A Helpful Handout Created by the Staff of Wolfe's Camera

Every year many of us like to brave the cold, carry a camera when we head out, and take pictures of the many beautiful Christmas decorations that have been put out. This can be a very rewarding experience that produces some beautiful pictures if you follow some simple guidelines.

Exposure of Christmas lights is going to vary somewhat by the choice and amount of lights used in the decorations. The photo at the left was shot at 1/4 second at f4 with ISO 400 setting on a digital SLR. The best suggestion if possible is to bracket your exposure either side of recommended exposure (see chart at bottom) and select image print. With digital, since you can see picture, just shoot optimum exposure, then adjust based on the image you see on the screen.

You will need use tripod, monopod or some other support device and a shutter cable release. A tree, fence wall substitute for tripod. In the absence of a cable release you could use a self timer.

Be careful trying to hand hold the camera. Higher ISO setting in your digital camera provide limited hand holding ability. If you have a fast lens and an ISO 400 sensitivity setting, expose 1/15 at 2.8 or even 1/30 at f2. Slow zoom lenses would be nearly impossible to hand hold even using super speed color film, plus the grain or noise becomes very noticeable in solid areas, such as the large expanses of black that appear in most Christmas decoration scenes.

Cameras with only automatic exposure are difficult if not impossible to use for shooting Christmas decorations. Because of the large amount of black and relatively small amounts of lights, the pictures are usually very overexposed, even on cameras with sophisticated exposure systems. To the other extreme, on simple point & shoot cameras, their maximum exposure is usually not sufficient and results in drastic under exposed. Many digital and some film cameras have provided a program night landscape mode that should give close exposure if you do not have manual control. Make sure your flash is off.