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ESSENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC ACCESSORIES TO CAPTURE THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS

ESSENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC ACCESSORIES TO CAPTURE THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS

Christmas is coming and with it the feasts, the family, the friends, the lights, the decorations, the gifts, the cold (or not), the joys (and some sadness), the illusions in the eyes of the children, the magical beings... Whether you like them more or less, the truth is that these parties are quite an event. And all the events are synonymous with what interests us the most here: photography . That's why I want to introduce you to these photo props to capture the magic of Christmas.

Because the truth is that there are few times when you have such a number of photogenic subjects at hand: lights (from the tree, on the street, candles, sparklers...), portraits (group, individual, child, pet ...), Christmas props (Christmas trees, Santa Claus hats, reindeer, Three Wise Men, gifts..., yes, also gifts for photographers ? ), documentary photography (preparing lunches and dinners, etc.) and a multitude of photographic techniques to practice such as Bokeh , light painting ...

Almost nothing, right? We are going to see all the accessories that you may need to achieve practically any Christmas image that you can think of.

PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT ACCESSORIES

Here are a few accessories that will make it easier for you to achieve wonderful Christmas images. Of course, if you don't have them, nothing happens, let nothing stop you in your photographic passion, most can be replaced with a little imagination ;-).

CAMERA WITH MANUAL CONTROLS

It doesn't matter if you have Evil , Bridge , SLR , or even an advanced compact. The important thing is that you can control the exposure settings; what we know as the exposure triangle (ISO, aperture, shutter speed). By mastering these three settings, you will be able to achieve everything you want in photography. Incredible true? ?

EXTERNAL FLASH WITH ROTATING HEAD

Since we take many photos indoors at these types of parties, it is highly recommended to have an external flash to illuminate your portraits or your Christmas scenes. If you have one with a rotating head , you can bounce the light off a light surface, causing it to act as a diffuser, which will allow you to illuminate your subject avoiding that direct light that lasts so little photogenic that the flashes built into the camera provide. camera.

An external flash with a rotating head will allow you to bounce the light

TRIPOD

Due to the same light conditions that we mentioned in the previous point, a tripod will be very useful when you have little light , since it will allow you to work with lower speeds without shaking or without forcing the ISO too much (which would cause noise in the camera). image from certain levels). But it will not only help you to get sharper images in difficult lighting situations, but it will also allow you to appear (for once) in the family photos :-).

Use a tripod when you have low light

THE BEST GOAL

For indoor scenes and typically at night, we need the brightest lens we can get. For example, remember that an f/1.4 lens is brighter than an f/4, and an f/4 is brighter than an f/5.6. That is, the smaller the diaphragm aperture value, the brighter your lens will be. Also remember that fixed focal lengths are usually brighter than zoom lenses, so here is our ideal selection (although if you don't have it, don't worry, work with what you have)

  • 50mm f/1.4: Or the king of lenses as we call it around here. This lens has a medium focal length (it is the closest to human vision) and is very bright, so you can work with it in very low light situations with amazing results. It also allows you to work with incredible blur.
  • 50mm f/1.8: The prince of lenses . Very similar to the previous one, although with a point less light. The price is very affordable and the results are equally very good.
  • 35mm f/1.4 of/1.8: With the 35mm you have more angle, so you can include more context of the scene in your photography. It is also a good option for photographs of this type.

* Remember to activate the stabilizer of your camera/lens whenever you are not using the tripod, since in that case it is counterproductive.

A 50mm or 35mm are good candidates for these types of photos.

REMOTE SWITCH

To avoid any shake associated with touching the shutter release, to be able to appear in your own photos, to be able to shoot on the fly without having to wait the 5' or 10' required for the camera's shutter release. They are a very cheap accessory and one that you will get a lot of use out of not only at Christmas, I assure you :-).

DECORATIVE AND TECHNICAL CHRISTMAS ACCESSORIES

DIFFERENT LIGHTS LIKE:

  • Christmas tree lights: They are a classic, all you have to do is take a look around Instagram or Pinterest at this time, but they give sooo much of themselves and are so photogenic… And if you learn to make Bokeh with them, you already border on magic. If you want to know how it's done (it's very easy and very engaging, be careful), read this article where it explains it very clearly.

* Street lights with open apertures will also allow you to create wonderful bokeh, also practice in outdoors , Christmas markets, etc.

  • Candlelights: They emit orange light and transmit warmth and a very punctual light that can give you a lot of play in your photographs.

Of course, remember to be careful with the white balance or work in RAW to fix it in the processing.

  • Sparklers: Typical at the end of the year, they will allow you to practice techniques such as Lightpainting .
Also take advantage of the decoration of the streets

CHRISTMAS TREE BALLS

The rounded shape of a Christmas ball can be a most original fisheye , so you can play at photographing what is reflected in it, for example.

Tree balls can be fish eyes to play with

CENTERPIECES

Create your own Christmas still lifes with the typical Christmas decoration of the centerpieces, compose, recompose, pay attention to the details, the composition of the elements, the textures, the colour...

>
Create your own compositions

DOCUMENTARY ACTIVITY

If you are more of documentary photography, don't worry, there are millions of activities that you can photograph as part of Christmas. The assembly of the Christmas decorations, the cooks with their hands in the dough, the time to open the gifts, the toasts, etc.

SNOW

We associate it with Christmas despite the fact that many of us do not enjoy its landscapes on these dates. But if you are one of those who have it close, do not forget that the snow can give a lot of itself. (Remember that it is very important to protect your equipment from the cold ).

MONEY

We never tire of repeating how important it is to take care of the background, look at it when you go to take any photograph, eliminate what does not interest you, move, blur it, whatever you like but that does not bother your main subject.

AND FINALLY… AN ESSENTIAL PIECE OF ADVICE

Plan your photos in advance and surely your Christmas session will be the most successful. And don't miss this Mega-guide with all the tips, tricks and inspiration to photograph Christmas .

So much for today's article :-). Remember that any event out of the ordinary feeds our inspiration, and Christmas offers all kinds of scenarios to practice what you have learned during the rest of the year, so enjoy the company and, above all, enjoy this wonderful hobby that you have become amateur. Oh, and remember to share this article so someone else can benefit from it. Thank you and see you soon :

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