Creating a holiday scene for families
Creating a holiday scene for families, I was aiming for Christmas eve. Families sitting by the fireplace, sleepy excited kids. Mum or Dad reading their favourite Christmas stories before bed. Putting out milk and cookies for Santa and falling asleep in front of the fire. Memories from my childhood.
Set the scene
Using a fabulous printed backdrop like this one from Kate Backdrops is the perfect place to start. They’re so well made and beautifully printed. Make sure ALL the wrinkles are gone, it makes the backdrop look perfect and an easier time editing. If it’s been folded up since last use, you can give a quick wash and tumble dry, or hang a day or two before you shoot for the wrinkles to drop out. A quick steam will do the job too. The rod pocket is terrific for generic backdrop stands. It would be fantastic if they had a pocket on the bottom to weigh down with another pole. I hang clips on mine to stop the fabric from moving. Then I covered the bottom of the backdrop itself with some hobby fill (Looks like clouds) and some LED lights.
Make it your own
Just because it is a commercially made backdrop, Don’t forget to throw in some additional props, make the scene your own. A few personal items, chairs, stools, throw rugs, and some Christmas ornaments to compliment the scene. I aimed to make everything non-breakable, as I was working with excitable young kids and accidents can happen. I also had items the children could interact with, presents and large oversized baubles, books and such. Don’t forget the cookies and milk for Santa too. I also added a giant fur rug for in front of the fireplace.
Lights, camera, action
Once the scene is set, you can set up your lights, don’t forget to light your backdrop too. While maybe not the star of the show, it will be the glue that holds it all together. I had a 36″ Octobox on a Godox AD400Pro, then a Strip Box 9″ x 35″ Strip Box (also on a Godox AD400Pro), then lit the actual Backdrop itself with a Godox AD200 and a diffuser. Test with a stand-in, before the kids arrive. I was shooting with my Sony a7Riii and the Tamron 28-75mmG2 lens. I also had my 5.5″ 4K LED Mini Monitor setup. So that it was well lit and everyone was in focus I shot at f/9.0. The rest of the camera settings were ISO200, shutter speed 1/125secs. My Lights were on 1/2 power (strip box) and 1/8 (octobox)and the speedlight on 1/32.
Capture the magic
Now that the scene is set, the gear is ready it’s time to let in the kids and capture some magic. Work out ahead of time wardrobe choices (where possible) and the type of shots you wish to capture, here are some ideas;
Kids snuggled in Mum or Dad’s lap reading a story
Kids on floor listening to a story
Snuggling on the fur rug in front of fire
Kids reading a ‘magical’ book
Placing presents under the tree
Putting out milk and cookies for Santa
Perhaps make it look like you looking in through a window from outside, with snow gently falling. The colour tone of the images will suggest a warm glow or cool Winter tones. Don’t forget to move around within your image, not just capture larger overall shots. Kids sparkle when excited, so try to capture that. I also took some individual shots of the kids as well as family shots.
I put together a quick video on How I made the cute Christmas card above…
