The low effort approach….once your Christmas tree is up:

• place your kids about 2 feet in front of the tree, with the fairy lights on

• try and make sure the tree fills the whole background of your image

• if you can, put a cream fleecy blanket down on the ground - it helps with lightening & brightening the image and also eliminates any distractions

• use portrait mode and click away - this will mean the tree is lovely and blurry but still has all the Christmas feels and your children are in focus

• Ideally don’t use the flash on your phone. Brighten the image if you need to with the editing controls already on your phone

• IF YOU CAN, take the image facing the window (yes, it does require a lot of faffing) and late afternoon/ early evening so there is enough light coming in.

• AND, if you have a tripod, feel free to jump into the frame - BECAUSE you are in portrait mode, you have to be in the same line as your children and not behind, otherwise you will be blurred out!

• Get close and snuggle in - 1) so you fit in the image and 2) it will give those warm, cosy festive vibes!

Even less effort (ideal for older families, singles and couples)

• hopefully, one of your older kids, will be able to stand the phone up and use the timer to capture this one

• find a plain background either outdoors or at home

• get a Santa hat or Christmas hairband or jumper!

• get as close as you can and don’t leave any gaps between you and if you are using portrait mode, don’t forget to stand in the same line.

• getting smiles can be hard, so either say a silly or rude word…its a bit cringy but it is worth it

• And, click away!

For those of you who want to step it up….this can be done with any age and any combination of people

• find an area that creates a “wall of foliage” - the ideal is evergreens but sometimes a full height garden hedge is sufficient.

• Wear a neutral colour - navy, beige, brown, grey

• And wrap yourselves or your kids in a tartan blanket.

• It’s perfect for younger kids, couples and smaller families.

• I’ve deliberately used a really simple image here to show you how easy it is - and the tartan colour really adds that kick of colour!

• Throw in some bobble /Santa hats and a couple of cups of hot chocolate and you’re full of festive vibes!

• And, if you want to go the full monty, then this one has

  • the Christmas jumper

  • the tartan blanket

  • Christmas lights against the evergreens

  • and I edited it using the equivalent of ‘dramatic cool’ - one of several inbuilt Phone filters

Just for reference, none of the props used in any of the images I have suggested are particularly expensive.

Blankets - try Primark, The Range and B&M

Santa hats & hairbands - Primark

Christmas lights - Ikea and Dunelm

And…if you made this far…I would genuinely love to see any photos you’ve taken, using these tips…send them to via Whats App or email.

So, snap away!