Three Images to Capture on Christmas Day

Christmas Day is almost here! I can feel an excited energy building in my home. Holiday shopping is, for the most part, complete, presents are wrapped, Christmas traditions are in full swing, and that elf has been up to all of his shenanigans! Left to do is the baking, especially gingerbread cookies and a few other holiday favourites like marshmallow squares. With all the hustle and bustle within the preparations for Christmas Day, even during a COVID Christmas where restrictions have damped the holiday events, putting together a Christmas is never an easy task. I know that I want to photograph a few of our most precious memories this Christmas.

1. Capture one meaningful Christmas tradition

Of course, there is no better way to preserve a memory than to capture it on camera. As a family, we have many different traditions that we like to enjoy on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, some of which include opening up that last advent calendar goodie and warm apple cider with a side of freshly baked apple crisp before bed. Time truly is fleeing, and I love capturing images of the same traditions yearly. It's always fun to look back on memories from year to year. 

^{ISO 1600, 35mm, f2, 1/200SS}

2. Take one meaningful image of Christmas morning

There's a huge flurry of activity and excitement at my home Christmas morning, and I'm fairly certain your home is exactly like mine. Stockings, presents and breakfast are all to enjoy and in that order, if it were up to my children. However, our tradition is to open up stockings, enjoy our traditional breakfast of pancakes and bacon then open presents. With all the activity occurring, it's easy for me to forget about my camera, so I like to have my camera ready to go the night before. Batteries are charged, a freshly formatted memory card is on standby, and my camera is located in the heart of where all the activity will be taking place. I also usually have a plan for capturing one meaningful image of the morning. Once I capture that image, I put my camera down and enjoy the rest of the gift opening extravaganza. 

^{ISO 800, 35mm, 2.2, 1/200SS}

3. Take a quick shot of your holiday dinner

Delicious holiday meals are always made with love. Before your efforts are devoured, take the time to capture one or two images of all your hard work. It will only take a moment and is a fun way to remember the family dinner you enjoyed during the holiday season.  

^{ISO 1600, 35mm, f2.5, 1/200SS}

Photographing Christmas can be enjoyable, especially when you're capturing only a few meaningful images. Brainstorm a few photos that you'd like to capture the morning of the big day and have your camera ready to go, as this will make capturing your memories a lot easier. As a photographer, we want to preserve the memories of Christmas Day but remember that it's also important to put your camera down so that you can enjoy the memories from in front of the viewfinder too. Merry Christmas! Enjoy a day filled with laughter and joy!