Having children makes Christmas magical again for us, there's no doubt about it. I love to see their little faces when they see those gifts under the tree that Father Christmas has left for them :)
I've put together a few little ideas and tips for capturing those wonderful Christmas morning moments.
1. Give them new Christmas PJ's the evening before, that way you can guarantee they'll look really cute and coordinated for the morning photos. It's an idea to get a shot of them all sat on the sofa cuddled up together Christmas eve. Trying to get them to pose together on Christmas morning probably won't happen! Ask them to show you their most excited faces! And of course get yourself in a shot too.
2. Make sure you are stood by the Christmas tree when they enter the room to capture their faces, you don't want to be behind them.
3. Sounds obvious, but remove distractions. The clothes dying rack or the nappy changing bag don't add anything to a photo!
4. Capture the details and tell a story. Photograph them checking to see if santa has eaten his mince pie, the crumbs on the table. Did you leave the flour footprints outside? Photograph your children checking. They will LOVE to see these images of their family Christmas traditions in years to come.
5. Photograph a few from different perspectives, get low down on the ground, take some from above and some close ups.
6. If possible, use natural light in the morning for a few, flash from an iPhone or on camera flash can often give unsightly results, red eyes etc. Having them next to a window with soft light filtering through is perfect. Photography is all about the light!
7. Us mums are often the ones taking all the photos, hand the phone/camera to someone and get in a few. Your children will want to see you in these photos when they are older.
8. After you've captured the images you want, put away your camera and be in the moment :) And don't forget to PRINT THOSE IMAGES and get them into an album!
Hope you all have a wonderful and magical Christmas,
Karen xx
