Creatively Capturing Holiday Portraits with your Family
Documenting your Favorite Traditions
There are so many ways to capture your family during the holidays, and everyone has a style of what they prefer. The posed shot is a must, of course, but what if you want to scratch below the surface a bit? What if you want to document traditions and nostalgia to remember? I can relate, because I wanted to do the same with my own family.
I started documenting my children during the holidays a few years ago. It started by taking my camera and just playing around. Simple captures, such as them baking cookies or decorating the tree. Once I did that, I started noticing details and focusing in on those. The sprinkles they were using, the steam rising from the hot cocoa, or the colors of the lights they were stringing. Before long, I started to get drawn into creative holiday captures- using light and environment to create a story.
You can do the same with your own family! Here are my best tips and tricks.
- Use storytelling in your images. Think about what you want your images to say, what you want to remember about them. That will help!
- Incorporate nostalgia and tradition. This could mean objects, heirlooms, or simple activities that you like to do with your family every year during the holidays.
- Use light creatively. It will look different than traditional captures. But that is ok. Moody light can create an emotive and magical feel!
- Document intermittently throughout the season. This will create a consecutive time capsule of what the holidays look like in your family. When you go through the gallery years later, it will conjure up all the memories!
