I posted a few photos on our family blog of our children decorating our Christmas tree. Some people emailed/left a comment asking how I did it, so I thought I would share here in case anyone else wanted to know. If you have a point and shoot camera, this probably won’t be helpful for you. But if you have a dSLR, keep on reading on…
I used Manual Mode.
Shutter Speed: 1/100
Aperture: F1.8 (used my 50mm lens)
ISO: 1000
No flash
I used a tripod to keep it steady and used a 2-second timer so that there would be no movement in hopes of making the photo be as clear as it could be. All the lights were out, except for the Christmas tree lights. You might need to adjust your settings depending on the lighting you are dealing with.
If it’s still too dark for you, try changing your ISO to a higher number and/or your shutter speed to a higher number too (higher would be something like 1/50, 1/20, etc).
If my settings make it too bright, try changing your ISO to something lower and/or your shutter speed to a smaller number (going in the direction of 1/150 or smaller).
It can take several tries before getting it right. So, keep on trying!
For the settings I mentioned, here are the results:
If you don’t have a tripod, it doesn’t seem to matter very much. The photo below was taken with me holding it, not on a tripod. Still looks pretty good. This is almost exactly the lighting and the way it looks in our house. Love our camera! It’s a Canon EOS 60D for those who are wondering, but a Canon Rebel is a great option too…as are many others.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions (disclaimer: I’m totally new at this. I have only had my camera for a month, and I never took photography classes, so my knowledge is quite limited. But, I might be able to help if you are even newer than me!).
Teresa
3 comments:
great tutorial! thanks i will give this a go when we put up out tree this weekend, any tips for keeping 1 year olds from puling the tree down??????.......
hehe! Great question about the Christmas tree and keeping it safe! We find ourselves dealing with the same dilemma. Someone had given us a gift card to ToysRUs for our new baby, and we bought this baby gate. We bought it to block the craft/activity area off from the babies (we have an open floor plan, and not enough doors!). We use this baby gate to stretch across about 9-10 ft. We decided to put the tree in that room to keep it safe from little, chubby hands that might want to tear it down! It's pricey, though.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2265804&CAWELAID=107513768
Absolutely Gorgeous photos, Teresa!! I hope all are well and that you have a Blessed Christmas!!
<3, Krista J.
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