How Your Lights Can Be Safe, Stunning and Saved for Posterity

Image from Landscape Illuminations on Houzz

Holiday lights in and outside your home can be a lovely way to celebrate the season — not to mention light up the nights that come earlier and earlier as the year draws to a close. Here are a few things to keep in mind to make sure your lights are hazard-free, pretty and commemorated.

1. Safety

• Be sure to check that the lights you use outside are labeled “for outside use”
• Don’t string together more lights than the manufacturer warrants is safe
• Make sure all the lights inside and out are off (or on a timer) when you leave the house
• Fasten lights securely against wind and weather
• Use insulated or plastic hooks or nails to attach lights where you want them
• For more, check out these Safety Tips from PG&E

Image from Lowes Home Improvement on Houzz

2. Beauty

• Plan your lighting and make sure you have enough lighting to bring your vision to life
• Come up with a theme or idea — take advantage of features of your home: outline all your windows and roofline, scatter lights throughout the shrubbery fronting your home, wrap all the tree trunks
• Create the simply and stunning luminaries pictured above with some vinyl flashing and a drill (and a few candles) — for details on this DIY project, go to Lowes Home Improvement Idea Library

Image from Ebirge9’s Holiday Cheer Board on Pinterest

3. Photography

• Remember the “magic hour” — that time of evening when the sky is lit by a magical, mystical blue and the sun has dipped below the horizon but hasn’t actually set
• For shooting outdoor lights, try turning the flash off
• Remember that the higher your ISO setting, the better you can shoot in the dark (higher ISO also means more “noise” — so you may want to experiment to find your personal compromise between lighting and noise)
• If your camera has an “Auto” setting, look for a night or night scene mode
• Indoors, try shooting both with and without your flash, for completely different results — you may be surprised which you like more
• If you’re using your smartphone, check out apps like Snapseed (iOS, Android and desktop), Camera+ (iOS) and After Focus (iOS and Android)— for shots like the one of the lights behind the bench above — to help you take or make better pictures