With Christmas just around the corner, there are so many things to see. It doesn’t matter if you’re a budding photographer or if you’ve never picked up a camera before!
We’ve created a photo-a-day challenge following the countdown to Christmas! Alongside tips and tricks on how to capture the perfect Christmassy moments outdoors in the lead-up to Christmas.
Day one- Christmas trees! Check out the Christmas trees on sale at Broadview Garden Centre, consider shooting through the branches to get a whole new perspective! Or if you’d rather capture the glitz and glam, dress your tree up and capture the colourful lights and decorations. Get low capture the image from a worm’s eye view, including all the presents under the tree!
Day Two- Head down to your local Christmas market. Why not grab some photos of the products that you can then share to support the local business that have attended. If there’s a lit-up Ferris wheel- hope on and score the best picture of the Christmas market from up above from a bird’s eye viewpoint.
Day Three- Snow! if we’re lucky enough to have any this year! Head outside and capture snow falling, some neighbourhood snowmen or snow angels. If you’re feeling creative, create a hole in the snow, put your camera on a timer and place in the hole. This will make the snow frame the camera and create an amazing composition.
Day Four-Wrapped up! We’re sure you’re going to be wrapped up in many, many layers. Set your camera on a timer and a tripod- get some fun pictures of you and your friends wrapped up in your scarves, gloves, hats, and big coats. Or grab some rosy check self-portraits in the snow.
Day Five- Ice skating. If you don’t fall over on the ice rink, have you really done Christmas, right? The popularity of Christmas skating just seems to keep growing every year, so you know it will be busy busy busy! There are a few things to try here- some candid shots of people skating, falling, and laughing or you could capture the stunning display of the lights and the chill of the air. Whatever you do, don’t try any tricks on the ice…
Day Six- Outdoor decorations. From twinkling lights to blow-up Santa’s, take a walk down the lane and capture the displays. Find beautiful decorations, lights and displays that inspire you to keep taking photos. People love to decorate their homes-some even look like they belong in a Christmas film! Set your shutter speed fast and a high iso so the lights don’t dance too much in your photos.
Day Seven- Santa paws! Dress your furry favourite up and transition them into Rudolph before their daytime walk. Capture them playing in the snow and use some doggy treats to get them to pose for you, turning your daily walk into an adorable Christmas present for loved ones.
Day Eight- Walking in a winter wonderland. Take your camera along with you on and capture that dewy icy Christmas feeling. Snows covered branches, holiday reefs, holly plants and footsteps in the snow.
Day Nine- Christmas PJ’s. It’s not every day that you can wear fuzzy Christmas slippers or Santa onesies. Make the most of this time by documenting your family’s fashion tastes no matter how silly. Set the tripod up in the garden/ field and pose!
Day Ten- Family and friends. We try to see our loved ones most around the holiday, so whilst you’ve got them why not get a portrait together? We recommend setting up a tripod and a timer to make sure to include everyone and have no camera shake blur! Or if everyone is too busy to pose, take some candid shots. This way, you’ll get to document a lot of heart-warming moments to look back on.
Day Eleven- Photograph the same object at a different time of the day. Set your camera up on a tripod and don’t move it all day! Position it at anything you want- the garden, the tree, the farm horizon etc. Come back every hour or so and take a photo. You will get to see how the light changes and moves throughout the day and what effect this can have on the atmosphere of your image.
Day Twelve-The Robin bird. With its plumped-up red breast and sweet song, this tiny garden visitor is a British festive favourite. Keep your eyes peeled in the garden and get your big lens on your camera. Stealthy sneak up to a little robin bird and capture the delicate details of his colour.
Day Thirteen- Christmas parties! You might be in your best-dressed sparkly attire or entering the party’s ugly Christmas jumper competition. Turn your flash on, switch to party mode and capture the crowded Christmas celebrations in full blast!
Day Fourteen- Flat Lays. Get creative and make your own flat lay. Flat Lays are photos of various objects that have been carefully organised and there is usually a lot of room for text as they tend to be used to advertise products, create greeting cards or anything else that involve words. Play around with the positioning of objects and take your shot from a bird’s eye view with a constant, clear light.
Day Fifteen- Santa’s Hat. If you live on/near a farm, take a visit and place Santa’s hat on as many animals as you can! From little to large animals, they’ll all be wishing you a very merry Christmas.
Day Sixteen- Christmas Candles. Capture the smell of gingerbread in a photo, arrange your candle/s in a dark room. Make sure to balance out the image. Use a large aperture to create a shallow depth of field and focus on your candle.
Day Seventeen- A hot festive drink! With the weather so cold, everyone will be snuggled up with their favourite Christmas drink. Whether it’s a pumpkin spiced later or hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows, create your favourite drink and capture it in its beauty. Cuddle up outside wrapped in a blanket- focus on the steam coming from this drink, the contrast between the hot drink and the freezing outside will be so effective on camera!
Day Eighteen- Pick your favourite Christmas decoration. Whether it’s on your tree, the stocking hanging from your fireplace or the lights out front. Zoom in and give us a close-up of your favourite decorations that makes your Christmas. Make sure to focus your lens to include all the delicate details of the decoration.
Day Nineteen- Christmas Wreaths. Hung on the door or a window, the wreath has been viewed as an invitation to the spirit of Christmas to enter the home and bring luck. On your next walk or visit to the garden centre, pick your favourite Christmas wreath- consider your angles, and how the perspective will change the narrative. If you are feeling even more creative take it to a new location and photograph through the wreath. This will give you a nice advantage in framing the image.
Day Twenty- Poinsettia. We consider poinsettia a Christmas flower, and many people give them around Christmas time to symbolise goodwill and community spirit. The shape of the poinsettia flower is thought to symbolise the Star of Bethlehem. When photographing the Poinsettia make sure to pick petals that are vibrant in colour and try and include some greenery in the image to emphasise the Christmas atmosphere.
Day Twenty-One- Tracks in the snow. No matter how you travel throughout winter, tracks will always be left in the snow. Close-up images can make for interesting photos, capturing every detail, and making viewers question what left these behind. Look out for tracks whether, from animals, tractors, footprints, or tiny field mouses, the patterns they left behind can become great stories when photographed.
Day Twenty-Two- Fireworks! Lots of Christmas fairs use fireworks to celebrate Christmas with a bang. Find a firework display (or create your own) Try using a slow shutter speed to capture the light trails of the fireworks. We recommend using a tripod!
Day Twenty-Three- Christmas songs. Pick a Christmas song and recreate the lyrics with photos! Pick them apart and set the scene. This is a fun task especially when there is a group of you. It will keep your brain moving over the break and leave you with some fun memories.
Day Twenty-Four- It’s Christmas Eve! Today there is so much going on, maybe you’re visiting friends and family or watching your favourite Christmas film to get ready for the big day. Take this opportunity to capture any moments you want, get inventive and try something new.
Day Twenty-Five- Christmas is finally here! Snap anything and everything today! Use all the skills you’ve learnt and put them into practice for the big day- the after-dinner walk, wrapping paper shred to pieces and grandad asleep on the sofa! you’ve now got all the skills you need to capture your Christmas day.
Have a wonderful day and a very Merry Christmas from Hadlow College
Don’t forget to tag us @HadlowCollege on Facebook and Instagram then @Hadlow_College on Twitter and use the #HadlowChristmasPictureChallenge