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Photo Tips & Techniques

Creating Holiday Magic: Tips from NY Photographer Emily Wilson Interested in making this year’s holiday cards get noticed? Tamron Photographer Emily Wilson offers up some great opportunities to do just that. Article rating: 8.83

Wilson's photos have been published in top magazines, captured leading brands in advertising spots and even donned the cover of some of America’s top record albums. Her secret to a successful shoot is thinking creatively.

To create holiday cards that get noticed, Wilson offers a showcase of ideas easily accomplished by any level of photographer. Her simple tips may not only surprise you, but inspire you as well.

For the following photos, she used a Canon 20D camera, a Canon Speedlite 580EX flash and a tripod. For every shot, Wilson used the Tamron AF18-250mm Di-II, a lightweight high power zoom lens that offers a wide range of focal lengths.

“The Tamron lens is so versatile, you can be prepared and confident you’ll get the shot for any situation,” says Wilson.

Her whimsical photo of a family standing in front of a gingerbread house was accomplished by taking a photo of each family member individually, with the exception of the couple who were shot together.

“To alleviate the shadows for the individual family members, I had them stand 3-4 feet from the wall. I was about 6-8 feet back from them,” says Wilson. “It is their distance from the wall that corrects for shadow.”

Tip: “I bounced my flash off the ceiling [as a reflector] to give it an all over wash of light.”

Next Wilson printed the photos, cut them out, and then placed them in front of a real gingerbread house decorated with cotton batting and fake snow in order to create the frosty illusion.

“To blur the background, I stood 4-5 feet from the gingerbread house and zoomed in with my Tamron lens using a long focal length (129mm). I kept the shutter speed as low as it could be (1/160 @f5.6) and used only natural light.” The ISO was set at 800.

Tip: Wilson placed her final shot – the gingerbread house with family cut-outs - in front of a sliding glass door. The shot was taken outside, looking in with the door open bringing in soft natural light.

The toasty fireplace family portrait was actually taken in July, making it necessary for her family to decorate and dress for the season.

“From my experience, it has always worked best to have the parents in the center and build a composition of kids around them,” says Wilson.

Wilson used a tripod for the shot. If a photographer needs to be included in the photo, like Dad or Mom, a camera with a timer is a great option. Her Tamron all-in-one lens was set at a focal length of 32mm, the exposure was 1/40 @f8 and the ISO was 400.

Tip: Because the ceiling was high, Wilson used a white poster board set to her side to bounce the flash off of in order to reflect and soften the light.

The two young sisters frolicking in the snow were actually captured in mid-summer. Wilson purchased the fake snow at a local craft store and, not surprisingly, the girls had fun with it. To capture a seemingly winter day, she used only natural light, ISO of 200 and a 1/125 @f5.6 exposure. The focal length of the zoom lens was 65mm.

Tip: The images were shot outside with a white fence in the background, providing the illusion of a snowy day.

Even in the middle of summer, spray on snow is still available at your local craft store. It can be removed with glass cleaner when your photos are completed. Wilson sprayed the icy window, then softly wiped in a circular motion that mimicked a swirling snow blast. Dressed in her scarf and hat, the young girl peeks through as her sister blows fake snow in the background, creating the perfect image of snow dancing around a child’s smiling face.

Tip: Wilson used no flash for the icy window image, just natural light and shot from the inside while the subject was outside.

The focal length was 141mm on her Tamron 18-250mm lens, the exposure was 1/250 @5.6 and the ISO was 200.

Who can resist a snowman, especially for a holiday card? The Styrofoam balls in Wilson’s photo are actually just about four and five inches across!

“I backed up the camera until the proportions matched up [with the subject],” says Wilson.

The photo was shot using natural light. “I set the f/stop as high as I could (1/40 @f16) while still hand-holding the camera. You could definitely use a tripod here,” adds Wilson.

The Tamron high ratio zoom lens’ focal length was 59mm. The ISO was set at 800.

Tip: Start a new holiday tradition by letting your children decorate the balls and the background set to create a lasting heirloom photo.

Friends and family look forward to holiday cards, especially with their loved one pictured. Make this year’s photo unique!

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	This was a great article. Beautiful pictures and great ideas! Posted by: Julie Aug 23, 2007 @ 8:56 AM EST
	VERY INTERESTING. GOT SOME NEW IDEAS. Posted by: WATER THOMAS Aug 23, 2007 @ 2:38 PM EST
	Fun ideas to do NOW to beat the last minute madness for the Christmas card pic! Posted by: Linda Covey Aug 23, 2007 @ 7:49 PM EST
	Thanks for getting me thinking aobut holiday picrures now. I have a beautiful three year old golden retriever that has been diagnosed with cancer. Sadly, I don't know if he'll be around for the holidays and want to capture him for this year's greeting cards. Doing this now will be great...keep me busy & not dwelling on the inevitible and I know we will all treasure the greeting card long after he's gone. Thank you. Posted by: Angie Aug 24, 2007 @ 6:28 PM EST
	Great ideas . I hope to use and apply them for this year greetings cards.Lots of greetings from kenya -Africa Posted by: george simwa Aug 25, 2007 @ 11:57 AM EST
	Loved the easy how to article. Good to get clear instructions. Posted by: Walter Rietig Aug 29, 2007 @ 11:12 AM EST
	THANK YOU FOR THE FANTASTIC ARTICLE. YOU HAVE SIMPLIFIED A GREAT WAY FOR THE LAYMAN WITH A CAMERA TO MAKE GREAT PICTURES. NOT ONLY FOR HOLIDAYS, BUT FOR OTHER EVENTS. LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR NEWSLETTER. THANKS AGAIN GINNY Posted by: GINNY THOMPSON Sep 10, 2007 @ 3:31 PM EST

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