Remember, Christmas lights are self illuminated, meaning they are not a long time exposure. Depending on the quantity of lights in use, they can add to the exposure of the surrounding building or structure.

Shooting holiday lights at the end of "magic hour," essentially just after sunset but before nightfall in full, will allow a balancing between the holiday lights and the surroundings. Your exposure should not turn red and green lights white, which overexposure would do. It is in finding the balance where your images will shine.

Back in the olde days of film, we used tripods to shoot Christmas lights because of the slow film speeds involved.

The image below was shot on 4x5 inch chrome film of my family's house in south Florida. We won the "Shoreline Decoration Competition" of the occasionally nationally televised "Winterfest Boat Parade" five times over the years. It was in nailing the theme where my motion picture experience proved very worthwhile.

The image was shot on a still night 300 feet across the waterway from the house. I used my 4x5 inch Sinar view camera and likely Ektachrome film. This scan is from an ancient Cibachrome I had made. I used a long exposure to blur the reflection of the lights upon the water. You can see the fading daylight in the sky over the house.

Humorously, sort of, this image, iconic as it is, was noticed by other photographers, who essentially shot the same image - and it showed up on holiday postcards in other states. Technically, we could have sued because no property release was sought, but, hey, the holiday spirit kept things civil.

Remember, Christmas lights are self illuminated, meaning they are not a long time exposure. Depending on the quantity of lights in use, they can add to the exposure of the surrounding building or structure.

Shooting holiday lights at the end of "magic hour," essentially just after sunset but before nightfall in full, will allow a balancing between the holiday lights and the surroundings. Your exposure should not turn red and green lights white, which overexposure would do. It is in finding the balance where your images will shine.

Back in the olde days of film, we used tripods to shoot Christmas lights because of the slow film speeds involved.

The image below was shot on 4x5 inch chrome film of my family's house in south Florida. We won the "Shoreline Decoration Competition" of the occasionally nationally televised "Winterfest Boat Parade" five times over the years. It was in nailing the theme where my motion picture experience proved very worthwhile.

The image was shot on a still night 300 feet across the waterway from the house. I used my 4x5 inch Sinar view camera and likely Ektachrome film. This scan is from an ancient Cibachrome I had made. I used a long exposure to blur the reflection of the lights upon the water. You can see the fading daylight in the sky over the house.

Humorously, sort of, this image, iconic as it is, was noticed by other photographers, who essentially shot the same image - and it showed up on holiday postcards in other states. Technically, we could have sued because no property release was sought, but, hey, the holiday spirit kept things civil.