Believe it or not, the holidays are right around the corner! But how can we take advantage of the festivities in 360 degrees, and during such strange times with restrictions varying from place to place? Truth be told, there are still so many ways to capture meaningful holiday photography this year, and many that you may consider during any normal holiday season. We’ll condense the list for easy reading, but with a little creativity, the holidays can be captured both indoors and outdoors, in aesthetics and activities with your THETA 360 camera!

In the front yard or a public park, outdoor holiday decor can take things to the next level. For the best all-encompassing imagery, try using a selfie stick to get proper elevation and the best angles. If you’re shooting at night (A.K.A. the best time to shoot holiday decorations), you’ll want to make sure the quality is clear – luckily we already have a Night View preset on the THETA basic mobile app for THETA SC2 models, while HDR rendering is available for other THETA 360 cameras. Once enabled, this preset will make Christmas and Hannukah lights pop!

▼Try moving the image around in any direction!▼

Another suggestion, which is possibly overlooked by many, is to consider busting out your THETA 360 camera at dinner time for a family holiday selfie around the table! Likely the only time you can wrangle everyone together into a single room, this is your best shot at getting everyone together, ugly sweaters and all, to smile as they enjoy a delicious meal. If you want the meal to be at the forefront of your photo, be sure to arrange them closely and follow the rest of our tips in this brief guide.

If you’re going solo this holiday season for the safety of yourself or loved ones, you can still get creative with your THETA 360 and make a double selfie with the Time Shift Shooting mode. All you have to do is change spots before the timer expires and you can find yourself on both ends of a 360 image – a fun idea and a funny photo to share with family as you celebrate remotely!

Finally, we have to talk about the decor inside your home. If you didn’t already know, THETA 360 cameras are well regarded among interior designers and realtors for their ability to capture professional-grade photos and videos of indoor spaces – this bodes well for anyone with flashy festivities in their house! Our recommendation? Plant your camera in a central location and shoot for the best results, and if brightness is an issue, be sure to check out our tips for using HDR rendering. If you’d like to stay out of your photography, you can hide and shoot remotely with your smartphone on the THETA mobile app, or through a Bluetooth shutter button. Another easy solution is to use the Time Shift Shooting mode we mentioned earlier, and you can just step out of the frame depending on which lens shoots first. For a quick and easy guidento all these options, see here.

Speaking of family, what are the holidays all about? That answer is likely different for each of you, but one consistent thing is probably gifts! If you’ve loved your THETA 360 camera, then why not spread the love and pass on your 360 photography passion with a friend or relative? We encourage you to consider wrapping up a THETA 360 camera or putting it in a stocking (since it’s so compact) as a nice holiday surprise for a loved one.

Before you sign of for the end of the year, we’d like to wish all our readers and fellow 360 photographers a happy holiday season, and we look forward to seeing all the festive imagery you share with us in the new year!

For more details, please visit the product page.

Credit: AlexEtJeremy, @shawna.rodgers