Now's the time for family photos

Statistics show that more family photographs get taken between December 24th and January 2nd than at any other comparable time of year.

Source?

Me.

Okay, so I made that one up. But it sounds good, doesn't it? And I suspect that it's true. After all, Christmas is a family time, when people travel thousands of kilometres to be together with their family. And being together they naturally want to take photos of the occasion. On top of that, many people get a camera as a Christmas present - and what better way to try it out on than than to take family photographs.

That's what prompted me to write my latest book ...

In it I cover pretty well all you need to know to get great family photographs including:

• Photographing family groups in a variety of different ways, from formal groups to candid photography
• Portraiture
• Self portraits (because who photographs the photographer of the family?)
• Children
• Pets (because they're part of the family too)
• Lighting techniques
• Getting sharp, well-exposed shots (with trouble-shooting examples to help you identify what may have gone wrong with a shot)

... and much more.

You can find out more, and take a peek inside the book, here. (Please note: this is an E-book, in the form of a PDF file, which you either read on your computer or print out at whatever size you want and put into a conventional, stationery-type file.)

And, as a special Christmas gift to my faithful followers (all 24 of you) I'd like to offer you a copy free of charge. Just shoot me an e-mail, or leave a comment requesting your freebie.

Happy Christmas, and here's to getting some truly great family photographs that will be heirlooms in 50 years time.