Before you go
Check you have your camera and the batteries are charged (good advice in all circumstances)!
Take some photos in the house after you get ready, and before you leave for the party. A plain background will set off your outfits well, but if you want to go really seasonal, why not pose in front of the Christmas tree (next year's Christmas card perhaps...)?
Shoot Early
Photos of you and yours shouting into the camera are great facebook fodder, but more flattering images come from the earlier part of the evening!
This is more important if there is a group shot you really want to get...once everyone has a drink it will be even more difficult to round them all up. When shooting a group, be sure to take a few shots - by the law of averages, the more people there are, the more likely you are to catch someone blinking. Try and make it fun for all involved, and don't monopolise anyone's evening. You are there to party after all.
If you are at a sit down meal, a quick run around the table photographing the couples/groups can be a good way to catch everyone there (preferably before there are messy used plates in the way).
Get Arty
If the trimmings at the venue catch your eye, why not grab a couple of macro shots in an idle moment. Catching the venue name on the way in can help tell the story if you are very keen. (I have also been known to photograph the food as it arrives too!)
Murder on the Dancefloor
Disco lights are very tricky to deal with. There is nothing like over using flash to cancel out the atmosphere of the disco or band. If you are not a pro gig photographer, best to treat these images as experimental. Try using your camera's night mode and see what results you get (this is likely to do a slow shutter speed followed by a late burst of flash). Of course, your preferred course of action may be to safely abandon your camera and get on and join the party.
Enjoy Yourself
I may say this too much on my blog, but unless you are being paid to photograph the party, or have made a comittment to do so, you are not obliged to see the whole evening through a camera lens. If you have just got a new bit of kit, that might be exactly what you want to do, but otherwise don't forget you can put the camera down.
Either way, have a great evening, I wish you the very slightest of hangovers the next day and a very Merry Christmas.
Article Source: Debbie_Stogden
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