How to create atmosphere in your December photos

During the holidays, a lot of effort goes into making the house feel cosy. Thanks to decorations, fairy lights and candles, it's warm and inviting indoors – but also a lot darker. That can make it much trickier to take well-exposed photos.

Of course, you could put a speedlight on your camera and fire it straight at your subject. The exposure will be fine, but the cosy atmosphere will vanish in an instant. So how do you make sure your Christmas photos are full of atmosphere? We've put together a few tips for you!

Tip 1. Use a fast lens

In December there's often very little natural light when you want to take a photo, for example during Christmas dinner or outside in the snow. That's why we recommend using a fast lens with a maximum aperture of, say, f/2.8 or wider. Shooting at a wide aperture lets in plenty of light, so you can use a faster shutter speed and a lower ISO. As a result, your photo suffers less from motion blur and ISO noise. A wide aperture also gives you a beautifully blurred background. This creates gorgeous bokeh shots in which the Christmas lights turn into soft, dreamy orbs – a guaranteed recipe for an atmospheric Christmas photo!

Tip 2. Shoot at the right time of day

Whether or not you have a fast lens, it's always a good idea to choose the right moment of the day to shoot. Photos taken at dusk, for example, often look better than photos taken when it's completely dark. By shooting just after sunset on a cloudless day, you keep a beautiful deep blue colour in the sky. This so-called 'blue hour' often lasts only around 10 to 20 minutes, so check carefully what time the sun sets.

Christmas is perhaps one of the few times of the year when the whole family is together, and family photos are often taken. We recommend taking group photos earlier in the day. By the end of the evening, everyone is full from dessert or has had one glass of wine too many, which makes it hard to get everyone looking their best.

Tip 3. Use a flash

If you're using a speedlight, try playing with the different positions of the flash head instead of firing straight at your subject. Bounce the flash upwards off the ceiling, for example, or sideways off a wall. You're sure to get creative results! You can also use an omni-bounce diffuser, which spreads the flash light in all directions and makes it softer. Even better is to take the flash off the camera and place it at an angle to your subject. Make sure the subject is well lit and the background isn't hit by the flash, so the background keeps its atmosphere. As with all these tips: try it out beforehand so you're well prepared for the holidays.

Tip 4. Choose the right white balance

Because of the specific colour of Christmas lights, your camera's auto white balance can get confused and the colours in your photo may not be quite right. This can happen with blue Christmas lights, for example, or when there are several light sources. Cameras also often struggle to find the right white balance in photos with snow. Setting the white balance manually solves this problem – after all, you don't want all your photos to look too yellow or too blue. Many cameras today have a menu in which you can select the white balance manually. Check which setting gives the most natural colours and tones. Do you shoot in RAW? Then you can also adjust the colours afterwards. Test in advance which white balance works best in your festively lit living room. Want to know more about white balance? Click here!

Tip 5. Put your camera on a tripod

When you shoot in a dark environment without flash, the shutter speed often becomes too slow to shoot handheld. This can easily lead to blurry photos. You could raise the ISO, of course, but to avoid noise you're better off using a tripod. It gives your camera more stability, so you can take tack-sharp photos without motion blur.

Want to take a self-portrait or a group photo? A tripod is indispensable then too. Place the camera on the tripod, get into position and use the self-timer or a remote control to take the best photos.