Tip 3: Shoot holiday lights at twilight

3. Shoot holiday lights at twilight. One of the best things about winter is that many people adorn their houses and trees with holiday lights, which are great subject matter to photograph during the season.

My favorite time to shoot is at twilight. The perfect time is when your exposure renders the lights bright against a deep-purple sky. Wait too long, and the sky goes dark; shoot too early, and the lights don’t show well. Don’t limit yourself to shooting houses with lights—create your own scene to shoot. I like to add holiday lights to glowing tents, skis, snowshoes or anything else that will be interesting. If you don’t have an extension cord to reach your string of lights, try using a portable generator to give you power.

Another fun activity photographing holiday lights is using long exposures and zooming during the exposure. Also try rotating your camera during the exposure. You can produce an endless kaleidoscope of colors and motion blurs.

Source: Digital Photo Magazine