Capturing Christmas lights at night is challenging. Remember, your skills will improve with practice. So the best advice is to start shooting and have fun.

Although Pulte Homes’ Chicagoland Holiday Home Decorating Contest ended Monday, there’s no reason you can’t be preparing for next year (just like the Cubs)!

Taking photos of bright lights at night can produce pictures with unusual streaks and swirls for even the most seasoned photographers.

So we’re going to expose five tips from the pros that won’t leave you shooting in the dark. To do so, we did a little research and found some helpful information that you can use all year round.

Professional Photographer Patty Hankins shares some smart ways to work with SLR camera settings. Her easy explanations will help you capture stunning Christmas lights at night. Ready, now? OK, here we go.

Get Ready.
1.) Plan on dressing warmly. You may have to brave the weather for a while when you go searching for the ultimate Christmas display.
2.) Turn off the flash.  Flashing light on light will give you a white out.
3.) Select a lens. Use either a macro or an all-purpose wide angle lens. A macro is useful if you want to isolate any one ornament or decoration. While a wide angle lens is great if you want to get the whole house into the picture.

Get Set.
4.) Brace yourself… actually, the camera. It’s a good idea to use a tripod, as the shutter speed will be too slow for sharp hand held shots.
5.) Put it on manual. Set your camera on manual mode with a low as possible aperture f number. For example, any setting between f/2.8 to f/4.6 will be sufficient.
6.) Speed up. To start, increase ISO speed to 400. Depending on how dark you want the images to be, you can adjust this later. It’s never recommended to go higher than 800 to prevent loss of photo quality.

There are two ways to adjust the shutter speed. First, you can focus the camera at part of the house that isn’t too dark or too light and adjust the exposure.

If you like a darker photograph, then underexpose the settings by around two or three stops. Second, you can take a bit of a punt and initially set the shutter speed to around 1/50th of a second adjust as needed. If the photograph seems too dark for your liking, then choose a slower speed (up to say 1/25th of a second). If it’s too light, then choose a faster speed. As the night gets darker and light changes, you may need to adjust this.

GO!
7.) Practice. Practice. Practice. Most importantly, remember to have fun. The more you enjoy the experience, the more confidence and skills you’ll gain. You’re sure to be ready for any challenge or competition that may arise in 2009.

Keep visiting Pulte Homes’ Autumn Creek and Heritage Park blog sites throughout the year for other fun photo opportunities. Remember, there’s only 366 days left until next Christmas!