Christmas is a great time of year to capture with a camera. There’s so much festive photography potential, its difficult to know where to start.
We visited the Leeds German Market a couple of weekends ago. I had a great time capturing some shots of the various wooden toys and decorations on display. I used a few different techniques for the shots I got, which I’m going to share here to hopefully encourage your own festive photography adventures!
Wide aperture
Using a very shallow depth of field and carefully selecting what to focus on really helps delicate decorations stand out from backgrounds. As a bonus if there are Christmas lights behind your subject you should get some nice bokeh too!
Look for patterns
Many of the stalls have lots and lots of figures on display and this really suits close up images which show off patterns and repetition. If you get really really close you can fool the viewer into thinking there’s an infinite army of Santas or soldiers by filling the frame right to the edge.
Do something different
Try to look for situations where a slightly different approach may give a unique and interesting result. For the above photo I used a slow shutter speed to capture the motion of this wooden ornament. Don’t be afraid to experiment! Thinking creatively and trying things which aren’t obvious are where the most interesting photos come from. Whether its a slower shutter speed, different view point or creative use of flash, if you can make a photo that’s entirely unique then you’ve improved as a photographer.
