This is a great opportunity to capture great shots while family and friends are gathering.

Easy Tips for Holiday Photos!

Try these tips featured in Bay Area Parent SF Peninsula Edition from professional photographers Kimberly Hernando of San Francisco-based SuperKimagery (www.superkimagery.com), Rebecca Little of Portraits by Rebecca in Morgan Hill (www.portraitsbyrebecca.com) and Jason Lee of San Ramon (kristinandkayla.blogspot.com).

Location, Location, Location

Whether to take your photos indoors or out is up to personal preference.

“Certain times of the year provide great colorful backgrounds (outdoors), but at the same time, a nice cozy home can be a great photo opportunity,” says Lee.

But Hernando advises that amateur photographers without sophisticated lighting set-ups often do better outdoors. “The best time for outdoor photos is the hour after the sun rises and an hour before the sun sets. Shooting at noon, when the sun is directly overhead, isn’t ideal because people tend to squint and shadows show up under the eyes (‘raccoon eyes’).”

What to Wear

Busy patterns may distract from your beautiful smiles. But at the same time, says Hernando, “there’s more to your family than khakis and a white dress shirt. Coordinate, but not matchy-matchy.”

Adds Lee: “If you (are going to) look at your photo 20 years from now and think, ‘Why on earth was I wearing THAT?’ then it’s probably something you shouldn’t wear. I always say classic and timeless works best.”

Their best advice? Have fun!

Once you’ve taken all those great photos use PosterMyWall’s Collage Maker to showcase your favorites in a beautiful photo collage to use in a holiday card or set on a canvas mount or in a custom frame.