Tips for taking great photos during the holiday season

1. Take your camera with you and make the most of the light or natural light in your setting Winter and Christmas arrive with a subdued light, especially at sunset when all the garlands light up to illuminate your house or the streets. At this time, it is important to take advantage of the light and colours to obtain a good exposure and to obtain balanced tones and colours. If the lights in your setting are too strong, don't hesitate to adjust the settings of your photo. Find the perfect balance between aperture and shutter speed. To lower the light, it is advisable to decrease the aperture and increase the shutter speed. You can also decrease the sensitivity of your camera's sensor to reduce the intensity of the light recorded by the camera. If you are enjoying the Christmas decorations outside, don't hesitate to get as close as possible to your subject, the Ricoh GR III or GR IIIx are the best cameras in their class for street photography.

 2. Remember to set your White Balance to Auto or Incandescent Despite the cold and grey skies, the end of the year remains a warm and friendly time to share moments with family and friends. What better way to express these moments of sharing than with photos? To take warm photos, forget about using your camera's automatic mode unless it is preset to balance white. Also, avoid using the flash, as this can result in visuals that are too grey, or too bright. If you intend to process your photos, leave your white balance on Auto ''AWB'', otherwise switch directly to ''incandescent'' or ''fluorescent'' modes. Regularly check that the colour rendering of your photos suits you, otherwise find a perfect balance between natural light and the lighting of Christmas decorations.

3. Focus on people's emotions to capture the magic of Christmas The opening of presents on Christmas Day comes with a myriad of emotions: excitement, joy, happiness, astonishment... Each face reflects a particular emotion. This is a great opportunity for you to take beautiful portrait photos and create a unique memory for you and your loved ones. The LEDs and lights of the tinsel on the tree or the walls are ideal to embellish the bokeh of your portrait photo and give a magical aspect to the moment you are capturing. To achieve a beautiful bokeh effect, use a bright lens. Choose a lens with a minimum aperture of f/2. You can also use bright lenses such as f/2, f/1.8 or f/1.4. Also make sure that your subjects express a natural face, avoid asking them to pose for your picture. As a photographer, look for the right moment and the right emotion to capture. Place your camera on a tripod if possible, this will help stabilise your camera and then switch to burst mode. This is how you can create magical memories. When you are in a large room or even outside and want to take the whole scene, your traditional camera can be limiting. So get a Ricoh THETA SC2 camera to take 360° pictures and don't miss any part of your decor.