For an easy Christmas couple photoshoot, sit beside the tree with a blanket, hang an ornament together or share a mug of cocoa. Each gives you something to do with your hands and a reason to look at one another.
These 32 ideas cover photos at home, outdoor winter portraits and playful pictures for your Christmas cards. Choose a few that suit you both. A portrait, an activity and a close-up detail will give you a varied set without trying every pose.
32 Creative Christmas Photoshoot Ideas for Couples
Start with a simple setup before you choose your poses:
- Light your faces. At home, face a nearby window and use the tree as the background. Leave some space between you and the lights. Nikon’s holiday portrait examples show how window light and a decorated tree can work together.
- Take a test photo. Put your camera or phone on a stable support and use its timer if you’re both in the picture. Have one person stay in position while the other checks the framing and focus. Enlarge the test image to check both faces.
- Choose clothes you can relax in. Matching jumpers are optional. Pick colours that work together, then check how they look against your decorations. Bring warm layers for outdoor shots.
1. Decorate The House
The festivities begin when the Christmas decorations go up. Decorating the house together can be a lot of fun, making it an excellent opportunity for a Christmas couple photoshoot.
Set the camera where it can see both of you and the ornament box. Pass decorations to each other or untangle a garland while you talk. Photograph the activity before asking for a camera-facing portrait.
2. Add the Final Decorations to The Christmas Tree
Before you add the last bauble to the Christmas tree, stop and get the camera ready. Choose a branch you can both reach comfortably, then hang the decoration together.
Stand beside each other so the camera sees both faces. Take a wider picture that includes the tree, followed by a close-up of your hands placing the ornament.
3. Decorate Your Heads With Your Christmas Hats
Adjust each other’s Santa hats for a playful portrait. Pull the pom-poms to opposite sides or lean your heads together and look at one another.
Keep the brims above your eyes so your expressions stay visible. A close crop around your heads and shoulders lets the hats set the Christmas theme without needing a room full of decorations.
4. Jump Into Your Christmas Jumpers
Christmas jumpers give you an easy outfit theme. As a couple, you can get different or matching jumpers. Either way, it’ll make fun holiday pictures you can share with friends and family.
Stand close for a cheerful portrait, then try an exaggerated serious expression for a funny version. Frame a little wider if the jumper designs are part of the joke.
© Igor Vetushko (Depositphotos.com)
5. Pose Together in Your Festive Grotto
Once you’ve decorated the tree, walls and yourselves, take a portrait together in your festive corner. Stand or sit close, turn slightly towards each other and relax your shoulders.
Take one picture looking at the camera and another looking at your partner. For a Christmas card, leave a clear patch of background beside you for a greeting.
6. Show Off Your Decorations
If you’re proud of your Christmas lights and decorations, make them part of the photograph. This time, step back and include the room instead of filling the frame with your faces.
Sit together on the sofa or beside the tree. Check the edges for stray bags, cables and half-hidden objects, then keep enough of the decorated space to show where you spent Christmas.
7. Pose With Your Child
For new families, that first Christmas at home is extra special. Choose a calm moment and a comfortable seated pose with your child between you or held securely in your arms.
Take one picture looking at your child and another looking at the camera. Holiday pictures make wonderful Christmas card photos. Keep the session short if your child has had enough.
8. Don’t Forget the Dog
Dogs are part of the family too, so why not incorporate them into your Christmas photo ideas? Sit together with your dog between you and place the camera near the dog’s eye level.
Have a helper hold a favourite toy beside the camera if you want everyone looking forwards. Let your dog move away when they want to; an unplanned glance or nuzzle can be the picture you keep.
© Igor Tishenko (Depositphotos.com)
9. Incorporate the Cat
For many couples, cats are just as beloved as their canine counterparts. And bringing your cat to the photoshoot can result in some amusing holiday photos.
Try sitting together where your cat already likes to rest. Keep the camera ready for a brief look towards you, and let the cat leave instead of trying to hold a pose. Your usual sofa can be a simpler setting than a new backdrop.
