Decorating the prop Christmas Tree - Opinions??

[AdrianeCale]

My mother was in a Christmas-y mood today, and since my stepfather absolutely refuses to let her put up a tree before Thanksgiving, she came over to my place and set up my studio's prop Christmas Tree.

I have 2 trees to choose from, a white pre-lit tree, and a green pre-lit tree. Last year, we used the green tree at the studio, and the white one at home. But now, my studio is in my home, so I only need 1 tree.

Here is a quick crop from a shot from last year:

http://www.through-the-looking-glass-photography.com/images/IMG_5558.jpg

And here is what my mom threw together with what I had picked up last year.

http://www.through-the-looking-glass-photography.com/images/IMG_2288.JPG

We decided to go with the white tree, but I'm starting to second guess it. We used different shades of silver and different textures and patterns of black ornaments. I'm just not quite sure if I like it. I think once I get all the packages and whatnot it might look better. I need to get a different tree skirt for sure.

Should I ad some more color? I am wanting something a little different than your normal tree, but I just don't know if this will work.

Any opinions? Can anyone show me how they've decorated their trees in the past?

[AdrianeCale]

No one, huh??

Moderators, could you delete or move this thread to a place where someone may reply?

[in plain sight]

I would suggest looking at some of the high end Christmas displays and taking ideas from those.

[AdrianeCale]

high end Christmas displays

Like where?

[in plain sight]

Around Colorado Springs they are already setting up Christmas displays in the department stores in the mall. They usually all have beautiful displays. There are also some year round Christmas stores in this area too. I don't know what all would be around were you live, but I hope this helps.

[AdrianeCale]

Nope, not really, but thanks for the advice. I'm in a small town, and the nearest mall is about 60 miles away, and they've been using the same tree for the last 20 years that I've never really been too fond of... It's hard to be a Jew at Christmas... I've never been good with Christmas trees, and only 1 other family in town would have a use for my menorah...

I don't really think this year's tree looks too bad, and I don't want the same style from year to year. I just really don't know what else to do with it. I'm thinking about adding some more color, but I can't decide what color. Of course, your standard Christmas colors are red and green, but now-a-days people are going for more modern trees, which was my attempt here. The tree isn't very big, so I don't want huge ornaments... I just don't know what to do.

[FlyingPhotog]

IMO, your white tree is gonna be a PITA...

It's going to blow out or nearly so (exposure wise) well before you get decent light on any subjects surrounding it...

[AdrianeCale]

IMO, your white tree is gonna be a PITA...

That's what I'm thinking too...

I took this shot of my mother after she was done. The tree doesn't look too blown out, I see a few hot spots, but otherwise not too bad. This has no PP done to it.

http://www.through-the-looking-glass-photography.com/images/IMG_2285.JPG

[in plain sight]

Some of the more recent trendy color combos for Christmas are red/silver, blue/silver, gold/copper/chocolate. You said the tree was not very big so you didn't want to go with big ornaments, but adding a few big ornaments might be a good thing. You might want to think about going with a topper that has more presence for your full tree shots too. I like the toppers similar to THIS ONE (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10136027). You can usually get them outside of the kits.

[AdrianeCale]

I do have one other topper, but the problem with this tree, and the green one I have, is that the branch the topper goes on isn't strong enough to keep in standing straight up. I'm considering adding that really pretty blue I've seen ornaments in.

[in plain sight]

I think the blue would look good with what you already have. The top branch not holding toppers up is pretty typical. My husband usually handles getting that to work out and I don't know how he does it. I would ask but he is TDY (he's military) right now.

[AdrianeCale]

Alright, I head to the store later on, maybe tomorrow, and pick up a set of the blue ornaments and see how those look... if all else fails... set up the green tree and decorate it.

[Dermit]

Thoughts...
The green tree is predominantly dark (low key) and the white one light (high key). I think there is good use for both trees and which one you use should depend on the color of clothes the person is wearing. For example the one with your mother i would have shot in front of the green tree since she is wearing low key clothes. Now for someone wearing lgihter, or high key clothes I would use the white tree.

Another thought is to not use a tree at all but create a backdrop with wreathes, lights, ornaments, etc. For me the background should show a hint of the theme/season. For an individual shot or even a couple you can position them in such a way where they are the main items in the frame and the tree/decorations are just a slight blur in the background. But expand your shoot to a family of 5 or more and now you need a bigger tree, or some other decor to fill the background space. Where with a backdrop of just left to right top to bottm wreathes, bulbs, etc. you can more easily create a nice background for larger groups.

[AdrianeCale]

Ok, thought maybe I should update this, just in case someone actually cared to see what I went with.

http://www.through-the-looking-glass-photography.com/images/Tinsman001c.JPG

I kept the white tree just because I wanted something different (and I don't like decorating trees!). Went with the same scenic background I used last year, just because it works the best with the scene. I took off the black balls and replaced them with some red, and dressed up my chair with a Christmas blanket. I was able to light the people and the tree without any problems. I had my key light (at about 1/2 power I believe) to the left of me to light the subjects, and used my "fill" light (at about 1/4 or 1/8th power) to light the tree on my right, and used my 430EX (set to manual, bounced off the wall to the left, at about 1/8th power) to fill in some minor shadows on the kids. I brightened it up a little bit more in DPP, but that's all I did PP-wise.

