A few weeks back one of our readers asked me to share some creative Christmas picture ideas. When I saw these pictures by Cory McMullan, I knew I wanted to try it and share it with you guys!
I think we have all tried and captured the tradition Christmas tree photos like the one below.
ISO 100, f/14, SS 4.0 sec at 18mm
Don’t get me wrong. You need to capture those traditional type photos. But why not try something fun this year and get to play with your camera and settings while you are at it.
Try something like this! I took all these with my Tamron 18-270mm 3.5-6.3 zoom lens. Make sure you have a zoom lens!
ISO 100, f/22, SS 5.0 sec – Starting at 42mm and zoomed out to 18mm
1. Set up your tripod. You need to make sure your camera is on steady ground so you are able to get straight lines and prevent camera shake since your shutter speed will be very slow.
2. Put your best zoom on your camera. I used my Tamron 18-270mm 3.5-6.3. It worked perfectly because of large focal length. I loved being able to zoom out to 18mm.
3. Slow your shutter speed WAY down. You want to make sure your shutter speed is in the seconds. Make sure your ISO is as low as possible. You may need to shoot at a very narrow aperture (larger number). This will help you to slow down your shutter speed. I liked having my shutter speed set at about 4 or 5 seconds.
4. Turn off all the lights in your house. You don’t want any other lights to affect your images. You want a slow shutter speed and if you have other lights on this may affect how slow your shutter speed can be.
5. Zoom your lens in on your subject and then slowly zoom out. For the tree shot I focused on an ornament. I hit the shutter button and slowly and I mean slowly, began to zoom out to 18mm. Sometimes, the shutter speed was not done so I would let it sit at 18mm until it was done. You want to make sure you are doing this slowly and without any jerky movements because that will affect how straight your light beams are.
6. The more you zoom out the longer your light beams. You can start at any focal length you want, however, the further you zoom in and then zoom out you will get longer light beams.
You can try it on all sorts of lights besides your tree.
ISO 100, f/10, SS 5.0 seconds – Started at 100mm and zoomed out to 18mm
I would love if you share images you take like this on our Facebook page. Can’t wait to see what you capture!
Very cool! Something else to play with. My tripod has been getting lots of use this Christmas season.
Kimberly recently posted..Bokeh lights … SOOC
that is SO cool! and so different from the traditional out of focus christmas bokeh shots! I’m really gonna have to try that!
Jaymi recently posted..Holiday Bokeh Party 2
Twitter: OurGypsyCamp
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So fun!! Can’t wait to try it!
Martha recently posted..CMoR (Children’s Musical of Richmond)
Ive been wanting to try this for a few weeks now- have to sit down this week and do it! Thanks for the inspiration!
Def. giving this one a try. I LOVE IT!!
Amber Cullum recently posted..Top 11 of ’11 Announcement
This looks cool. I’m going to try this, even if it’s with my point and shoot.
I’m having one of those ‘Why didn’t I think of that?!?’ moments. This is SO COOL!!!
CallieMarie recently posted..Family "Pet"
I’ve was trying that technique over the summer during daylight. Makes for a cool warp speed tunnel effect!
Twitter: clickitupanotch
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Oh, I bet! Would love to see what you go on our Facebook page!
Make sure your camera lens is set to manual focus and camera is on manual also or you could ruin your lens.
What a great idea! Just signed up to be your newest follower!
SarahinSC recently posted..Guessing Game!
Twitter: clickitupanotch
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Welcome!
Wow – how fun is this!? Those are some great shots!
What a fun experiment! Mine isn’t nearly as clean as yours, though:)
http://kesnumber11in2011.blogspot.com/2011/12/d-349.html
Karin recently posted..D 349
Twitter: clickitupanotch
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You should share yours on the Facebook page!
I would have loved to, but got ride of my FB account:(
Karin recently posted..D 349
Twitter: clickitupanotch
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Believe me, I thought of doing the same thing. I use it more for the blog than my own personal use :O) Thanks for sharing the link though!!