10. Group Photo in the Grotto
For many couples, Christmas isn’t just about two people. Maybe you have children and pets in the house. Include the whole gang in a portrait by the tree.
Arrange everyone so each face is visible, with the adults close to the children. Check the first picture before taking more: someone hidden behind a shoulder is easier to fix while you’re all still together.
11. Mischief Under The Mistletoe
Mistletoe is a fun Christmas prop for couples photoshoots. Hold a sprig above you and try a cheek kiss, an almost-kiss or a playful surprised expression.
Frame the picture wide enough to show the mistletoe as well as your faces. Take a few frames just before and after the kiss, when you’re reacting to each other.
12. The Heels-Up Kiss
While you’re in the mood for kissing, you can try the heels-up kiss. This is where the shorter member of the duo has to stand on their toes to kiss the other person.
Include your feet in the frame so the pose makes sense. Christmas socks add a festive detail. If the stretch feels awkward, lean towards each other instead of forcing the height difference.
© Arthur Brognoli (Unsplash.com)
13. Put Your Feet Up
Seeing as you’ve already got your Christmas socks on, another Christmas photo idea is to get a shot of your feet together. You can’t see the faces, but this kind of Christmas photo symbolises a cosy and happy household.
Put your feet beside each other under a blanket and include a little of the tree in the background. Keep the socks as the main subject rather than filling the frame with the room.
14. Get Cosy By The Tree
Sit close beside the tree and share a blanket or lean against each other. Give yourselves a small prompt, such as remembering the first Christmas you spent together, rather than holding a smile for the camera.
Position the camera near your seated eye level. If your faces look too dark, move towards a window or add light in front of you; the tree lights can stay in the background.
15. Curl Up With Cocoa
Many Christmas photo ideas can come from those simple moments you spend together. And sharing a cup of cocoa on a cold winter’s evening can be heartwarming and special.
Hold the mugs below your faces and turn towards each other. Take one wider picture with your blanket or sofa, then a closer frame of your hands around the mugs. Empty mugs work as props if you’re only setting up a portrait.
16. See The Christmas Sights
Many towns and cities decorate their streets with Christmas lights and decorations. These are great places to try some Christmas photo ideas.
Capture the moments as you both stroll through the festivities, arm in arm or hand in hand. Stop beside a lit shop window for a portrait if the street is dark. Choose a quiet spot where you can pause without blocking people.
© Designecologist (Unsplash.com)
17. Venture Out Into The Winter Wonderland
If you don’t live in the city or if you’re on a winter vacation, the landscape can give you plenty of magical Christmas photo ideas for couples.
Keep both of you small in the frame to show the snowy scene, then move closer for a portrait. If the snow looks grey in an automatic exposure mode, try a small positive exposure-compensation adjustment and check that bright areas still retain detail.
© Christine Donaldson (Unsplash.com)
18. Walk Together in The Snow
Two people walking together through a snowy scene creates a sense of togetherness. It’s a striking image and a romantic Christmas photo.
Walk slowly along a safe path and look at each other for a few steps. If you can set the shutter speed, try 1/250 second as a starting point and increase it if movement still looks blurred. Take several frames to catch a comfortable stride.
© Yuriy Bogdanov (Unsplash.com)
19. Sit Together in The Snow
When you’re out together, find a picturesque spot and capture a romantic shot. Sit on a bench or a waterproof blanket with the snowy scene behind you.
Lean your shoulders together, hold hands or give your partner a kiss on the cheek. Frame a little of the surroundings so the winter setting remains part of the picture.
20. Share a Winter’s Kiss
A frozen scene is full of romance when you’re with your partner. For a quiet portrait, sit or stand close and share a winter’s kiss.
Try a side view that shows both profiles, keeping your hands visible around each other’s shoulders or waist. Pause for a moment before leaning in, then keep the camera ready for the smile afterwards.
21. Kiss in the Snow
If snow starts falling during your walk, stop for a photograph together. A darker background, such as trees or a wall, can help the white flakes stand out.
Look at each other, touch foreheads or share a kiss while the photographer takes a few frames. Keep the session brief if you’re getting cold, and protect the camera from falling snow according to its weather limits.
