Lights.

Camera.

Make it perfect and capture the holiday magic.

The pressssssssure! 😬

Know what we have more than enough of as moms?

P-R-E-S-S-U-R-E.

And know when that pressure gets to the point that the lid of your Instant Pot is going to blow off and put a hole in your ceiling?

The holidays.

Not only do we have to make it magical and memorable for our kids, but we’re also expected to DOCUMENT those memories in a beautiful way. When I was a kid, we’d pull out the film camera and there’d be about 10 photos total from Christmas morning.

Now? Now we all have phones (I’m guessing multiple ones are around while you’re opening gifts), so we feel the need to take hundreds of photos…..and video….and share it all.

It has to be well lit. The kids need to be wearing underwear. The tree must be curated. And, the smell of cinnamon buns must waft out of the photo.

It’s a lot.

Frankly, it’s too much.

I really dislike it, which is probably why for 4 out of the last 6 years we’ve skipped Christmas and headed to the tropics. A beach on Christmas day with not a single gift in site is much more my style.

But, we’re in a pandemic. So, like you, I’m going to be home for the holidays, up at 5 am and done opening presents by 6 am. And, I’m going to do my best at making sure our memories are captured without losing my mind.

Since we’re all dealing with enough this season, I’ve put together 4 quick tips to make capturing your holidays as easy as humanly possible.

1. Get the big presents and then put your phone down.

It’s really easy to take 500 photos in 20 minutes, but, all that is going to do is make you frustrated when you have to go back through them and delete a bunch. What’s better, is to decide ahead of time which gifts are the most important to capture the opening of, take a few photos of that, capture great expressions, and then put your phone down.

Another great option, if you have the ability, is to set your camera up on a tripod and set it to interval mode. Interval mode will mean that the camera will automatically take a photo at certain intervals (i.e. every 40 seconds). This is truly a set-it-and-forget-it method that’ll make sure your whole morning will be captured and also allows you to not think about a thing once it’s set up.

2. If it’s dark out, get as close to the light source as possible.

This applies to both indoor and outdoor photos. The closer your subject is to the light source, the better lit they’ll be and the less grainy your photo will be. Our phones want to make the whole scene look well lit, so if your kid is a ways away from the light source, then your phone is going to work hard to make both the light and your kid properly exposed, which is likely going to result in some grain. If you can get your kid close to the light though, then you can tap your phone screen to expose for the light and let everything else fall into the shadows, which will likely mean less blurry and less grainy photos.

Bonus: make sure your flash is turned off.

3. Forget about the mess and document the craziness.

So, you’ve caught those few shots while your family was opening presents, but before you start putting all the wrapping paper in the recycling bag, grab photos of the chaos. Your holidays won’t always be filled with tossed tissue and toy paraphernalia. Before you know it, you’ll have adults who slowly pull the tape off the ends of the presents. So, go ahead and photograph the mess and forget all about expectations and perfection.

4. Think about shifting your focus to the whole experience of the season, rather than one day.

I think we’ve established by now that I think Christmas morning photos are a bit overrated. But, what I do love, is documenting our entire month of December and all of the activities we do. Many of my photos are simple iPhone snaps, but I think it’s really special to have photos of my kids struggling with the tape while wrapping presents and decorating cookies with 2 lbs of icing.

And lastly, although not an official tip, my one other suggestion is to make sure you’re in a few photos! Hand your phone off and ask your spouse to take a few photos while YOU open presents. Your kids deserve to SEE photos of the woman who created this magic.

Wishing you a very Happy Holidays with your little pod.