Getting great Christmas Tree Shots

[kirbym2]

Wanting to take some indoor pics of our Christmas tree, but I can't seem to nail the shot. Any tips on this? I'm trying to capture the warmth of the room/tree when only the tree is lit. I seem to blow out the lights (particularly the angel on top). If I meter for the angel, then I lose all detail in the tree. I can't seem to get it right.

Any compositional tips - Maybe I shouldn't aim to get the entire tree in the shot.

Lastly - For those that may know, if I'm wanting to take a shot of my daughter in front of the tree, and still capture the warmth from above - are there any settings you would recommend. I've tried flash - and it ends up way to bright... I've tried M, TTL, dialed down the FEC. I don't know if the room is just too small, or if I'm going about this the wrong way. Would you recommend ditching the flash for this, and cranking up the iso? I've noticed that I can get her exposed at the sacrifice of losing any light from the tree, or I can get the tree looking decent, but my daughter way underexposed... There's got to be a way!

Thanks!

 

[caughtmyeye]

I just set the exposure and mine came out alright. I have mine on the p setting.

 

[tirediron]

The best way to do this will be trial and error; the light sources are too small to give really accurate meter-readings. I would increase the ISO a bit, and stop down to somewhere around f8-11, put the camera on a tripod (or solid surface) and see what you can get in starting around the 1/4 second time, and go up/down from there. Once you get the tree dialed in, then put your daughter in front and set up your flash; (I'm assuming you don't have the ability to trigger it off-camera) in manual, and again, start at 1/4 or 1/8 power, and add a diffuser (If you don't already have one, there should be plenty in your wife's Tupperware drawer), and without changing any of the other exposure settings, increase/decrease flash output 'til you get the right (or as close as you can) exposure.

 

[jwbryson1]

Lastly - For those that may know, if I'm wanting to take a shot of my daughter in front of the tree, and still capture the warmth from above - are there any settings you would recommend.
Thanks!

Have you tried shooting with your shutter speed in "slow" mode, camera on a tripod and bouncing the light off a wall or the ceiling?

 

[redessa]

Here's a how to: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – How to Photograph Your Christmas Tree Pure Photoshop Actions but it doesn't work with people in it. The shutter speed is way too slow.