PictureCorrect.com: Christmas Lights Photography Exercise

Amazing lights are everywhere this time of year, which makes them easy to overlook. Most people photograph them as decoration — wide shots of trees, houses, and streets that feel familiar but rarely memorable. This challenge is about doing the opposite. Instead of documenting the season, you’re using Christmas lights as a creative tool to shape mood, depth, and story.

Relevant note: only a little while left for the Photography Exercises Holiday Sale

Photo captured by Annie Spratt

Create a mini photo series (3–5 images) that tells a holiday story using Christmas lights as the main light source—not just decoration.

This pushes you to treat lights as subjects, foregrounds, backgrounds, and mood-setters, not just pretty bokeh.

The Rules

• Every image must include Christmas or holiday lights
• Lights must influence the composition or mood, not just appear in the frame
• No flash
• Shoot over multiple days if needed

The 5 Shots to Capture

1. Lights as the Subject

• The lights are the photo
• Focus on shape, color, pattern, or repetition
• Avoid cliché “tree wide shots”—get closer than feels comfortable

2. Lights as Foreground

• Shoot through lights
• Let them frame the scene or partially obscure the subject
• Use wide apertures or phone portrait effects sparingly

3. Lights as Background Mood

• Subject first, lights second
• Use distance to control bokeh size
• Think cozy, cinematic, intimate—not busy

4. Motion + Lights

Add movement:

• People walking
• Cars passing
• Camera movement (intentional blur)

One sharp anchor + moving light = magic

5. Quiet Holiday Moment

• No obvious celebration
• Empty street, glowing window, single ornament, late-night calm
• This is often the strongest image

Optional “Hard Mode” Constraints

Pick one:

• One image must be black & white
• One image must use manual exposure or exposure lock
• One image must be shot handheld under 1/10s
• One image must avoid any recognizable Christmas symbols except lights

Christmas lights are easy to photograph — but difficult to photograph well. The difference is intention. When you stop treating them as decoration and start treating them as light, they become a storytelling tool rather than a seasonal cliché.

If one image from this exercise makes someone pause and think, “How did you get that?” — you succeeded. Not because of the lights themselves, but because you learned to see what they were capable of.

For Further Training:

A Holiday Sale is happening now on the PictureCorrect Photography Exercises, a practical way to build confidence in manual mode and tackle challenging shooting situations that often trip photographers up. Each exercise focuses on real-world scenarios—difficult light, motion, exposure decisions, and creative problem-solving—so you learn how to take control instead of relying on auto settings.

If you want clearer direction and stronger results when conditions get tough, these exercises provide a simple, structured way to improve. Don’t miss the Holiday Sale, and use it as an opportunity to strengthen your skills and shoot with more control and confidence.

Deal ending soon: PictureCorrect Photography Exercises Holiday Sale

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