by Jesse Mathewson

Created on: June 21, 2008   Last Updated: July 02, 2008

Showing the love and family spirit of each holiday is important, for only with pictures can you truly enjoy and recreate the memories that are attached with each holiday. Our families pictures have always been very spur of the moment and occasionally we stage the full family picture. The following article is meant to help you enjoy your holidays as much as we enjoy ours, and to continue through great pictures.

Digital cameras have made it very simple to take spur of the moment pictures, catching the child opening gifts, or the sparkler twirling names in the air. However many point and shoot digital cameras are unable to balance (using auto features) the proper light necessary to catch these moments well. In many cases the flash can be turned off during indoor and outdoor photos. For medium to well lit areas indoor no flash is suitable with most Point and Shoot digital cameras. For daytime and even early evening pictures the same applies. What is important is to use the flash for low light applications. Aim at an angle for indoor pictures in low light and with a flash, this reduces red-eye and can also help you get a more natural feeling picture. Many newer point and shoot cameras have multiple picture functions, basically by depressing the shutter release it takes a succession of 3-9 or even more pictures. This can assist when the kids are running around and or movement is inevitable. Try not to be afraid to shoot as many pictures as you can, digital allows you to erase the ones that don not look right and still have room for more.
When zooming in make sure you center the subject well, try not to cut off the body or parts of the picture that show the story better. The idea obviously is to attempt to recreate the memories so when you look at the pictures you see a story.
The best pictures are the ones that show the moment, and are not staged. So just stand back and snap away. And that picture you took last year of your child opening his gifts, yes that one, it is a great picture to use as a card for the grandparents. If you have a color printer use a good photo paper and format it using any one of several readily available picture editing tools. Most Word products have a simple editor that will work very well, use the help buttons and try different formats until you come up with a great card or even postcard. One of the best things to do is making a small album or even Cd/Dvd of the pictures to show the story. With many programs (again your computer usually has these programs readily available.)
Making a DVD or CD of the photos you can also use music, and even record the children/ adults talking. This is a great way to gift your holiday pictures.
So keep clicking, and saving those great memories!

Learn more about this author, Jesse Mathewson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.