Photo tips for shooting Christmas lights.

 
• Use a tripod. If you don’t have a tripod, set the camera on your car hood or some other flat, stabile surface.  Set your ISO to its lowest setting to provide maximum quality. Use the timer to prevent shake.
 
• Set you white balance to incandescent. To show the full range of colors in your display, use the incandescent setting (often shown as a light bulb). Otherwise all of your lights will appear yellow.
 
• Start shooting pictures at twilight (about 15-20 minutes after sunset). This can give depth to your image and a rich, blue sky provides an alternative to all black background.
 
• Move in close to the most interesting part of your display. Using a wide angle lens with decorations in the foreground, middle ground and background will create layers of interest.
 
• Close down your aperture. If you are able to manually set your lens’s aperture, set the aperture on between f/11 and f/22 to maximize depth of field (points of your picture that are in focus).
 
• Bracket your exposure. Vary your shutter speed if you have a manual setting to your camera. If your camera does not have a fully manual setting, change the EV +/- setting in half stop increments.

Visit our Holiday Lights Map to find a display near you.