3 Ways to Have Fun with Holiday Lighting

3 Fun Holiday Light Photographing Ideas

Holiday lights can be absolutely beautiful! This means I want to give you a challenge during this busy time because it’s worth it!

Play with these 3 fun holiday lighting techniques. It’s about being creative and pushing your limits- I want you to remember that if you get frustrated, just put the camera down for a bit and then try again in a few minutes… the key is to not give up! Check out the video below to help you and if you have questions just ask.

1. Circles of confusion – Bokeh

Keep a distance between your lights/sparkles and your subject that is in focus. You’ll need to make sure the light is out of focus… that’s what makes the circle of confusion (bokeh).

Use a low aperture number, for example under 5.6 works better than f11. If you need more light for better exposure, change your ISO and/or shutter speed.

f2.0 @ 1sec ISO 200

2. Star lighting

You’ll need to make your f-stop number at least f16, but I like f22. If you need more light for better exposure, bump up your ISO to get a faster shutter speed so you don’t blur your light. You may need a tripod depending on your lighting conditions.

3. Motion Blur

Have some fun making abstracts with slow shutter speed, start at 2 seconds. The image below was 2.5 seconds and it was a dark area. Change your f-stop to make a good exposure and leave your ISO at 100, but you may need to add a neutral density filter to let less light into your camera.