If possible, angle your subject(s) so that they’re facing a window in order to most easily achieve catchlights in the subject’s eyes. Once you’re ready to begin, set a chair or ottoman about 2-3 feet in front of the Christmas tree, and have your kid or kiddos sit down with the tree in the background behind them. So shooting in the morning or early afternoon a few weeks before Christmas is a win-win for us all. Plus, my kids are much less tired and grumpy before 2pm than they are after the sun goes down. I find that doing so allows me to take advantage of the available light indoors to capture natural skin tones, and still allows me to capture the blurred lights in the background as well.

When taking photos of my kids in front of the Christmas tree, I prefer to shoot during the day rather than at night. For these particular images, I typically prefer my 50mm lens. Have you ever seen a photo of a child in front of a Christmas tree and wondered exactly how to achieve those nicely blurred lights in the background? I have good news for you–it’s so easy! In this article, I’ll walk you through it step by step so that you can create special family photographs of your kids by the Christmas tree this holiday season in almost no time at all.Ī DSLR or mirrorless camera, and a lens with the capability to shoot somewhere between f/1.8-2.8.

A happy christmas tree pic