. If your pictures are looking too dark, you may have to raise the speed of the camera.
3. Move close to your subject.  Take a picture, move in twice as close and take another one, you’ll probably like the second.  We all have a tendency to put two much in our image and not concentrate on the main subject and what they are doing.  
4. Take lots of pictures, candid shots and try not to be a director.  The best images are going to be the ones nobody knows you were taking.  When you take a lot of shots, people forget you are taking their picture.
5. Get down on the ground when taking pictures of children or animals.  This puts you on their level and gives a more natural look. 
6. Don’t forget you can turn your camera to a vertical position.  Photos that include the tree with people in front lend itself to a vertical format.
7. Avoid busy backgrounds that have lots of light and dark areas.  Put up a blanket or old sheet as a background.
8. Don’t forget the pet.  Your cat or dog doesn’t have to be in front of the tree.  Just put a garland or small wreath around their neck, move in close, get down to their level and snap, you can take them anywhere.
9. For the baby, you can leave them in the crib.  Bring some Christmas decorations and place them in the image; the baby feels more comfortable rather than trying to hold them up in front of the tree.
10. And last, but not least…share your images.  You can post them on one of the many free picture websites or start your own Blog.

Top 5 Free Photo Sharing Sites

Now that you have created all of those perfect Christmas pictures, it’s time to share them with friends and family.  Here are the top 5 photo sharing websites

www.flickr.com

www.photobucket.com

www.shutterfly.com

www.snapfish.com

www.picasa.google.com

Each of these sites will allow you to upload up to 1 gigabyte of images for free, that’s enough space for several thousand pictures.  Now your friends and family can view your new pictures and even order prints if the want.  If you every wanted your own website to share your pictures and tell a few stories, start your own free Blog, www.blogger.com.  You can check out a few of my Blogs:

www.eastvalephotography.blogspot.com

www.socalphotoopps.blogspot.com

www.lcowlesphotography.wordpress.com