Taking Pictures for Your Holiday CardKristi Bonney reveals her inspirations for creating memorable images. |
Article by Jenn Gidman Images by Kristi Bonney |
Photographing and choosing the image to use for your annual holiday card can be a tough decision, but the driving force behind your final selection should be what moves you the most. "The main thing you should keep in mind are all the things in your own life," photographer Kristi Bonney says. "Look at the things and people in your life that inspire you. What you love about your kids, for example, are the same things your friends and faraway relatives who are getting your holiday card love about them, too - they look forward to seeing that represented on your card every year. It doesn't matter if what you're showing is messy, silly, and fun or something sentimental, as long as it's reflective of real life. Your subjects don't need to be perfectly lined up and pretty. No one's Christmas cookies end up looking like the ones you see on Pinterest!" |
Kristi explains why the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC and the SP 70-200mm VC are her go-to lenses when it's time to gather her own family for the annual holiday photo shoot. "The 24-70 lets me get close when I need to and pull back when I need to, especially when I'm shooting from up above on a stepladder, which I often do," she says. "It's also been overcast where I live lately, which can make indoor shooting tricky. The 24-70's maximum F/2.8 aperture lets me pull in as much light as I need, and the Vibration Compensation keeps everything stable when I'm not using a tripod. The 70-200 lets me step back and capture my family just as they are without being obtrusive, especially if they're playing around outside while I'm taking pictures." |
Read on for Kristi's tips on how to make your own holiday card photo special. |
Look for personal, emotional moments for family and individual portraits. |
It's also ideal to get the family outside and capture them as they interact with nature. Holiday card photos don't have to be stuffy! Make it kind of like a "Hey, wish you were here!" postcard. The 70-200 is perfect for these type of shots, since you just can stand back and observe as they run through the leaves or go sledding. The point is simply to place your family in an environment they love being in (this can be a room in your house, too). Put your family's personality into it and showcase the environment at the same time. |
Parents often like to focus on a single child for their holiday card, a touching way to show your faraway family and friends how a child has grown over the past 12 months. It's a great way to make a connection with your loved ones. Fill the frame with your child doing something interesting or something she likes to do every year, like reading a certain holiday book or rearranging the ornaments on the tree or trying to untangle the Christmas lights. It speaks volumes about your child's personality, and your family and friends will get the card and say, "Oh, that's so Jane!"
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Try different angles to showcase family traditions.
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It's also cool to get pictures like this from above. I love getting shots of the entire messy table while we're making cookies or wrapping gifts. That perspective can show a lot about the person or family. For instance, I really wanted to capture all the hands that were digging in to the cookies during our decorating session. My mom was visiting, and we don't get to see her a lot, so I thought it would be a neat shot to get up on a chair and take a picture of all of their hands from above to really show our fun, chaotic family tradition. |
Capture the solemnity and respect for your holiday when the lights go low. |
Incorporate your holiday decor into the image. |
In my family, we make paper snowflakes to decorate the house, which are fun to use in our holiday card pictures. To create a blurred snowflake effect, hang paper snowflakes at varying intervals and pull back when you shoot. You can also switch it up and try something like placing the edge of a paper snowflake on the outer edge of the lens so that it creates a cool blurred effect along the edge. Or you could use colored paper to give it a bit of a glow (note: If you try this outside, you can simulate sun flare). The snowflakes can also be used to frame your subject, which makes for a nice composition. |
Take the picture for your card with the end result in mind. |
To see more of Kristi Bonney's work, go to www.kristibonneyphotography.com. |