How to Take Perfect Holiday Photos

(ARA) – Your camera sees more action around the holidays than just about any other time of the year. Photos of friends celebrating, family gathered for a feast and loved ones in their festive clothing are snapped left and right. But how do you take perfect holiday photos and what is the best way to share them with others?

A few things to keep in mind to take perfect holiday photos:

• Try not to let your pictures look too staged. Catching the spontaneous glee of a child opening a gift will evoke more happy memories than a posed photo in front of the fireplace.

• For a truly steady shot, use a tripod. This is the number one camera accessory recommended by professional photographers.

• Don’t wear busy prints or patterns that can distract the eye. In addition to your checkered shirt becoming the focus of the picture, patterns can often appear distorted in photos.

• Help reduce red eyes in pictures by asking your subjects to look at the corner of the camera opposite the flash. Red eyes are caused by the camera’s flash reflecting off the retina, so when in doubt, turn off the flash and use another light source like holiday lights. Make sure the brightest source of light is behind the photographer to help properly light the subjects.

• Finally, and perhaps most importantly, take lots of photos. Taking holiday pictures isn’t rocket science and if something doesn’t turn out quite right, you can delete or touch it up later with editing software. The more photos you take, the more likely it is you’ll find a few that are worthy of sharing.

Once your photos are picture perfect, you’ll want to share them. One of the easiest ways to share your holiday memories with loved ones is to use an online service like the one available at RoxioOnline.com. You can use the free service to turn your pictures into an entertaining and fun photo slideshow complete with your choice of music, captions, titles, borders and more. You can then share the show simply through e-mail or the Web. Or, if you’re looking for a great gift Idea, Roxio Online also offers the option to turn your slideshow into a personalized DVD — a great way to share a permanent keepsake of the season’s events with faraway loved ones.

So, don’t be afraid to take lots of pictures this holiday season. By keeping a few simple tips in mind, you’ll have great photos — and precious memories — to share with friends and family near and far.

Courtesy of ARAcontent