10 things to photograph this Christmas

Christmas is almost here and it is one the best times of the year to take photographs. It is an energetic and exciting time to take pictures for a variety of reasons.

Here are 10 great Christmas photography ideas for you to try over the holidays.

Capture the preparation stages

The Christmas party or celebration presents many photographic opportunities, particularly during the preparation stages. It can be food preparation, decorating the Christmas tree, hanging Christmas lights and other decorations or packing for a holiday are all excellent moments to capture on camera. Often photos taken before the event are better as everything is well displayed and creates the wonderful ambiance of Christmas. 

Hanging Christmas lights 

Group photos

Group photos are popular. Have everyone gather around the Christmas tree and have them hold some presents. Use a tripod for a group photo so you can be in it. 

Christmas Group Photo

Christmas lights

Christmas lights and decorations are featured in many Christmas photographs although this can be tricky to do. Create words, shapes, pictures and analyse the light source carefully. Don't be afraid to experiment. Use the blurred or soft focus as an alternative. Having a tripod prevents many unnecessary errors.

Christmas Light

Neighborhood

There is a limitless number of photographic opportunities in your neighborhood during the Christmas period. Many houses and shops are covered with Christmas decorations and shopping malls are busier than normal. So take your camera and start taking many pictures.

Christmas Decoration

Opening gifts

Focus on people's faces as they open their gifts with a view to capture their array of emotions, facial expressions, and excitement. Switch your camera to burst mode and take a series of shots, capture everything from the eagerness of getting the wrapped gift, through to the excitement of unwrapping to the joy of seeing what's inside. Also look around and shoot the reactions of those who gave the gift.

Christmas Gift

Express relationship

Holidays are a good time to highlight the importance of relationships. As you are more relaxed, the stress, hassle and pressure from the passing year can be forgotten as they spend time more time with family. It’s a chance to capture photographs that define emotional moments.  Urge them to pose together, preferably standing enable you to capture the bond between them. 

Fill your frame

Stay close to your subjects to clearly define their faces. Fill your frame with your subject either by using your zoom or and moving in closer. This will inevitably result in the photo having a greater impact on the viewer.

Festive food

During Christmas, there will be many opportunities to capture the colorful festive food that's on offer. Food photography can be great fun for the photographer especially those who love food. Use natural light and a reflector for the best results. Reflectors enable natural light to bounce onto subjects to bring out detail from shadowed areas. Reflectors come in a variety of colors.  The main food items should be the centre of attraction and focus sharp.

Christmas Cuisine

Discussions

Holidays are the time when family and friends gather together. Capture shots preferably during an animated moment while they are having a discussion amongst themselves.

Composition, Background and Bokeh

While photographing, composition is crucial to attain an image that has impact. Endeavour to be creative with your photographs. Frame your pictures differently and take the same picture from different angles. Occasionally position yourself so there are no messy backgrounds behind your subjects. If you see a better background with better light, ask your subjects to move around when taking pictures. Bokeh makes photographs visually appealing, forcing us to focus our attention on a particular area of the image.  It is the perfect project to acquire while having the carefree holiday spirit and then making home-made cards for friends and family using some of your photographs. 

Become familiar with your camera prior to Christmas and know what your camera can do. If you would like to hire an expert photographer for this Christmas in Adelaide, contact Louise Bagger Photography – phone  0412 055 668 or by emailing louise@louisebagger.com.au.  

Why Your Business Needs Professional Photography?

Running a successful business is not an easy job. You have to worry about different aspects such as payroll, product development, rental expenses and government taxes. However, the main aim of your business is sell the product/service. Without sales, your business is doom to fail, and the hardest part of sales is getting the attention of your customers.

For example, let’s talk about that big McDonald’s board down the street. We all know, it’s sells fast foods which is fried and unhealthy. But whenever you look at that advertisement board, you crave for the juicy Hamburger and those hot, juicy, well-lit fries on the side. There is visual stimulation and all the ingredients are shown in a flattering way. Even just imagining the image waters your mouth, isn’t that right?

What above example presents here is that how a good photograph can affect one’s perception of any product. And the same thing can be used for your business. When you are using visual advertisement to promote your product/service, it should be presented in a good light. If the presentation is not visually appealing, people will start questioning its authenticity and quality.

That’s where professional photography comes in and shows its importance for any business. Every business can benefit greatly from professional photography, even yours. Find out why you need one?

1. A picture is worth a thousand words.

We have often heard this phrase in our life. And it is true. A single photograph can describe the whole scenario. Take for instance, in how many words can you define a McDonald’s burger? I can write an essay on it. But a single picture of that burger alone is worth all those words.
Today, consumers are more inclined to buy products that they find visually appealing. To target such a consumer base, your best option is to use a professional photographer.

2. Media represents your business.

Many business owners tend to take photos for promotional purpose themselves. Whether you take good photographs or not is not the issue here, professional photographers are there for a reason, and it’s for a good reason.

Beautiful Photographs Speaks as We Eat

Remember, your photos has power to represent your business. Low quality and unprofessional photos suggests the business/product/service in itself is of low quality as they (you/company) can’t even take professional looking images, so how can they (you/company) provide high quality business/product/service to the customers.
The photos on your website play an important role when it comes to making strong and favorable first impression on your customers. So, trying to save little bit on cost will only end up hurting your sales and revenues even more.

3. Connect with the customers.

Stock photos are a great alternative for a business when they feel a photo shoot is out of the question. However, stock photos are helpful only in few cases, they lack authenticity and your customers cannot relate to them as stock pictures don’t represent your business.
Whenever a consumer decides to visit your website, they want to get to know you. The best way to communicate is to show your customers actual photos of your business, team/staff and products taken with the help of a professional photographer.

4. Helps in building web presence.

Yes, image plays a huge role in building your web presence. When your potentials are searching products/services similar to yours on the internet, SEO optimised images of your products/services can will pop up in the search results. It will help drive new customers to your website and significantly increase your web traffic. Beautifully taken images help in engaging the customer and keep them on your site for longer period of time. Attractive and relatable photographs have the ability to encourage customers to choose your website over the competitors.

5. Versatile assets.

You may have come across the phrase ‘Content is King’ when trying to promote your business online. And photographs are also a big part of that content. They are powerful and versatile form of content. High quality and well-thought out images make your website engaging. They can be featured in blog posts and articles. You see thousands of beautiful images shared online every day, especially on various social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, Imgur and Twitter. You should do the same for your business in order to build a strong brand presence on the internet.
Plus, photos can be used in brochures and flyers. When you invest in professional photography, you provide yourself with new ammunition to stay on top of your competitors.

When it comes to building up a business, professional photos are a must. Keeping that in mind, you shouldn’t rely on stock photographs all the time to showcase your business. So, find a recognised, experienced talented professional photographer like Louise Bagger to take photographs for your business and events. For more information, contact her via email at louise@louisebagger.com.au or via phone 0412 055 668.