The objective of this challenge is to photograph Christmas lights. This can be done in a variety of ways. Consider using a small aperture to get starburst sparkles, or use your camera’s depth of field capabilities to create bokeh lights in the background by focusing closely on an interesting subject in the foreground. Consider exposing your image for the lights while using a fill-in light on the subject in the foreground. Here are three links to tutorials that might help: Tutorial 1, Tutorial 2 and Tutorial 3
For inspiration, here are a few links to Christmas light photography examples. Inspiration 1, Inspiration 2, Inspiration 3
went to zoo light on the first warm day ISO 1600 50mm f8 1/6sec
ICM at zoo light
Very cool!
Della, your photo inspired me. I decided to do zooming theme as well.
Christmas Decorations with bokeh – 85 mm lens, ISO 200, f/1.8, 1/60 sec.
Lovely composition. How did you get the red background behind the bokeh lights? Some light bokeh seems transparent. Did you stage this?
Hi Henri, I just hung a red tablecloth over a clothing rack. I also hung some mini Christmas lights over top the tablecloth and then shot the bowl of ornaments on a table in front of the tablecloth/mini light set up.
Handheld as usual – taken with my tiny Ricoh with the fixed 40 mm lens.
We were in Phoenix for a week where my brother has a condo. The incongruity of Christmas lights in the warm desert landscape was fascinating. This was one of the most enthusiastic displays. I was also struck by the majestic green tree. Slow shutter speed because I wanted to add some interest with the passing car lights so I stood across the street from this colourful yard. Didn’t quite come out as I’d planned, but I still like it.
ISO 2500, 40 mm, f/2.8, 1/8 s
Part of an elaborate Advent Calendar treat distribution scheme, built by my wife with our Cricut paper cutting machine. This is a composite image of the truck and Christmas light bokeh from our Xmas tree.
Another way I found to get a different sort of blur on the colourful lights is to shoot through a pinhead type of glass. In this case it is our front door with a Xmas tree standing inside.
ISO 250, f4, 1/30 s.
A new LUT was used t get the sharper colour effect called Palm Springs and cropped in Luminar 4
I set up a couple of dried leaves on a dark glass table and a string if LED lights against a black background and other lighting.
f/3.5, 1/25, iso900
Same dried leaves but this time set on a piece of aluminum paper reflecting the lights
f/4.2, 1/13, iso7200
That’s interesting, Tony. I never thought of using aluminum paper similarly. Very effective and simple to set up. Nice!
Shot at Airdrie’s Christmas lights display at Nose Creek Park. I experimented with zooming action. This shot is straight zooming. One has to play a bit with the settings to balance out the speed of the zoom and the settings to achieve the best image. This photo: f/10; 1/62 sec; ISO 200. As an aside I like to start out with the lowest ISO and increase it only if I can’t achieve the shot I want using the other camera settings. I will post as a comment what the objects look like normal shot.
The object with no zooming
Really nice shot and technique!
I experimented zooming in and out and out and in while the image was being exposed, i.e. moving the lens barrel back and forth. I also experimented zooming only part-way during the exposure time, i.e. zooming partway, stopping while the image continued being exposed. While the camera is zooming it produces the light streaks and while it is stopped (not zooming) it records the still image. It produces a double exposure effect. I got this image using the latter technique. f/5.6; 2 sec.; ISO 200
Christmas lights across the river. I like this because of the reflected light in the snow bouncing back and lighting the immediate environment around the tree.
Different crop with distractions removed with AI.
two from the garage door to the neighbour’s house manual focus with 2 sec. telescoping burn.
number two the lights were always changing
Christmas decoration in front of tree with lights.
f/2.8, 1/1.3 sec, ISO 100
Different decoration. Coloured lights.
f/2.8, 1/2.5 sec, ISO 100
Went for a walk this evening and checked out there Lions Festival of Lights on 14 St NW. ISO 1600, f/20 1/30.
ISO 1600, f/9, 1/30.
Today, we drove to Canmore to visit a friend in hospital. On the way home, we caught the Christmas train as it approached Canmore. ISO was a big problem but a little noise reduction always helps.
Merry Christmas everyone.
My daughter’s dog posing (tempted by a treat) in front of the Christmas tree.
1/160s, f2.8, ISO 3200
Edited and denoised in LR. Sharpened in Topaz Photo AI
Really liked this big light balls on an outside tree. Taken with 50-230 lens at F/4.6, 1/75 sec.
Family of snowmen. Taken with my 50-230 lens at f/4.5, 1/75 sec
Christmas light hung to form a tunnel of lights. Taken with my 50-230 mm lens at f/5.4, 1/74 sec
Dug out my photography ball to see what effects it would create. Too much fun! This is the final result which only had a bit of cropping and I adjusted the contrast. This was with my 18-135 lens, using manual setting of F5, 1/160 sec, ISO 1600 and tungsten setting. The starting photo is noted below.
This was the first image I took. The table, ball and tree remained in the same spot. I moved the camera, zoom and angle for different depths of field as well as the settings. This was on Program, F5.6, 1/25 sec, ISO 1600.
a glass snowman some sidelighting from rear. 85mm, 1/125 sec @f1.8, iso 400. some lightroom post clarity, point colour and cropping. I liked the way the lights lightup the inside of the snowman.