The holidays are officially here – the most joyful time of year for family and friends as they gather, exchange meaningful gifts, and enjoy the magic of the season together. With lots of laughter being shared, this is the ideal time to capture photos and videos of this precious time together. You’re making irreplaceable memories, and will be grateful to have these frozen moments in time down the road.
Activities to Capture
While the holidays are a whirlwind of excitement and activity, don’t forget to stop and capture even the smallest of details. For example, while cooking Christmas dinner in a chaotic kitchen might seem like one of the more insignificant moments of the holiday season, that’s when the family cook shines and where he or she devotes hours to creating the perfect feast. Be sure to capture the following holiday moments so your family photos and videos don’t have any gaps:
- Cooking the holiday meal
- Opening presents
- Mistletoe moments
- Kids and grandkids playing together
- Family games being played
- Christmas carols being sung
- Holiday décor
- Sledding or playing in the snow
- Family competitions, such as the famous Ugly Sweater Contest
Photographing the Holidays
Be sure to get a wide variety of photographs throughout the holiday celebration, mixing it up and capturing both posed photos of couples and children, and plenty of candid and action shots. Head outside where natural light source is abundant, and photograph the younger generations playing together as siblings and cousins.
Don’t miss the opportunity for a formal picture of the entire family, setting your camera up with a timer so everyone can be included. Choose a spot that is iconic of the hosting home, such as a grand fireplace or staircase, or gather everyone near the Christmas tree. Designate one person to arrange the family so everyone can be seen, leaving a spot for them to jump into once the timer is started.
Getting Video of the Holidays
It’s easy to forget about video when you’re snapping hundreds of photos, but you should also record holiday memories as well. Video goes beyond a photo, telling a better story of the moment by capturing voices, words and laughter. Grab a small handheld video recorder and take turns recording moments. By sharing the role of videographer, you’ll end up with a wide range of video snippets, each from the unique perspective of the videographer-of-the-moment.
Designate one person to “interview” family members and friends during their time with the video camera, asking them what they love about their family, their favorite moment of the holiday season, and more. For anyone who couldn’t join the festivities in person, encourage them to text or email a short video that can be added to your footage.
Sharing & Reliving Those Memories After the Holidays
Everyone is going to want to enjoy the holiday photos and videos taken during the festivities, so be sure to have an action plan for sharing. The volume will be too much and the files will be too large to easily share over text or email, so consider a digitization service that will combine everything for easy sharing on any device. iMemories can help by creating one amazing digitized video that encompasses all your holiday memories. You don’t even need to organize them – just send them in. They can convert your memories to DVD or USB thumb drive, or provide a digital download. Your holiday memories will also be available in the iMemories Cloud, where they’re viewable on any computer, iPad, or smartphone. Using their app, you can quickly and easily share with family members near and far — without any concern for file sizes.
The holiday season represents a time of year when we’re at our happiest and enjoying quality time with family and friends. Don’t miss this opportunity to capture precious holiday memories that you’ll look back on later in life, and reminisce with a smile. By freezing these moments in time, you’re also preserving your family history for future generations.