I've decided that next year, I'm going to have 2 trees. The green will be decorated the exact way it was in my first post (with maybe a little more added), and the white is going to be the more modern style. That way, I have options!

[in plain sight]

It looks good.

[LinFu]

I looks nice. I really like the lighting, although I'd have put the white present on the ground and left the copper one out. Sometimes too many elements in a photo can be distracting.

You have a very nice family photo, but in the background you have a window and decorated cloths, which diminish the attention you want on your family

[Dermit]

The lighting looks good, the decorations are alright. But in looking at the arrangement of the family I do not like how disconnected and apart some of them are with no interaction.

[AdrianeCale]

Disconnected and apart?? This is just one shot from the whole sitting, I'm just showing what the scene ended up looking. I wasn't asking for C&C on the pose or the people, just the scene itself.

[Dermit]

Disconnected and apart?? This is just one shot from the whole sitting, I'm just showing what the scene ended up looking. I wasn't asking for C&C on the pose or the people, just the scene itself.

Sorry. Did not mean to offend. OK, the scene... I don't care for it and it goes back to what I said earlier. You put a white (high key) Christmas tree on a dark-ish (low key) background and that is where our attention is drawn to. And this is where it is tough to tell you about the scene and not mention the subjects because sometimes you can have a dynamite scene/props and if you do not sync it with your subjects properly it can all fall apart... but I guess you don't want to know about that. :confused:

You put that green tree in the scene instead of the white one, with the subjects you have here, as they are dressed, and you have an image that is 100% better than this one with the white tree. Reason being that the subjects are wearing green, red, etc. just like the tree and some of the background. You blend their attire with the background and props and now our attention is on their faces, where it should be.

You want to use the white tree then use a light (high key) background, like a snow scene, etc. and have the subjects wear light colored attire.

[AdrianeCale]

I do get what you're saying. But rules are made to be broken. Just because it's a high-key tree doesn't necessarily mean that a high-key backdrop is going to work with it. I was going more for contrast, like I've said before, I want something different. To each their own, right? I was going for a more natural "home-y" type of look. I'm about to rip out the carpet in my studio and put hardwood floors and a faux fireplace in, so this is what I had to work with for now, and what I thought looked the best. And to me, this looks like a group of kids standing around waiting to open presents that wouldn't fit in the frame.

I read your earlier post, and to be honest, couldn't really picture in my mind what you're talking about as far as a background. Would you happen to have any pictures of what you're talking about?

[Dermit]

I do get what you're saying. But rules are made to be broken. Just because it's a high-key tree doesn't necessarily mean that a high-key backdrop is going to work with it. I was going more for contrast, like I've said before, I want something different. To each their own, right? I was going for a more natural "home-y" type of look. I'm about to rip out the carpet in my studio and put hardwood floors and a faux fireplace in, so this is what I had to work with for now, and what I thought looked the best. And to me, this looks like a group of kids standing around waiting to open presents that wouldn't fit in the frame.

I read your earlier post, and to be honest, couldn't really picture in my mind what you're talking about as far as a background. Would you happen to have any pictures of what you're talking about?

Yes, rules can often be broken and work well. But that does not mean you can just break them at will and call it good. There is a time and place to break them. If you are going for high contrast, you got it... but you got with the tree in high contrast with everything else. This is great if you are shooting an ad to sell the tree. But in my opinion it is not good if you are trying to bring attention to the family itself... more specifically their faces.

But, bottom line is if your clients are loving it, keep doing it. Their votes with cash will win over my votes of opinion every time. I'm just saying to think about the overall look and feel of the image and ask yourself where your eye goes first, second, etc. ....or better yet ask someone not familiar with your setup and image to look at it and where their attention goes. To me, the tree seems out of place. A cold, hard point of contrast in an otherwise warm environment and it screams for my attention.

My earlier post was eluding to the problem of trying to pose larger groups with a prop like a tree. The tree will eventuall become lost and add to the confusion of too many things to look at. So the solution would be to just have a background in larger groups and no 'prop' included with the group. And if you wanted to keep a 'tree' type of look and feel you could decorate the background with evergreen garland and lights/bulbs, etc. and just have it as one big background. But the background you have is nice on it's own too.

[Rachel B]

Its not bad-however if you can it may be worth switching out some of the light decorations as the tree seems to eat them up

I think next year having two trees is an awsome idea-I prefer green-but was to late to reply for the first question :)

[acchildress]

To me the white one looks too plain on "film". The silver balls fade into the background, leaving the other colors looking misplaced. I would go with all dark colors, and maybe something draped over the branches.

Look at the green tree. All of the balls stand out giving it a balanced look. THere is a tinsel (wrong word) string draped over the branches.

[swoCanuk]

As a florist, I'll give you my 2 cents worth. I think that white trees are "out" but if you want to use it I think you have to change your background & theme colors to maybe blue with silver accents. I personnally prefer the warmer tones of the green tree with your traditional christmas theme colors. If you would like a change for your green tree, try some new decorations in golds or copper tones and match that up with the wrapping paper on your gifts and any other props. Also cover the bottom of your tree with fabric or hide the stem with the parcels or props. Having two options is fine but don't just swap the trees. You need to think in terms of having a color theme.