Holiday Photo Fails: When Kids And Santa Don't Mix

Whether you're racing to the mall on Christmas Eve for a photo of your child with Santa Claus, or planning to stalk your kiddo paparazzi-style as she rips into presents, parents want to capture every moment of holiday joy. But throw in noisy crowds, camera flashes and strangers and you're just as likely to capture a full-on tot-sized meltdown.

Mandi Tamasi from Cumming, Georgia, said she brought her children to a Christmas tree farm this year when one of her children had a meltdown.

"We were there to pick out a tree and my daughter really wanted to see Santa," she told Patch. "I thought my son would do fine because he's usually pretty good with strangers, but not this time! He screamed the whole time. I finally picked him up so my daughter could tell Santa what she wanted. It made for some cute pictures, that's for sure!"

Melissa Fernandez said her kids, "never melted down...but the younger one had a few years where he wouldn’t go near (Santa)... and that still true for most characters anywhere, like the Ninja at Legoland."

Mary Wagner, from Buford, Georgia, drove to the Bass Pro store in Lawrenceville, this year and said it created a memorable experience.

"Santa was so very nice but our little guy was NOT having it," she said. "There was about five seconds before the crying where I thought we might be OK, but nope!"

Mendy Parker Moore, from Canton, Georgia, said she will always cherish her "Upside Down Santa" photo.

"My 20-month old twins were not interested in Santa so my husband and I had to jump in the picture, said Moore. "My son kept throwing himself backwards as part of his tantrum so my husband tried to roll with it. The photographer saw an opportunity and now we have a photo that we cherish. It represents the reality of our lives at that time. We call this Upside Down Santa."

So how do you capture heart-warming photos of your kids, or pets in holiday scenes and settings? Patch has compiled some holiday photo-taking tips to help.

Taking your child for a photo with Santa? Here are 10 do and don'ts listed on baby-chick.com.

• DO read books with pictures of Santa to your child days before your visit. It gets them used to seeing jolly old Saint Nick.
• DON’T have picture day with Santa at the mall on the weekends. Crowds, chaos, and Christmas don’t mix well.
• DO take them a few days earlier to see the layout of Santa’s house and to show them other kids interacting with Santa.
• DON’T be uptight and stressed. A child can sense what you’re feeling, and will react the same way.
• DO dress them in comfortable clothing. The fancy dress and bow tie may look cute, but may not be so comfortable adding to the stress of your child.
• DO talk to them when you’re in line. Talk about how much fun you’re having and maybe glance over the book you shared earlier.
• DO distract your child if you hear another child with Santa crying. Start singing a Christmas carol and have them join in.
• DON’T let someone else grab your child to put him/her on Santa’s lap. The grabbing scares a child, and when it’s a stranger doing it — it impacts the fear.
• DON’T force a child to sit on Santa’s lap, if they don’t want to. It sends the wrong message and could make your child fear Santa in the future.
• DON’T yell or get angry with your child, because they’re upset. That confuses them, because they know you as their protector.
• DO comfort your child if they’re upset, and tell them “it’s ok.” Leave the area right away, but don’t panic.
• REMEMBER there’s always next year.

Here are five tips for family portraits from betterphoto.com.

Compose Creatively and Move in Close

Whether you are photographing the symbolic subjects of the holidays or your friends and family, getting creative with your composition certainly cannot hurt. This means paying special attention to how you organize the various elements in each photo.

There are two main concepts to keep in mind when composing the scene artistically:

1. Off-center your main subject. Instead of placing your main subject in the center of the scene - with a lot of dead space around it - move your camera until this subject is off to the side. This works especially well if you can balance your main subject with something in the background, on the other side of the picture. For example, if you are photographing a beautiful candle, try placing it on the right with the Christmas tree (or an equivalent supporting element) blurred softly in the background on the left. This will result in a photo that both records the candle in all its beauty and does so in an artistic, creative way.
2. Move in close. Especially when you center your subject but even when you off-center it, moving in close is the one thing that will make the biggest difference in the success of your picture-taking. The simple fact is the audiences are always more impressed when the subject is huge and impossible to miss. Therefore, you want your subject to fill the frame.

For Better Family and Group Portraits

Not everyone wants to be roped into a group photo, so the pressure is on to get the shot done quickly. Take a lot of shots, but work quickly to keep the complaining to a minimum, and hopefully ensure that next year family and friends look forward to the photo session.

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later

Especially if your subject is a child opening a gift, or a pet playing, you know the scene can change in an instant. So be prepared to capture that moment when it happens, which means having your camera or cell phone on hand and the batteries fully charged. Shoot quickly and shoot often.

Don't Use Flash Indoors

Turn off your flash indoors, whenever you can. A burst of artificial light can mean the difference between a decent photo and a totally blurry, unusable image. But the light from flash units - especially the small flashes built in to most cameras - tend to produce harsh, flat, and cold light that is unflattering.

If you are shooting indoors during the day, make your portraits with your subjects standing near a window or door instead of relying on the flash. Get between your subject and the window; don't include the window in your composition.

If you are shooting indoors at night, try to flood the room where you are photographing with as much light as you can - turn on whatever lamps you have at hand. This will help reduce those harsh, flashed-out subjects, as well as other problems like red-eye.

Use Flash Outdoors

Flash can be a big help when it comes to shooting outdoors during the day. Even in bright sunlight, forcing your flash to fire can often mean the difference between a so-so snapshot and an eye-grabbing masterpiece.
The reason is that this kind of bright day flash will fill in the shadows and even out harsh contrasts.

Here's one fantastic key to pet photography, according to chewy.com.

Patience is Key

Be patient and understand that your pet doesn’t know what your intentions are, so you have to work with them to get that million-dollar shot. Take breaks when photographing pets so they expend some energy and don’t get frustrated. Your pet may have an attention span similar to that of small child, which means patience is key, and frequent breaks are essential.

Photos courtesy Patch Facebook fans