ECCG’s Photographer of the Year 2014, Karen Fleming, started 2015 in fine style winning Grade A in this year’s first internal competition with the image below. Here’s how she did it:

I was at home shooting a Christmas themed shot of my mothers dog and my own dog when I received the text from the club committee that the first competition of 2015 would be themed Christmas. But none of those images were submitted for our first competition of the year. I discussed different ideas and shot them just a couple of days before I took my decorations down.

Every year my mum has a 10ft outdoor, fully decorated, Christmas tree in her front garden with large gold baubles so I borrowed one of them to place on the tree at home. I positioned it on the tree about the same height as my Santa Claus standing next to the tree. I then positioned the Santa Claus so I just caught his reflection in the bauble as if he had been captured leaving gifts under the tree.

I took shot using my
105mm F2.8 Sigma lens
F16 5.0 seconds @ ISO 400
No flash used
Lighting was just the lights from the tree itself.

Very little post production was done to the image – just basic levels and curves and little bit if cloning to clone out the reflection of my tripod and scratches on the bauble.

ECCG ‘Christmas’ Competition – 20/1/15
How I took that Shot – Kevin Day
How I took that Shot – Catherine Millad
Competition Results and 2015 League Table