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.

Washingtonville New York Children Photographer

Fun, loving, free spirit, curious and an explorer. That is how I see Cora.  I think She is going to be working for a geological exploration company of some sort when she grows up. No barbies for this girl. Get her rocks, flowers and tracktors !!

Children this age are honest and real, to pose or make them stand in front of my camera and say cheese won't cut it. The true way of capturing a childs spirit, is to let them be themselfs, playing fun games to get them engaged and from time to time ---let them run free. I did so much runing around during this session, I must have droped 3 pounds that day. Win Win !

 

 

This just makes me smile everytime ! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Runing in the fileds !  

I told you she liked tracktors 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking, I hope you enjoyed my work. Family Photography is my specialty, and on each session I look to showcase the fun, love and make it a giggle filled experience, while delivering stunning portraits of the highest quality. My style is fresh and creative, always staying true to the personality of each one of the children I photograph.

This is a unique experience for you family because I photograph you in the comfort of your home or outdoors in any location that is special to you. I offer amazing boutique pieces of wall art canvas, so I encourage every client to think about the style and decor of their home when choosing a location for your family portrait session.


If this is something you would like to experience Contact me to book your childs portrait session.

Accordion Mini l Family Photography, Hudson Valley New York

Starting this month I'm offering this super fun accordion mini to all my clients. Who wants a boring print, when you can have this!. It's a great way to carry the photos of your cuties all the time. And they are a great gift for the grandparents too.

Happy hump day everyone !

Daycare Pictures l Monroe, New York

To be a children photographer you have to have something more than sharp photography skills. This is not a job for you if you are scared of children, or they make you nervous (Kids can smell the fear).  Liking children is also not enough. I hear a lot of parents complain how they can’t get their own kids to cooperate for pictures.


My expertise with children started back in my college days; I babysat many kids from all ages and family sizes. The hardest ones were three year old girl triplets. Let’s just say I thank God everyday that my first born was ONE boy. With all that experience, I learned how children think, what makes them laugh, smile, and most important how to get them to cooperate. Now all my expertise was put to a test last week, when I did a photo session of my son’s daycare center.  There were twelve children from one year olds to six year olds running around. Oddly enough, my OWN son and the bigger kids gave me the most trouble, but at the end of the shoot I knew I had captured fantastic pictures!

I think after this I can call Octomom and ask her if she would like a family portrait J.