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December is the month where we are preparing for Christmas, getting a tree, putting up decorations, buying presents and planning the Christmas Dinner. all of these are subjects that can be photographed.
Whether you are going for a real tree, or buying an artificial one, the tree and the decorations on it make really good subjects. Even going along to the forest and photographing trees with sunlight shining through and onto them offers some interesting compositions.
Another normal part of December are the storms. Going out with your camera in windy or rainy weather can be very rewarding. Whether you go into a town and look for shots of people fighting the wind while they are shopping, or you go to the seaside to capture waves breaking over the sea wall or rocks. (DO NOT GET TOO CLOSE TO THE WATER), you will definitely find some unusual shots.
Remember, if you go to take shots in this weather, you will also be fighting the wind; so, wrap up well and have two pairs of gloves, one pair to keep you warm and another pair to work the camera. I wear silk under gloves with waterproof ski mitts over them.
Not all the weather in December is bad and when we get clear skies and sunshine, it can be magical. On days and evenings like these, it is possible to capture some very different images.
The image above was taken a few days ago, at about three thirty in the afternoon. I was shooting straight into the sun with no filter. Try this and experiment with your settings till you achieve the look that you want. As the following, very different images show, a clear sky is not the only one that offers spectacular images.
When outdoor photography is definitely not possible, then we can have a lot of fun with indoor photography. While there are many possible subjects in the house at this time of year, it could be a good time to set yourself a challenge. If you are not already doing so, switch from AUTO MODE to MANUAL MODE. Using the wheel on top of your camera, turn to the letter 'M'. This puts the camera into Manual Mode and makes you responsible for choosing your settings for each shot. Your camera manual will tell you how to control your Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO.
If you would like to learn more about this, try my course, 'Getting to Know your Camera'.
If you are already using Manual Mode, why not try changing from Autofocus to Manual Focus for an evening. Take a series of shots of objects, people and animals round the house, using autofocus, then take the same shots using Manual Focus. Then compare them. Ideally there should be no difference. If there is a difference, try to think what caused it.
The first question to ask is, would a tripod have helped? A mistake that I made many years ago was that I had not set the dioptre, (viewfinder), to my eyes. This meant that I was not seeing through it as clearly as I should have. Check this in your manual. Practice exercises like these are what helps to make us better photographers and, in this case, prepares us for taking the all- important shots on Christmas day.
