Posted by: Trina | December 17, 2010

The holiday season presents opportunities galore for photo taking, such as capturing your kids making snow angels, to your little helpers making cookies for Santa, and the huge smiles that occur during the unwrapping of gifts. As a professional photographer that specializes in capturing children, I’m used to interacting with children to really capture both the essence of the surroundings and their individual personalities, and now, with the newly launched Tamara Lackey’s Capturing Life Through (Better) Photography™ book and DVD, parents can utilize some simple tips to help transform your photos from good to great and give you the confidence to be creative while taking your holiday photos this year.

A few of the simple tips and tricks to capture those not-to-be-missed holiday moments include:

1. Always Be Prepared: Keep your camera on-hand, batteries charged, memory available. Some of the best picture taking moments come when you least expect them. The faster you are ready and are able to take the photo, the sooner you can get back to enjoying the moment yourself.

2. Get on the Eye Level of Your Subject: When photographing children, try getting down low with them and shooting from their perspective.

3. Eye on the Prize: When photographing people, the best place to focus is on their eyes--keeping them sharp and in focus. Also consider the available lighting, which can help bring added life to the picture!

4. Capture the Moment: Look for opportunities to capture the atmosphere without staging the photo. Shoot wide to capture the whole room --you'll come away having captured conversations, moments of laughter and the festive nature of the celebration.

5. Don’t Stop Shooting! Don’t put the camera down after you snap the first shot—many times the best photographs are taken in the seconds after the “big smile” moment.

6. It’s the Little Things: Remember to photograph the decorative scenes of the holidays--such as festive holiday lights, ribbons on gifts, decorations around the home, and the finishing touches on a snowman.  These details will remind you of the good times had for years to come.

7. Au Natural Lighting: Try your hand at food photography move any of the more attractively-prepared foods over to window light, turn off your flash and shoot in macro mode! 

8. Get in some Photos Yourself: If you are always the one to talk all the photos, you are probably left out of most of them. Use a self-timer or ask a friend to take a photo so that you can be part of the memories. If using a timer, figure out in advance where you will stand in the picture.

HAPPYBABY GIVEAWAY!!!!

In conjunction with HAPPYBABY we are offering a lucky reader the chance to win a Tamara Lackey’s Capturing Life Through (Better) Photography gift-set which includes the DVD, book, and on-the-go Quick Reference Guide, a total value of $59.99. If interested in learning how to take your photos from looking good to great, simple enter-to-win by doing the following:

• Subscriber to the HAPPYBABY Newsletter
• Follow Tamara Lackey and HAPPYBABY on Facebook
• Follow Tamara Lackey and HAPPYBABY on Twitter
• Tell us of your experiences in taking photos of your kids

Tamara Lackey is a professional photographer, author, workshop teacher and international speaker. Her work has been published in numerous lifestyle magazines including Vogue, O-The Oparh Magazine, Town and Country, Parenting Magazine, Food and Wine, The Knot; in trade outlets such as Professional Photographer, Professional ImageMaker and Rangefinder; and on national television programs including The Martha Stewart Show and Extreme Home Makeover.

In 2008, Lackey released her educational book The Art of Children’s Portrait Photography, which got favorable reviews, and praise from a writer at shootsmarter.com and aspiring photographers. Lackey has also presented internationally at industry workshops and events, which include serving as a keynote speaker at the National Association of Professional Child Photographers’ Retreat and participating as a panel judge for the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) International Print Competition.