We asked Mashable readers to photograph their holiday celebrations for our most recent photo challenge. We saw many festive images of brightly lit trees and candles atop tables of delicious-looking feasts, as well as families playing indoor and outdoor games together.
See also: 10 Festive Photos of Custom Holiday Packaging
This week's submissions proved that the holiday season truly is a time for honoring traditions and spending time with loved ones. We've featured some of our favorites, below. You can also view the full gallery, here.
Thanks for celebrating with us!
Merry Christmas
We mustache you to have a Merry Christmas #mustache #merrychristmas #mashpics #christmasdinner
While a solid, clean backdrop does draw attention to the main subject, sometimes objects look better when photographed in front of relevant backgrounds.
Image: Flickr, LornaWatt
Flash will reflect off a glass window, so it's likely that your photo will look like one giant beam of light. Since that isn't what you want, get close to your window and shoot without flash, or open your window for an even clearer view without reflections.
Get creative with your diptychs -- if you want to add an old-school touch, you can combine two Polaroid or Fujifilm Instax Mini images.
Image: Flickr, Grant Hutchinson
The most ideal conditions for taking panoramic photos are scenes that have a single subject (preferably unmoving) and whose broad surroundings are rich in color and serve to enhance that subject.
Image: Flickr, Moss, Coconino National Forest
First, clear the surrounding area of any harsh light to prevent glare. If this is not possible, move around and try photographing from different angles to reduce glare.
Next, try reducing the brightness of your screen. This will make taking a photo with both a well exposed screen and well exposed background easier.
Finally, if you have an external flash, point it toward your background rather than directly at your screen.
Image: Flickr, Evan
It can be hard to perfect symmetry in a photo -- often times you'll find that there is an uneven weight distribution in your shot. When this happens, look for a point of interest and make it the center of your photo -- then balancing both sides will become a lot easier.
When guest curator Andreas Wonisch shoots skyscape photos, he makes sure to include part of the landscape as well. "It works wonders to show something interesting in the foreground to lead into the rest of the image."
When guest curator Victor Bezrukov photographs shadows, he makes sure to wait for the perfect moment to click his shutter. "The bicycle was already tied when I found it, but the challenge was to wait to catch the strong light of the passing cars," he said.
When guest curator Marla Meridith photographs food for her food and lifestyle blog, she looks for the best ingredients and the most colorful settings. "Find the freshest, most vibrant ingredients," she says. "And don't be afraid to carefully color enhance!"
Guest curator Vivienne Gucwa uses Lightroom, the Nik Software Suite and VSCO to edit her non-mobile photographs. "Try to notice all of the editing functions that change for each preset," she says. "Then play around with each function to understand the effect it can have on your photography."
When editing his photos, guest curator Paul R. Giunta only tweaks the exposure, white balance, and contrast. "I never touch the sharpen slider or saturation," he says. "I want the photographs to represent exactly what it looked like during the show."
Guest curator Kim Landgraf uses Adobe Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro 2 to edit his photos after shooting in RAW. "The RAW format gives you much more freedom for editing afterwards," he says.
Guest curator David Gamboa takes amazing #jumpstagrams in unique settings. "Shooting from very low, at eye-level and high up can alter a photo in crazy ways," he says. "Try some of them out and see what I mean."
Guest curator Adam Senatori, who specializes in aerial photography, makes subtle adjustments to his photos before publishing them. "Adjusting color temperature and contrast are critical to any photo," he says. "But I use most adjustments sparingly, never overdo anything! Subtle is best." He also believes photos taken on an iPhone require different edits than photos taken on a DSLR. "For the iPhone I typically bump up the temp," he says. "I feel that native iPhone shots are on the cool side."
When photographing silhouettes, it can be easy to accidentally overexpose your scene. Guest curator Nicole S. Young uses specific techniques to make sure this doesn't happen. "If your metering mode is set to something such as 'spot metering,' then you'll end up exposing for the subject and overexposing your sky," she said. "So you will need to do one of two things: underexpose your photograph (this will make your subject black and your sky properly exposed), or pre-focus the camera and point it at the sky so it meters for the light in the sky, and not the light from your subject."
