Positioning

You don’t want to cram things in to the frame so don’t try and get too much in your picture. The tree could look lost in a busy picture. Arrange furniture with candles or Christmas ornaments next to part of the tree to give it a whole new dimension or if you want to get the whole tree in, try removing items from around it to really help it stand out.

Ready for your close up?

Sometimes it’s about attention to detail and making one item the focus. Take shots of a traditional tree decoration, a shimmering bauble or a tree topper you may have had since you were a baby. To get great close-up (macro shots), position your iPhone at least 2 inches away from your subject and tap the screen to focus. If you are using a SLR, simply drop it into macro mode.

Composition

Imagine your shot in vertical thirds. To create a great look, try and ensure there is something in each third, or an item in the one third only. Avoid accessories being slap bang in the centre. They nearly always look better to the left or right.

Consider collaging

To show off your tree theme, think of putting a number of images together, each focusing on a different element of your tree. This gives you the opportunity to showcase close ups of stylish decorations, a full view of the tree, the lights and even what you have used to top the tree.

There are a number of apps for iphones and androids such as splitscreen, CollageIt Free and Moldiv which make it super easy to create a collage of images.

By night

Turn off your flash, along with all the other lights in your house. Keep extremely still or use a remote sensor, then take a snap. If you aren’t using a mobile, pop your camera into manual mode and crank up the ISO then use a tripod to get the warm lighting just right.

Angles

Don’t always look at your tree from head height. Experiment with angles taking a picture from low level or from above the head.

Tell your story

Use clever captions to help the viewer of the picture understand a little more. Have you used a particular theme? Is there a Christmas pun you could include or did the dog try and pull the tree down on attempt one?

Have you seen the iLiv #shareyourtree competiton? Simply share a picture of your tree here and you could win £500 to spend at iLiv.