Holiday Lights
Oh how much do we love the Holiday Season!! As photographers we relish the season to stand out in the freezing cold and take photos of people’s exceptionally hard work! Holiday Lights are one of the very best things about Christmas and we’re sure you’re planning a trip around town to check out a few of the most exceptional displays.
Here are a few tips to make sure you capture a few shots that are social-media worthy!
- Ensure that you have a tripod. Yes, it’s cold and the kids will probably want to tear your arms to get to the next display – but if you set it up before you get out of the car, you’ll be pretty efficient.
- With a tripod, make sure you have a long shutter speed, but not too long (a few seconds should do it!). This will get you a lovely effect where you can see the lights very clearly, but they don’t blow out to just bright, blurry dots.
- Keep a small aperture. This will allow you to capture incredible “stars” as the light bleeds through your aperture blades.
- Zoom in! You don’t always need to capture the entire house – consider zooming in to a small light display that catches your eyes and focus on that.
- Try manually focusing. At night, your camera has a hard time adjusting for the lack of definition and it may have issues auto-focussing. Put your camera on manual focus and give that a go.
Here are three spots around town that have beautiful light displays!
- The Calgary Zoo – The Zoo Lights are an incredible display of Holiday Lights and one of the very best in town!
- The Confederation Park Golf Course (14th Street and 24th Ave NW, Calgary AB) – This golf-course turned park always has the most spectacular display of static and moving lights!
- Christmas Lights at Spruce Meadows! Another incredible display of Festive Lights in Calgary!
Have fun, and be safe and happy this Holiday Season!
