coiski 101: Tips for Turning Your Holiday Snapshot Into A Glamour Shot

Chances are, over the next week you’ll be asked to take (or participate in) that all-important, year-defining annual holiday glamour shot. No pressure or anything , but this is the photo that your friends and family will be sharing on social media for weeks to come. It’s quite possibly the very image you will be judged by, whether you’re in front of the camera or behind it. This photo may even become a coveted profile picture or – I’m just going to say it – a Facbeook banner image. So, this is not just snapshot time, people. It’s time to get your A-game on. This holiday photo could either be one you look fondly at for years to come, or it could end up another awkward family photo that circulates the web. The choice is yours.

Thankfully, you’re not alone in this. We’re here to help. A couple months back, coiski’s Norris Groves wrote up a really helpful article How to Take the Ideal Photo on Your Smartphone. Using his four tips to improve your smartphone photography skills, we wanted to give you a holiday-focused refresher, along with some useful tips for the most successful holiday shot.

Lighting

As stated in Norris’s article, outdoor lighting is ideal. However, most of your holiday photos will probably take place indoors and possibly in low lighting. Especially when you’re trying to take a group shot, you will want to make sure the room is well lit. Indoor lighting can be a challenge, but a soft array of Christmas lights will help illuminate your group. Depending on the harshness of the lights, you may have to do some post-production editing, but they should provide the brightness you need. If it doesn’t, grab a floor lamp and strategically place it in front of your subject (but still out of the shot). A well lit indoor setting will eliminate the need for a blinding flash where someone in the group is bound to blink.

One warning: watch out for backlighting. This can be any bright object behind your subject, such as a bright Christmas tree or large window with the sun shining through. Often, camera sensors will adapt to the brightness and wash out your subject. To solve this, be sure the light in front of your subject is brighter than the light behind it. Sometimes an easy solution is simply to turn around and allow that sun shining in to illuminate your shot.

Focus / Exposure

Nothing is worse than a blurry or dark family photo. But with only a few seconds to take an indoor group shot, it’s often difficult to ensure the focus and exposure are perfect. Thankfully, as discussed in our previous post, tapping on most smartphones atop the subject will auto-focus your image, so you get a sharp shot. Also, if you press and hold the screen, that focus will auto-lock. This means that if you’re on a timer and rushing to jump in the shot, the focus won’t change as you run across the front of the camera.

Additionally, most smartphones have exposure options that you can access straight from the shot screen. If your indoor lighting is too dark, you may want to manually adjust the exposure settings.

Composition

As with most family shots, you need to be sure everyone is in the frame, no matter how much you may want crop out that one crazy aunt. Shot composition with group shots should generally follow the Rule of Thirds. With this technique, you are aiming for everyone’s eye line to meet the upper third of the shot. This goes for selfies and couple shots as well, whether horizontal or portrait. Be sure to line up your subjects symmetrically and straight-on. Awkward angles or off-balance composition can easily become your downfall.

One other framing tip is to leave some margin room on the edges of your shot. Too often, amateur photographers crop off an arm, leg or even head because he/she was too close to the group. It’s a delicate balance to get close enough to see everyone well, but not so close that you sever a beloved family member. If your family is large enough, you may even want to take advantage of innovative panorama options, wide-angle lenses, or 360 apps this year!

Editing / Filters

Before you upload and share that shot, you might want to give it a little facelift. With some simple editing techniques, you can fix colors and brightness / contrast issues. Websites like Pixlr or smarphone apps like Photo Editor Pro can give you the tools you need to bring your images to the next level. Of course, when you’re uploading to Instagram and other social sites, the native filters and filters can be helpful. But they can also ruin your photo. Especially with family shots, err on the side of subtlety. Less is more. According to Groves, “While they’re fun and often times obsessive, a filter’s purpose is to be the cherry on top.”