Guest curator Alex Koloskov specializes in splash photography. "To get a decent splash shot with only one light source, use clear water (or any other clear liquid) and highlight the background, not the splash itself," he says.
Guest curator Rose Sauquillo takes a lot of shots of walls head-on, but still manages to give them a sense of depth. "Depth can be achieved by adding a vignette, making a colorful subject the focal point, how you compose the shot, or through lighting," she says.
Our guest curator Zak Shelhamer says timing and composition are key elements in good photography. You can use wearable cameras such as the GoPro, the JVC ADIXXION, or the Sony Action Cam to take perfectly timed shots of yourself in action. "Your photos should be able to show viewers what you're seeing and what it feels like to be where you are," Shelhamer says.
Our guest curator Timmy McGurr takes hundreds of photos at a time, but is very selective when choosing his final few to publish. "Just because you shoot a bunch of images from a bunch of different angles doesn't mean you need to post it all," he says. "Learning how to edit and how to decipher what to publish and what not publish is just as important."
Dave Fung and Yena Kim, co-founders of Menswear Dog, use programs and apps like Photoshop, Camera+, Instagram and Hipstamatic regularly. "Effects can make a quirky photo even more whimsical by giving it a vintage feel," they say. "Any number of filters and effects in Camera+ and Photoshop can achieve this."
Guest curator Finn Beales does freelance photography often using just his iPhone. He uses Average Camera Pro and Slow Shutter Cam to take long exposure shots, and then VSCO Cam and AfterLight to add finishing touches to his photos. "Because of the long exposure time, you shouldn't hold your phone in your hands," he says. "Either use a tripod or lean it against something to get sharp results."
Guest curater Dylan Isbell makes sure to steer away from the obvious and capture the things that might be a bit hidden. "Look up, down… all around," he says. "Also look beyond the reflection of yourself to see what play in front and behind you."
Our guest curator Matt Lutton values consistency when he photographs. He uses the same programs each time he edits his photos in order to maintain similar colors and movement. "I try to be as consistent with editing and toning as possible," he says. "These two photos were taken months and hundreds of miles apart, but when next to each other they evoke the same feelings and emotions."
Our Mashable Photo Challenge guest curator Kevin Truong believes light is everything in photography. "Whether it's soft or harsh, from a window or a flash, when used effectively it can beautifully set the mood for the photograph," he says.
Our guest curator Liz Eswein uses two apps to apply filters and text to some of her Instagram photos. Liz says, "One of my favorite editing apps is AfterLight -- it provides such a great array of filters! Also, Over is one of my favorites -- great fonts and steedicons to use on your photos."
Guest curator Brian Difeo uses Snapseed to adjust contrast, sharpness and saturation on his photos before posting them to Instagram. Brian says, "I take photos in the iPhone native app, and I take a LOT of photos so I have many options. In the native app I'll tap the screen to adjust the focus and exposure, and take some photos in HDR too. This way I have variety of photos to choose from before I edit and share on Instagram."
Our Mashable Photo Challenge guest curator Murad Ossmann uses these smartphone photo editing apps to touch up his photos before posting them to Instagram.
Photo courtesy of Murad Ossmann
Murad Ossmann has an Instagram following of almost 270,000, and his feed is full of stunning pictures based on the theme "Follow Me." These photos put a new spin on the traditional travel photo: instead of only photographing landmarks, he features his girlfriend leading him around the world by the hand.
Photo courtesy of Murad Ossmann
One of our guest curators, Santiago PerezGrovas uses natural light to shoot his photos. What began as a limitation (he didn't know how to uses professional flashes) became his signature style.
"In a world of perfection, the production of the photos we see everyday is overwhelming, to the point that everything has to be flawless," says Santiago. "I limit myself to use a simple camera, a model and the available light at the moment."
Image courtesy of Santiago PerezGrovas
Santiago has more than 80,000 followers on Instagram. He posts regular updates around a central theme (shots of models and his friends). His signature style is instantly recognizable.
Image courtesy of Santiago PerezGrovas
The winner of the Photo Challenge Series Dan Evans, Jr., says to use Elements for basic adjustments like cropping, color, contrast and brightness. It is also sophisticated enough to creatively alter a photo without being too complicated.
Image courtesy of Jeremy Cabalona
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Homepage image: Flickr, Luca Sartoni