How to take the perfect family photo by the Christmas tree

I love getting the bokeh effect while taking the Christmas tree pictures. 

In the example above you can see how the aperture of your lens determines how big the bokeh will be, however there is also things to consider like distance from the subject, camera settings etc. 

Below you'll find a quick tutorial in how to accomplish an amazing family picture by the Christmas tree.

Family photo by the Christmas tree

Canon 5D Mark ii

50 mm

f/2.8

1/40 sec

ISO 1250 

Used Flash ( directed towards the wall behind me not towards the subjects)

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

• DSLR Camera 
• Fast lens ( anything with F 4.0 or lower)
• Tripod ( if you don't own one, use a high chair or stand anything you can securely place your camera on) 
• Flash ( if you don't have one that you can shoot the light up or back, then set the a high ISO 2000+ ) and don't use flash.

TECHNICAL SETTINGS

• Distance : Position the camera some distance away from the subjects (4 ft approx) and also away from the tree.

• Self timer: Set the Self timer on the camera. To prevent movement. 

• Aperture : Set the camera in Aperture Priority and choose a low aperture (4.0 or lower ): The camera will choose the shooter speed so don't worry about that.

• White balance: Set to tungsten or if you are using flash then set it to flash.
• 
  

Important Tip! Practice all you settings with a puppet or some object first before you call your family to pose, they won't look happy after 15 minutes of you playing around with the camera to get it right :). Other wise you'll get this...

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Do you want professional pictures for your family this Christmas ? I’d love to work with you. Contact me now to see if I'm available on your date.