22. Wrap Presents Together
Wrapping gifts gives you an activity to photograph before Christmas Day. Sit at a table or on the floor with a few boxes, paper and ribbon between you.
Capture one person folding the paper while the other holds it in place. Include your faces as well as your hands so the picture tells the story of you working together, not just a pile of presents.
23. Pose With the Presents
Pose back to back with a wrapped present each, or sit facing the camera with the boxes in your laps. Choose wrapping that fits the colours of your clothes and decorations.
For a funny Christmas card, try pretending to guard your own gift or compare the sizes with exaggerated expressions. Use empty wrapped boxes if you want to set up the picture without revealing a real present.
24. Exchange Your Presents
Sharing presents with your partner is one of the most exciting moments of Christmas. The excitement and anticipation make it a perfect time for Christmas photos.
Set the camera to see both faces as one person hands over the gift. Focus on the exchange itself here: the outstretched hands, eye contact and first reaction, before the paper comes off.
25. Surprise Your Partner with a Gift
Keep a wrapped gift behind your back and bring it into view while your partner watches. Set the camera before the reveal so you can photograph the reaction without interrupting it.
Try a frame from slightly beside the person giving the present. That way, the box stays visible without covering the receiver’s face.
26. Hide Their Eyes to Enhance the Surprise
If you both enjoy a playful surprise, one partner can gently cover the other’s eyes while they hold a wrapped present. Settle into a comfortable seated pose first.
Take a picture with the hands over the eyes, then another as they move away. Keep the box below chin level so the camera can see the expression when the surprise is revealed.
27. Reveal Your Gift
Photograph the moment the lid lifts or the wrapping opens. Have the camera ready before the gift is revealed, and keep taking pictures for the reaction that follows.
Frame both of you rather than pointing straight into the box. A photograph of your shared expression can tell more of the Christmas story than a close-up of the gift alone.
28. Watch the Children Open Their Presents
Watch the children open their presents and photograph the scene without asking them to stop. Sit together behind or beside them so your reactions become part of the picture too.
Place the camera near the children’s eye level and leave room for their hands and the gifts. Take a wider family photograph, then a closer frame as the wrapping opens.
29. Cook Together
Food can be a great source of inspiration for Christmas photos. Bake cookies or prepare a favourite dish together and photograph the steps.
Rolling dough, cutting shapes and decorating cooled cookies give your hands something to do. Set up beside a window if possible, and take pictures at the worktop before moving on to any cooking that needs your full attention.
© Hannah Busing (Unsplash.com)
30. Feed Your Partner
Once you’ve finished cooking, it’s time to eat. Feeding each other can make some romantic Christmas photo ideas.
Use a cookie or another small treat for a playful picture together. Frame both faces and the hand offering the food, then take another shot of the laugh afterwards. Let the moment stay brief instead of holding the food in mid-air for a long pose.
31. Bake Yourselves
If you’re baking sweet cookies, you can bake cookie versions of yourself and your partner. Then you can use your cookie effigies for Christmas flat lay photos. It’ll make a fun Christmas card.
Arrange the two figures on a plain surface with a few festive details around them. Photograph from directly above and leave some space for a greeting if you’re making a card.
32. Pillow Fight
For a playful finish, stage a gentle pillow fight with sofa cushions. Keep the camera ready for the laughter between movements as well as the action.
If you can control shutter speed, try 1/500 second as a starting point and check the first images for blur. Use more light or raise ISO if needed to keep that shutter speed. Take a few pictures, pause and see which expressions you like.
Conclusion
Choose one setting you both enjoy, then make a small set of pictures: a portrait together, an activity and a festive detail. Before you finish, check that both faces are sharp and that the background works for your card or album. You can get a Christmas photo you love from a quiet moment beside the tree as easily as from a snowy outing.
If you’ve welcomed a baby to the world this year, create wonderful pictures to show them when they’re older with our Dreamy Childhood Portraits e-book.
The images in this article are partly provided by depositphotos.com.