Christmas is such a great time of the year when families and friends gather together and get into the festive spirit. It truly is a time to cherish when the children open their presents, eat dinner and listening to "Old Uncle Bernie" telling a few jokes.

What makes it even more special, however, is taking that perfect Christmas photo so that, when you look back on that Christmas, can really help you to relive the memories of that truly magical Christmas.

However, the truth is, although many people have expensive cameras, they may not know how to use them correctly.

A lot of people think "how hard could it possibly be?" and they just go ahead and take the photo without even looking at the instructions. What they do not realize is that it can be extremely hard to take decent Christmas pictures when you do not know how to use the camera properly.

Most of people just get the camera out, nap a picture and, when they get it back, the picture is either missing someone's head or it hasn't come out properly at all.

So, as well as knowing how to work the camera, it is a good idea to feel confident in how to take that perfect Christmas photo. There are a few tips that you can use to make things easier.

First, arrange the scenery and the people exactly how you require them to be and make sure that there are not any unwanted objects in the way. It can be extremely annoying when you take a photo and realize that some stranger making faces right in the view of your camera has ruined it.

You can use the red eye feature on some cameras that can help when the Christmas pictures have been developed. If this feature is not on your camera, you can ask the person to turn slightly to the left, which should stop the problem.

A great tip for taking a Christmas photo when there is a group of three or more people is to take more than one picture. The reason behind this is that it is almost guaranteed that one person will have their eyes shut or be looking the wrong way. So take precautions and do not pin all of your hopes on one photo, otherwise, you may be disappointed!

So, make sure you capture that perfect Christmas moment by following some of these basic tips. However, remember that it is all about having fun so be sure to enjoy yourself at the same time!

As well as having that perfect photo for your family album, how about entering your best photos in a contest for a prize? This could be a really big incentive to snap those perfect Christmas pictures, as well as a sense of pride and joy.