Hey Everyone! Hope Ya'll are having a great week! Me? Pretty good! It's Holiday season and I'm officially in the mood! Usually it take until Thanksgiving to get me in the mood and this year was no exception. I don't want to see holiday movies, or hear music holiday related until we've eaten the turkey. But now that we have I'm in the mood. I've been working on my Van getting it ready for next years adventures but its been especially cold the last week or so and I haven't done much but purchase things for it while the sales are still in effect. A update will come in next weeks Blog.  This week I want to talk about holiday photo's. To me they are some of the most fun to take . Everybody is smiling , even family! LOL They are a great way to share with family and friends and save memories of times. Looking back in old shoe boxes of photos they are always of family gatherings . Weddings, holidays, birthdays and the such. So just because you're shooting digital now doesn't mean you don't need to document the occasion with photo's . Even if they are only with your phone.

Community Events, During the holidays there are many events going on in the community to celebrate the season. Of course there are Christmas/Holiday parades. This is like capturing joy. Everyone is happy and having a good time. All you have to do is point a camera at folks in the parade and the smiles automatically come. Children are having some of the best memories in their little lives .  Fun is had by all! All you need to shoot these events is a camera and a medium zoom. If your parade ends at darkness like ours does a 50mm with a wider aperture works great also. And it's not just Parades there are tree lighting ceremonies , downtown lights, concerts in the park and whatever your community does for the holidays.  It's a special time to photograph. Don't forget your town's store fronts. Lots of store owners go to great lengths to make their store front the most beautiful. Christmas decorations of all sorts are out. When I was a kid we always went out to see the lights. Going in neighborhoods that had elaborate lighting decorations on their homes. These are also great opportunities to get some great shots.

Photographing Family and Friends, Thanksgiving and Christmas are great times to get family portraits, Group shots and candid shots of family. Remember you as a photographer of the group is responsible for documenting the event and occasion. Sharing these photo's with family and especially if they save or have them printed is a great way for younger folks in the future to see family members all together having fun before they were born. To see family members that aren't with us anymore is really nice. Another idea is to make books out of the holiday. Like Thanksgiving of 2025 and give as Christmas presents to everyone. That way they have permanent copy of them. Whatever you do don't miss this opportunity to get some great and lasting memories of your family.

The holiday season is a great time for photography. I hope you have a chance to enjoy the holidays with family, fun and photography! Until next week Get out and shoot!

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 posts there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link