1. Limit backlight: Most people enjoy displaying their Christmas trees near large windows during the holiday season to accent outdoor lighting displays and share their holiday spirit with neighbors and others passing by. Unfortunately, your large window that so proudly displays your tree, is also your worst enemy when it comes to capturing the splendor of the tree on video.
When videotaping your tree, be sure to limit the lighting sources that are directly behind the tree, by closing your blinds or curtains. When sunlight appears behind your tree, the camera will focus on that powerful natural light source, causing your tree to be recorded like a silhouette.
2. Add more light: Ok, now that we have closed all of the curtains, it is time to add more light. There is nothing better than dimming the lights, turning on a Christmas CD, and enjoying the glow of your tree. However, dim lighting will not highlight the details of your finely decorated tree. Turn on all overhead lighting and lighting situated in front of the subject. Even consider adding a few extra lamps to the room or aiming a cheap $5 clamp light at the ceiling (the reflection will light your tree more evenly than shining the light directly at the tree).
3. Manual Focus: All camcorders are not created equally, so it may be necessary to experiment with the controls of your camera and see what works best. One control to adjust may be the manual/auto focus option. The small lights that adorn your tree may cause your camcorder to go in and out of focus when in the automatic focus mode. To avoid this problem, try shooting in manual focus mode.
The best way to set your manual focus is to turn off the digital zoom and zoom in as close as the optical zoom will allow, set your focus, and then zoom back out and frame your shot. Again, all camcorders may not require this adjustment; but if your shots are going in and out of focus, give this tip a try.
4. Exposure: Another manual setting that you may consider adjusting is your exposure. Depending on your lighting situation, your image may be improved by increasing or decreasing the exposure.
5. Use a tripod: Tripods are key to creating a professional looking video. If you do not have a tripod, improvise. Rest your arms on a couch or lean against a wall when you shoot.
6. Limit zooms, pans, and tilts: There is nothing worse than watching holiday videos that are mostly whips and bumps of points of interest. Don't make your audience seasick. Your video will look much better if you frame your shot and record without movement, move to the next shot and frame and shoot without movement.
7. Vary angles: Entertaining videos always include a variety of angles. Establish the size and style of your Christmas tree by first shooting a wide shot, and proceed by shooting medium close-ups and close-ups of the tree and ornaments that highlight the detail and beauty of the decorating.
8. Shoot to edit or in-camera edit: Finally, before shooting decide if you will be editing your footage after shooting. If you are planning to edit, you should record each shot longer than you intend to use to allow for transitions and other editing effects.
If you don't plan to edit your video, be sure to plan and frame each shot prior to recording, and record approximately 4-6 seconds of each shot to maintain a level of interest in your video.
If you are creating a video of an artificial Christmas tree, you might want to enter our video contest, "Artificial Christmas Trees Unleashed," for a chance to Win $1,000.
