Take Your Holiday Card Photo Shoot Outdoors
Part of what I like the most about fall is preparing a
holiday card photo that we then mail to our family and friends during December. I love the challenge of staging it myself and
selecting a pose and backdrop. Fall
provides a lot of different opportunities to capture a great holiday card photo
– whether you pose at an apple farm, pumpkin patch, or at your front door on
Thanksgiving Day. I have some ideas for
making an attractive holiday card photo.
Getting the Right Light
I prefer taking a photo outside with natural light. I think they turn out best for sending them
to a business that will print your cards.
Photos on a computer screen appear lighter than when printed, so be
aware. Before you order many copies of
your photo cards from a business in the online photo printing industry, if you
have a printer at home, I recommend printing out a copy of the photo to see if
the lighting has turned out how you expect.
Taking a photo that isn’t in direct sunlight but is in solid shade
usually makes attractive photos because it doesn’t cast shadows on your
subjects’ faces. Photographers often try
to shoot in the “golden hour” which is either just after sunrise or the hour
before sunset when they avoid capturing shadows. If you are photographing someone in front of
a wall, do not have them stand right up against the wall but rather some
distance away from it. This should help
you avoid capturing their shadow on the wall behind them.
Posing
I find inspiration for poses for photos from looking at
other photos in magazines or online. But
there are a few tips I know – like having people bend at one of their
limbs. Have a subject bend at their
elbow or knee or step out with one foot closer to the camera. It draws the
viewer in. You can also position people
side by side so that they stand facing angled inward a little bit which is more
slimming. Positioning the camera higher
also has a slimming effect on the subjects.
Have a Designated Photographer
There is no replacement for having a friend take your
holiday card photo. If you are outdoors,
a person who can hold the camera steady and take shots is very helpful. If you cannot ask a person to take the photo,
having a smartphone camera tripod is necessary.
With a tripod, after you frame the photo, you can set your camera’s
timer and slip yourself into place for the shot. The drawback to using some
tripods is that the ground might be uneven, and it could topple, or the wind
could knock it over. If you take your
photo indoors, this may be different, and a tripod could be very useful.
Scenic Locations on the East Side of Cleveland
I have been to the following locations for photo taking, and
I think each place gives great results for a holiday card photo.
Several locations in the Cleveland Metroparks make nice
backdrops for holiday photos. Squire’s
Castle at the North Chagrin Reservation is one of them. Posing on a trail in many places would make a
nice photo, but just be sure not to impede others from passing by. The parks have many benches, generally. Visit
https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/ for more information.
This wooden footbridge is located on a trail in the South
Chagrin Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks. I think it would make an attractive
background for a photo.
The John D. Brown Multi-Purpose Trail in Glenwillow has
several benches flanked by colorful, flowering plants. The landscaping is well done. This section runs along Pettibone Road approximately
from the intersections with Cromwell Drive and Richmond Road. Visit https://glenwillow-oh.gov/ for more
information.
This bench surrounded by attractive plantings can be found along Pettibone Road between the intersections of Cochran Road and Cromwell Drive. It is part of the John D. Brown Multi-Purpose Trail in the village of Glenwillow. If you are looking for a fun evening, make a dinner reservation at the Glenwillow Grille, 29765 Pettibone Rd., and then walk on the trail to take your photo. There is no parking lot adjacent to this bench.
The grounds at Wade Oval are another possibility, and the area at the Cleveland Museum of Art offers picturesque views of Wade Lagoon and the museum building itself. Visit https://www.clevelandart.org/ for more information.
Hudson Springs Park in Hudson, Ohio has a wide trail around a lake with benches along the way. I think you’d find some nice backdrops there. Visit https://www.hudson.oh.us/ for more information.
Scenic Location on the West Side of Cleveland
Edgewater Park is a place with beautiful views of the
downtown skyline. I have not been there,
but I have seen photos of the park. See https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/ for more information.
Your Own Yard
Your own yard might have some potential as a great
location. Do you have swinging seats to
pose on? Can you arrange patio furniture
against a nice backdrop of trees? Maybe
you can stand by your own flower garden, or by a decorative fence adorned with
big, round pumpkins or other squash that you just purchased from the grocery
store. Standing or sitting near some
yard decorations for fall would be ideal. Is the front door on your front porch photo
friendly?
Indoors If You Must
If you do take your photo inside, I find it works best to take
the photo while standing or sitting close to a window that lets in natural
light. Make sure the light source is to
the back of your smartphone camera, and that the light coming in is not too
strong or direct.
Ecology Tip
Hand-deliver your Christmas cards to as many people as
possible who you will see during your normal schedule. If you travel to see family, take the cards
with you to hand-deliver them, even if they are given on Christmas Day
itself. Remember, there are 12 days of
Christmas anyway, so even if you give the cards after Christmas Day, it is
still timely. It is popular to send a
New Year’s Day holiday card, so this is another argument in favor of delivering
your cards in person during the holiday week. This will save money on postage
and cut down on the number of trips the postal service will make to deliver
cards.
If you’d like, email your photo with a Christmas
letter. This also reduces demand for
delivery presumably by gas-powered vehicles. On the other hand, maybe more deliveries will be made with electric vehicles.
