In the words of Charles Dickens, “Of all the months of the year there is not a month one half so welcome to the young, or so full of happy associations, as the last month of the year.” Welcome to the month of December, thirty-one days that will fly by with the speed of a sled on an icy hill. It’ll be over before you know it, so how will you capture it?

Here at the Sweet Shoppe, we’ve spent each month of 2024 with a Baker’s Dozen of photo prompts to ensure we’re being purposeful about recording this sweet life we live. So here are thirteen new prompts to inspire your photography in the month of December.

December’s Photo Prompts:

A Little Inspiration…

Here’s a few ideas from my camera to help you get started.

Low Light or Backlight

This month will provide lots of opportunities for photos shot in low light or with minimal ambient lighting. Once your home is decorated for the holidays, turn off all the lights except those on the tree. Grab your camera and shoot a couple images with long exposure times (hint: a tripod will be your friend for these!) and you’ll be surprised how an ordinary room suddenly looks extraordinary in the glow of the lights.

Wrapped with Care

This prompt invites you to shoot a photo of presents you’ve carefully wrapped with paper, ribbon, and bows. But what else might you wrap with care? If there’s a young one in your life, why not place them in a box, surrounded by tissue paper, and snap a few holiday-themed portraits?

Out in the Yard

As much as we decorate the interior of our homes in December, we shouldn’t forget to photograph what’s happening outside in the yard. Do you string up lights on your house? Do you wrap your front door to look like a present? Do you – or a neighbor – set up over-the-top lawn art like this motorized Ferris wheel my father built? Be sure to grab some shots of what’s happening outside this month.

Filled with Joy

“Joy” means different things to different people. How could you capture an image that’s filled with joy? This is one of my favorite photos from a shoot I did in 2020 with my three grandsons in their Amma-made pajamas. I don’t know what my husband was doing behind me to make them laugh, but it helped me capture this joy-filled photo.

Bah Humbug

On the other end of the emotional spectrum, remember to be “real” in your photography and capture some of those less joyful moments. After all, the emotional highs of everything happening in December can make for some equally unhappy lows… and it’s funny to look back on the grumpy faces of tweens and teens or even the melt-downs of over-stimulated toddlers. My poor niece … she was sleepy, and unhappy with the hand she’d been dealt in our card game, and it made for the perfect “bah humbug” snapshot!

Found in My Tree

Many of us will decorate a tree in December – some big, some small – so be sure to capture an image or two of your favorite ornaments. Or, if you don’t set up a tree inside, what small treasures might you find in a tree outdoors? I discovered an envelope in my tree last year, sweetly hand-addressed to me by one of my grandchildren (who call me Amma). Seeing those letters, scrawled in crayon by a hand just learning to write, makes me all mushy inside!

Our Holiday Best

If you and your family get dressed up in your holiday best, take five minutes to set up a tripod and shoot a pic. Or if you have furry family members, why not get them dolled up in their holiday best and snap a photo instead? Sometimes, I think my two dogs are easier to photograph than most children, and all it costs me is a treat or two…

What Did You Get?

With so many opportunities for gift-giving, the one question asked over and over in December is “What did you get?” Make sure you have your camera handy and capture both the gifts they’ve received and their reactions to them. Here are some ideas of how you can approach it…

With older children and adults, ask them to pose with a favorite gift.

With smaller children, you need to have your camera ready, with all the settings dialled in, before they start opening their presents. Shoot in “action mode” or use a shutter speed of 1/250s or faster to freeze their motions. (Hint: you’ll probably have to crank your ISO up to 800 or higher.)

On the other hand, if you weren’t quick enough to catch their reaction as they opened the gift, sit quietly with your camera and see if you can catch them examining their gifts or beginning to play with them.

Multiple Generations

Many of us will gather with family and friends throughout the month of December. Find an opportunity to capture an image of multiple generations in a single frame. That might be something as simple as a shot of a parent and child.

Images of a grandparent and grandchild are among my favorites, both for the contrast of textures – the older, weathered skin and silver hair against the soft, unblemished skin and peach fuzz of a baby – as well as the deep emotion you can often capture.

A Toast

As the month – and the year – wind down to a close, take a moment to toast what has been and what’s to come. No matter what’s in your glass – be it champagne or sparkling juice – grab a photo as you gently clink your glasses in salute.

Join us (you could win a free kit!)

I hope you’ll play along with this month’s Baker’s Dozen of photo challenges. Remember, it’s all about being more purposeful about our photography and capturing more images in 2024. As always, I encourage you to share them where you feel comfortable doing so. If you post them on social media, use the hashtag #ssdphotochallenge – and when you scrapbook them, be sure to share your completed layout with us in the Gallery.

We’ve also set up a thread in the SSD Challenges forum for everyone to share their images – and as a bonus, for each photo you post, your name will go in a drawing and one person will win their choice of a kit or template trio or quad from the Shoppe! Congratulations to Hilary, aka hichchei, our winner for the month of November.

Who will be next to win their choice of goodie from the Shoppe? It could be you when you join us in the forum in this thread for December and start sharing your Baker’s Dozen images now. I’ll see you there!