Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and there’s no better way to preserve the memories of the festivities this season than by capturing them in photos. Before you get caught up in the excitement of the holiday, and at the thought of eating that beautifully roasted turkey, take the time to immortalize those precious family moments. If you’re planning to take Thanksgiving family photos, consider our helpful photography tips below to help you capture beautiful pictures of your memorable Thanksgiving celebration.
Ideal Equipment and Camera Settings
Fancy equipment is not necessary, but you do need to have the right gear on hand to help you capture every photographic opportunity. For holiday and Thanksgiving photos, it’s best to be equipped with the following items to achieve the best shots possible.
Handy Camera
As to what camera you should use, we’ll leave the choice up to you. By all means, you can use your smartphone with high-resolution specs. However, if you want photos that you can print for your holiday album, you’ll need a more professional camera—preferably a DSLR or a mirrorless camera—that can capture print-quality images.
Tripod
The key to capturing steady and sharp group shots is to use a tripod for your camera. It doesn’t have to be expensive or high-tech, as long as it offers flexibility in allowing for different vantage points, and is sturdy enough to support your camera’s weight.
External Flash
More often than not, indoor lighting can be unflattering for your food and group shots. Keeping an external flash unit on hand can help expose your subjects properly, and with more even lighting compared to your built-in camera flash. Make sure, however, to bounce the light by pointing the flash in the direction of the ceiling, a nearby wall, or whatever surface you want to bounce the flash on. If there are no surfaces around to bounce the light off of, you can also use a bounce card to help soften the flash.
Remote Shutter
The easiest and most convenient way to taking perfectly timed shots is to get yourself a remote shutter. Built-in camera timers also work fine, but painstakingly running to and from your camera multiple times to set the timer during group shots should be a thing of the past.
Wide Angle Lens
Special occasions are filled with priceless moments that you wouldn’t want to miss. Equip yourself with a wide angle lens for family holiday celebrations, as more often than not, you’ll need that extra width to allow you to fit more elements (or more family members) into the frame.
On a related note, capturing quick shots means using appropriate camera settings. For quality results, it is recommended that you utilize fast shutter speeds and, to compromise, a larger aperture of f/2-f/8 and an ISO of up to 400 to achieve just enough limited depth of field for your subjects and a boost in sensitivity exposure without adding too much image noise.
Tips for Thanksgiving Family Photos
A whole lot goes into the preparation for Thanksgiving, and that often includes planning how to document the celebration and immortalize precious memories with loved ones. While it’s more important that you have a good time, getting great shots can serve as a great bonus. Here are a couple of easy tips and tricks for taking great photographs during Thanksgiving dinner.
- Plan your shots
- Optimize the lighting
- Utilize HDR
- Shoot from a higher vantage point
- Document family traditions
- Use props
- Capture emotions
Plan Your Shots
Based on your interest in taking good photos during this holiday, you probably already have a couple of subjects in mind. Of course, this includes the delicious turkey, the gorgeous table setting, and your family members. List them down and arrange them in an orderly manner. For example, you’ll want to capture a photo of the table spread before your guests arrive and prioritize taking a quick photo of the turkey once it’s out of the oven.
For photos of individual food items, list the type of shots you want to get (e.g. whole, cut, being taken out of the oven, etc.). Keep the list nearby so you don’t miss out on your desired shots as you mingle with your loved ones.
Optimize the Lighting
Lighting can definitely make or break your photos. Make sure to plan ahead by evaluating the light sources that will be available, whether artificial or natural, throughout the duration of your Thanksgiving celebration. If the color and warmth of your room lighting can be manipulated, make sure to choose soft, ambient lighting to ensure that your photos are properly exposed. You can even use some lamps, or some strategically placed candles to help light the food and people’s faces.
It’s always ideal to capture photos with natural ambient lighting to achieve realistic images that preserve the mood and tone of the moment, but if this is not possible, you’ll need to improvise. If all else fails, your external flash can always help you light up an otherwise dark scene—as long as you use it with a flash diffuser or a bounce card to soften the harsh light.
Utilize HDR
HDR is a good option for indoor shooting, and it is typically used for indoor real estate photography. It’s also a great option if you don’t have (or want to use) a fill flash.
HDR enhances the light and dark areas in the frame for optimum exposure without the need for extra lighting. You’ll end up with a few grainy photos, but it’s better than nothing if you don’t have a flash on hand. You can create HDR images by manually shooting multiple images with the Auto Bracketing feature of your camera. Use a tripod if possible to ensure that there is no movement or changes between images.
Afterwards, you can assemble the multiple exposures using an application such as Photomatix to create a well-exposed HDR image.
Shoot from a Higher Vantage Point
Typically, Thanksgiving photo shoot ideas that involve people dining together are taken from the eye-level perspective. However, capturing these subjects from a vantage point above eye-level rids your frame of unnecessary elements and typically produces a more appealing shot. To shoot from this vantage point, you can either take the photo while standing on a chair or use an elevated tripod.
Document Family Traditions
To make your photos more special, make sure to capture the traditions that make your yearly Thanksgiving celebrations unique. For starters, you can take photos of the food items that are mainstays on your table every year. Or perhaps you have a special table cloth or dish set that are only used during Thanksgiving. You may even have a couple of other family traditions, such as gift giving and turkey carving. Include these in your shot list and watch out for other precious moments that can be captured on camera.
Use Props
While not required, props help bring some added festive cheer to your images. You don’t have to go all out with props. Just an item or two strategically positioned within a frame can improve your image composition and make it more pleasing to the eye. Here are other ways you can use props to add creativity to your shots:
- Use pumpkins spaced out nicely on the floor or even on the dinner table
- Artfully scatter autumn leaves around the area
- Include a printed or framed photo of family member or friend who is not able to join the celebration
- Show the year off with number balloons or computer printouts
Capture Emotions
The most important part of taking Thanksgiving family photos is capturing those fleeting moments of joy, excitement, and thankfulness shared by you and your family members. Don’t get too caught up in photographing every aspect of your celebration that you forget what actually matters—the people in the pictures. Observe your guests (and interact with them) so that you can anticipate those camera-worthy moments. If you want to capture these family celebrations in a way that will allow you to look back fondly on the memories, you’ll want to catch every smile, every laugh, and every look of satisfaction on those happy, well-fed faces.
