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10 Non-filmmaker (or photographer) things to try for the holiday season

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The Basic Filmmaker is one of my favourite channels on YouTube. As well as offering great filmmaking and photography tips, there’s often a whole heap of common sense thrown in for good measure, too. A video he posted today, got my interest, though. It’s a list of the top 10 things non-filmmakers can try over the holidays. A lot of it can apply equally to photographers, too.

So, if you’re stuck for things to do this holiday season instead of obsessing over gear or showing off your newest toy, have a watch!

9 last minute Christmas gifts for photographers

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Christmas is only 11 days away, and some of us might have not actually managed to make it out to buy presents yet. Perhaps you didn’t want to deal with the rush of people in the city centre. Were the prices not as low as you’d have liked online? Or maybe you’re just worried that the busy season is going to cause shipping delays that mean the presents don’t arrive in time.

Well, worry no more. The Cooperative of Photography is here to help, with some last minute gift ideas for the photographer in your life.

No Snow? No Problem! This tip will let you create a snowy paradise anywhere!

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I had a few minutes today to run through this cool idea to turn previous season shots into a snowy place of glory! It came to me after a friend asked to buy some background plates from me for a snowy shoot that I did recently.

To save money I now have a suggestion that you guys can try!

I photograph the magical winter with my children to immortalise the holiday season

On those short winter days when the roads are covered in snow, I take photos of my kids and their cousins to preserve the magic of this wonderful season. Both indoors and outdoors, during short days and long winter evenings, I capture the feeling of anticipation and nostalgia. With those photos I try to recall the feelings I used to have in my heart when I was a child and try to make others remember the magic of Christmas too.

My models are my two sons and my two nieces. My inspiration for those photos are animated movies, story books for children and life – watching kids as they play and memories from my own childhood. Although I take photos all year winter time has a special place in my heart with its special kind of magic.

How to photograph LED Christmas lights

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At this time of year, having Christmas lights in the background of your shots is not only common, it’s desired. Especially for those bokeh fanatics. The last few years, though, there’s been a trend away from the more traditional Christmas lights toward low energy LEDs. Being in the room with them, just looking at them, it’s likely that most people will never see the difference. To a camera, however, it’s a different story.

In this video from LensProToGo, Mike shows us the different types of LED Christmas lights available. He goes through the qualities and issues with each of them, and how to overcome those with our photography.

How to build your own heart and star shaped DIY ringlights

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It’s December. So it’s safe to talk about Christmas now, right? While the technique isn’t specifically related to Christmas, these videos obviously are. The music kinda gives it away. In this pair of videos, YouTuber Eva Landry builds up two DIY ringlights from scratch. One in the shape of a heart, the other a star.

The construction is pretty straightforward using only cardboard, tinfoil, a string of Christmas lights and some gaffer tape. For a quick build, though, they seem to work very well. You’re also not limited to just hearts and stars, obviously. You can make them whatever shape you wish.

Portraits with Christmas Guns

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Gun ownership is a pretty heated topic these days, but apparently guns and ammunition are popular Christmas gifts among gun supporters.

Hearing how many people show up at the firing range the day after Christmas to try out their new weapons, Fstoppers’ Patrick Hall set out to capture portraits of Americans enjoying their Christmas guns.

This Star-trails Light Painting was made by A Drone

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German drone makers, Ascending Technologies just redefined light painting. The company makes high end drones and drone software and to take their technology to the extremes, they made a series of Santa Light Painting which actually resulted in a short movie.

The company used an LED mounted Falcon 8 – their own octa-copter. Way points were set with AscTec Navigator – software capable on creating high-res way points that enabled the complex drawing.

2015 DIYP Gift Guide – Cameras

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Black Friday may have come and gone, but if you’re anything like us, there’s still plenty left on your Christmas shopping list. To help you narrow down your decisions for either yourself or photography-loving friends and family, we’re creating a five part gift guide.

The first installment (this one) will focus on the most important part of any photographers arsenal – a camera. From inexpensive action cams to top of the line DSLRs, we’ll share with you some of our favorite cameras available to pick up this year.

2015 DIYP Gift Guide – Lenses

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With our camera gift guide taken care of, we’re on to the next piece of gear you’ll be needing – lenses.

For part two of our round-up, we’ve gathered some of the best glass from both first party and third party manufacturers. From smartphone lens attachments to the classic ‘Thrifty Fifty,’ we have you and your Christmas shopping list covered.

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