“How to Photograph Christmas Lights” by David Hobby of Strobist is a rundown of tips for shooting the various Christmas decorations that are abound this time of year. David’s first tip? Don’t wait until it’s completely dark to shoot.

The problem with 98% of the photos of Christmas lights is that most people wait until way too late to start shooting. After it gets completely dark, you can either have the lights or the surroundings properly exposed. But not both.

If you shoot Christmas lights at sundown, you can be a lot more creative with the ambient light.

Photo by Sister72 used under a Creative Commons license.