How to Photograph Christmas Lights with your Phone

A quick and easy guide to taking better phone pictures this Christmas! With a few of these tips you'll be the coolest kid on Instagram.

Author:: April Davis
Updated:: Nov 16, 2018
Original:: Dec 18, 2016

Here's a quick and easy guide to taking better cell-phone pics this Christmas! Taking decent pictures in front of Christmas lights can be a challenge, but with a few of these tips you'll be the coolest kid on Instagram.

1. Avoid Using the Flash

Flash gives red eye, and really downplays the lights in the back.

Without the flash brings out the lights more but...

Using a friends phone flashlight is the best way to go! My husband came up with this brilliant trick! This gives side lighting, which usually looks better and allows the Christmas lights to really shine through!

2. Don't Selfie

The front facing camera in a phone is a lower-resolution camera and doesn't do as well, especially at night. It's always going to go at least a little bit better if you you use the back camera and have someone else take it. That way you can include your entire family as well!

3. Use a Tripod

If you don't have anyone else to take your pic, and even if you do-this is a handy little toy that will really help your pictures at night. It can wrap it's legs around tree branches, be a short selfie stick or be propped up anywhere.

4. Edit Your Pictures

While this is not the best photo I've ever taken, it's definitely been improved with editing (you can see the original above). I used the VSCO app, but really most editing apps do a better job than doing nothing. Even Instagram's editing tools and filters can usually sharpen and brighten a photo. The key is to take the best photo you can in the first place so that the editing is minimal.