How to Capture the Magic of the Holidays

I am so excited to introduce you to this 5 part series with tons of tips and tricks on how you can capture the magic of the holidays. I’ll be sharing my secrets for photographing your Christmas tree, ideas for how to display your holidays cards, festive backdrop ideas, and must-have pictures for my favorite season.

Today, I want to share with you some simple tips on how to photograph your family traditions. For me, the magic of the holidays is all about tradition. There are certain things I look forward to every year. The girls and I always have a day where we bake. Lots and lots of cookies. We also love seeing where the Elf on the Shelf will land each morning. Last year we started a new tradition. My sister and I went to my mom’s house to decorate her Christmas tree. After my dad passed away, she didn’t put a tree up. Last year, we made her! She saves everything so we opened up plastic bins with ornaments from when we were children. It was so much fun! I can’t wait to do it again this year!

One of the easiest ways to document these traditions better is to change your angle when you are taking pictures. Get down on your child’s level and take pictures from their perspective. Watch your child as they gaze at the tree or decorations. See the magic from their eyes. You could also lay down so that you are looking up at whatever they are looking at.

Or, take a bird’s eye view and photograph the mess. Christmas morning is chaotic. If your kids are like mine, they rip and tear and throw wrapping paper all over the place. It always looks like a bomb went off. I love taking pictures of the midst of the mess. And they love looking back on these pictures and seeing the presents Santa brought.

Get in close and focus on the details. These are the things that will help tell the story of your holiday traditions. I mentioned above a new tradition we started last year at my mom’s house. One of the things I knew I wanted to photograph was the ornaments. These are ornaments that have been in my family for years. Since I was a child. Maybe they’ll get lost one day. Or break. Or fade. But, now I have these images to remember them. And maybe I’ll get to show my grandchildren one day.

All of these tips apply to your cell phone too. You don’t have to have a digital camera to photograph your holiday creatively.

What are some of your favorite family traditions? Do you cut down your own tree? Do you leave milk and cookies out for Santa? Do you make reindeer food? I’d love to hear about it.