10 Tips to Shoot Like a Pro this Holiday Season
Capture all the festive fun and enhance your photos and video with the latest AI technology
The holidays are full of magical moments, gathering as a family to celebrate longstanding traditions or seeing the joy of the season through a child’s eyes. When you look back on your photos and videos, you want to see cherished holiday memories instead of blurry backgrounds, bad lighting or closed eyes. We can’t guarantee your child won’t have a meltdown when they meet Santa for the first time but we can help make sure you’ll have stunning, crystal clear photos to share with the family group chat. Now that’s a memory worth saving!
We caught up with Verizon tech expert George Koroneos to breakdown his top 10 tips for capturing all the festivities. George recommends the Google Pixel 10 with built-in AI tools for professional quality photos.
Plus, this Holiday Season, you can get the Google Pixel 10 on us with a new line on any myPlan, and a Pixel Watch 4 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE 5G on us as well!
George said enhanced AI features make it easy to capture photos and video like a pro this holiday season. You won’t have to worry about missing the moment and you’ll have more time to hang out with your friends and family.
“AI is a super helpful sidekick that makes every photo and video look better without you lifting a finger. It recognizes what you are shooting, fixes the lighting, sharpens things up, and basically handles the technical stuff for you,” said George.
1. Master the Group Shot with Auto Best Take
Say goodbye to the stress of getting everyone to smile and look at the camera simultaneously. Auto Best Take is your secret weapon for stress-free group portraits by the tree. This feature captures a burst of photos and lets you seamlessly swap in the best-looking faces from the sequence to ensure no one is blinking, yawning, or looking away.
2. Get Expert Advice with Camera Coach
Not sure which lens to use or where to stand? Let AI guide you. Camera Coach provides real-time, actionable suggestions on angles, lighting, and composition as you frame the shot. It's perfect for complex indoor scenes, suggesting the Ultrawide lens to capture the whole family or advising you on how to avoid glare from nearby lights.
Plus, you’ll want plenty of storage space for all of your amazing photos and videos, and we’ve got you covered. Add the Google AI Pro perk to your myPlan for $10 and you’ll get 2TB of storage, plus access to Gemini Pro and high quality video generation with Veo 3.1 and the AI filmmaking tool, Flow.
3. Elevate Your Videos with Night Sight Video & Video Boost
Low light doesn't have to mean grainy, unstable video. For all your holiday footage—from opening presents in a dimly lit room to filming the glow of a menorah or fireplace—use Night Sight Video. For a dramatically professional upgrade, turn on Video Boost. The phone sends the clip to the cloud for advanced AI processing, resulting in significantly better color accuracy, superior lighting, and stabilization.
4. Capture Dynamic Movement with Motion Modes
Capture a snowball fight or the flurry of wrapping paper and excitement as the kids open gifts:
Action Pan: Keeps a moving subject sharp (like a child running) while blurring the background into streaky motion.
Long Exposure: Blurs moving elements (like water or light streaks from cars) against a perfectly sharp, stationary scene.
5. Create Magical Holiday Bokeh with Portrait Mode
Switch to Portrait Mode to turn ordinary holiday lights into stunning, creamy background orbs. This effect, known as bokeh, is easy to achieve:
Place your subject several feet in front of the holiday lights (the farther the subject is from the background, the better).
Tap on your subject to focus. The depth-of-field effect will automatically blur the lights into beautiful, soft circles, instantly giving your photos a professional, festive feel.
6. Zoom In for Detail, Near or Far, with Telephoto
The telephoto lens is essential for capturing crisp detail, whether you’re trying to capture the perfect close-up or zoom in on an object that is far away:
Close-Up Details: Use the 5x optical telephoto lens (or up to 100X with Pro Res Zoom on Pro models) to get a sharp shot of a special ornament or a gingerbread man's frosting.
Long Distance: This also works brilliantly for far-off subjects, like capturing a clear shot of your child's face from the back of an auditorium during a school pageant.
7. Post-Production Magic: Audio, Clutter, and Reframing
The real editing power comes after the snap. Use these tools to perfect your results:
Removing Clutter with Magic Editor: Tap, circle, or brush anything you want to remove, like a messy cable or a forgotten cup.
Reframing Shots with Magic Editor: Tap and drag people who are too far to the left in a group shot toward the center, and the AI will automatically fill in the background realistically.
Fixing Audio with Audio Magic Eraser: Isolate and control the volume of separate sounds in videos—like turning down loud background TV noise and boosting your child’s voice.
8. Fix Faces Instantly with Personalized Edits
Even if Auto Best Take misses a moment, Google Photos can fix it. Use natural language prompts like, "Remove the sunglasses from Riley" and the AI will realistically adjust the photo based on other pictures in your gallery.
9. Shoot High-Contrast Black and White
Not every photo needs to be saturated in red and green. Switch to black and white for candid shots. Black and white simplifies the scene, emphasizing emotions, expressions, and the texture of cozy sweaters, wrapping paper, or candle wax, often resulting in incredibly timeless and powerful images.
10. Embrace Candid Moments
While the posed family photo is essential, the best keepers are often the shots where people aren't looking at the camera. Step back, put the phone down low, and capture the authentic laughter, the quiet conversation, or the focused concentration while decorating. Candid moments tell the best stories.
Celebrating Connection with Help from the Latest Technology
Whether you’re celebrating with loved ones near or far, our phones have become the heart of how we stay connected during the holidays. It’s never been easier to hop on a video call, send quick updates, share photos, or stream something fun with the family.
“The Google Pixel 10 can help you capture the moment, share it, and stay close to the people who matter even if they are not in the same room,” said George.
The holiday season is short but the memories don't have to be fleeting. With these tips, you can transform your images from casual snaps into powerful visual stories. Pick up your phone and confidently capture the light, laughter, and every magical moment during this special time of year. For our latest offers, including specific terms and conditions, on the Pixel 10 Pro and other devices, please visit: verizon.com/deals. And if you’re currently with another carrier, bring us your bill and we’ll get you a better deal.
