How to Photograph Holiday Lights

'Tis the season to be jolly! The season of lights - from Christmas trees to Hanukkah candles to decorative house lighting. Lights...lights...lights to cheer up the long dark nights of winter. According to Chuck DeLaney, Dean of the New York Institute of Photography (NYI), the world's largest photography school, your pictures can capture the magic of this lighting if you apply just one simple professional "trick."

For example, how can your pictures capture the colorful glow of the lights on a Christmas tree? The "trick", according to NYI, is to turn off your camera's flash! That's the key: Turn off that handy built-in flash. Because otherwise the bright light will overwhelm the subtle tree lights in your picture. Similarly, NYI recommends that you turn off your flash whenever you want to capture any subtle light source - from Christmas trees to Menorah candles to decorative house lighting to those wonderful tree outlines produced by tiny white bulbs.

Of course, certain things follow from this: When you turn off your flash, you won't have enough light for split-second exposure. Your automatic camera will compensate by opening the shutter for a longer time - maybe a second or longer. Let your camera's built-in meter decide automatically. But a very long exposure will become blurry if either the camera moves or the tree lights move, or both. To minimize this risk, NYI recommends two further steps: First, use fast film - for example, ISO 800. This will cut down the duration of the exposure. Second, steady your camera. Handholding just won't do. Use a tripod if possible. If not, place the camera on a solid surface, such as a tabletop, or brace it against a wall.

Today's fast films make it easy to capture the lights of your favorite winter holiday," explains DeLaney. He adds: "One other tip for photos of outdoor lights is to shoot at dusk or twilight instead of later when the sky is pitch black."

Reprinted with permission from the New York Institute of Photography website at http://www.nyip.com 

Red Eye. This is caused by the flash reflecting from the back of the eye. To stop this either use a faster film and no flash, or if you have to use a flash bounce or angle the the light from the ceiling or wall. -- Y Chan, Sydney

Family Photos. It is usually best to take photos of people in the shade, because you won't get such harsh shadows, and people squinting. Shade is more flattering to skin tones. Shoot several pictures, because you rarely get it right on the first try. Have plenty film handy. -- S Ed.

Film: If you keep photographic film at home it is best stored in the fridge as it extends its shelf life. Freezing film can extend shelf life by up to a year. -- Sheila Anderton.

Camera Mounting Screw Fitting: The thread used to mount a camera on a tripod is a 1/4 inch UNC threaded screw . The same thread is found on most CCTV cameras . Heavy duty and weighty cameras use 3/8 inch UNC. UNC stands for UNified Coarse. The original plan was to develop an international standard but ISO and Metric seem to be the default. Trying to use a 5mm screw will result in damage. - David Yang