Have you been designated the photographer for your family’s Christmas get together this year?

You’re dreading it, aren’t you? You’re thinking that it’ll be like herding cats. Well, I can’t help you there. I have my own family to contend with but I can give you a few tips for getting some pretty good shots with just using your phone’s camera.

Here’s my 6 tips:

1. Plan ahead and dress for the occasion

Give some thought to how you’d like the family to dress for that special Christmas photo. Will you be all sophisticated and elegant? You might consider getting the family to dress in neutrals or seasonal colours like reds, whites, silver and greens.

On the other hand, if you want to go with more of a  Griswald theme, you might consider a mish-mash of fugly Christmas tshirts, reindeer baby onesies and Santa hats. Add the crazy mix of facial expressions with grandma holding on to the bottle of whiskey and you’ll have yourself a great memory.

Here’s a couple of examples - one unknown family and one Sinko family!

2. Use a tripod

Use a tripod and include yourself in the picture!  I think this is one time where you should ditch the old selfie stick. There are all kinds of tripod options made specifically for mobile phone photography - from pocket-sized bendies, to grippy legged miniature tripods. Your shots should be blur free and crisp sharp. You’ll be able to fine-tune and set your framing, so you can focus on rounding up the family. If you don’t have someone behind the camera snapping pics, a tripod makes it easier for you to set a timer and jump in the shot. 

3. Say no to flash

Phone flashes can be harsh, so it’s best to avoid using them, full stop. Ideally, you’ll want to shoot in the best natural light possible. But but for dimmer situations most new phones have a night mode feature. Use it! 

4. Use burst mode

You’re bound to find one decent shot amongst the hundreds you can take using your phone’s burst mode. It fires off a series of fast shots as you hold down the shutter button. 

5. Use portrait mode

Most mobile phones have a portrait mode which can give you that beautiful shallow depth of field, or blurry bokeh background that makes portraits so beautiful. People and faces pop while lightly blurring out those twinkling tree lights. 

6. if all else fails, photograph your animals

If your family are feeling and looking too bloated from over-eating or too wobbly from over-drinking, photograph yourself with your animals instead.

Here are are a few I took with my Dudley over a decade ago. I still miss him.

Enjoy the Christmas festivities!