During the holiday season, many people wish to photograph hard-to-capture images such as outdoor decorations or a Christmas tree in all its splendor. The technique is much the same with both film and digital cameras, though the instant picture review feature assures you of success when using a digital camera.

PHOTOGRAPHING OUTDOOR LIGHTS
To capture an outdoor display of lights, it is important to use the right film or an ISO setting of 800 on digital cameras. Using a film such as Kodak Max 800 or Fuji Superia with an ISO of 800 is suitable. The camera used needs to have manual exposure capability and the ability to turn the flash off. The best time of the day to photograph is at twilight, shortly after the sun has set. That way, you'll capture some color in the sky, rather than the pitch-black tone that would be recorded later at night. Because the exposures will normally be rather long, steady the camera with a tripod or monopod. Start with a shutter speed of 1/30th sec. with a large aperture and a wide angle of view. From there, bracket additional exposures up and down to achieve success.

PHOTOGRAPHING INDOOR LIGHTS
Photographing a Christmas tree or other decorations indoors with and without a flash will give very different results. When using a flash, you will see the lights, the ornaments and any people or subject in front of the tree. When the flash is turned off, the ambience of the tree emerges. The tree takes on a life of its own and conveys the wonderment and mystery of the season. Which is better? It really depends on your objective. The first example might be better to show what a great job the family did on decorating the tree. The second example is better in showing off how great the lighted tree looks.

When else would you want to use your flash? Let’s say the subject of your picture is the kids beside the tree. How will you properly expose the picture to light up their faces? Using the camera flash will assure you that everything was properly illuminated. On the other hand, you may find that the Christmas-tree lights are sufficient and give a soft glow to the photo. Or maybe the morning light is streaming into the room. In these cases, you don't need your strobe. If the picture is taken both ways, you can decide later which way is best.

If your camera has a “night portrait” subject mode that fires the flash with the shutter open longer than normal, try it. This mode will increase the exposure given to the lighted tree while the flash will add detail to the people and surroundings in the foreground.

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