1. Use Seasonal Foliage This is a great way to add some freshness to your photos whilst helping to keep the seasonal feel, including mistletoe, cranberries, pinecones, holly branches or some evergreen cuttings. These sorts of plants come in all shapes, colours and sizes and help to add detail to your images without taking away from your focal items.

2. Add some Christmas Props and Ornaments Many classic items come to mind when we think of Christmas – candy canes, cinnamon sticks, baubles, bows, minced pies, and many many more. Dotting these around in the foreground and background not only help to add detail but can also create depth within the photos and make them look less flat.

You can take these a step further and help sell the story and fit the imagery to the companies branding. Home-made ornaments, Christmas cards and children’s drawings may add more personality and family notes to your scene. Alternatively use more uniform ornaments and high-end decorations to create a more professional setting.

3. Festive Colour Scheme Colour may sound like an obvious answer, but it really does help make the difference. Christmas is strongly associated with key colours like red, white, gold and greens. These can be sprinkled throughout your shots subtly through the use of ingredients, cutlery, crockery, napkins and tablecloths. Don’t forget to add a bit of sparkle!

4. Create an Atmosphere through Lighting Christmas is a time for warmth and cosiness so keep that within your photos through the use of lighting. Try to avoid using bright white lighting, have the scene lit with more warm lighting and darker tones. This can also be achieved through the use of twinkling fairy lights either in the scene or blurred out in the background. Take it a step further through the addition of fire through candles or within a fireplace.

5. Tell a Story Christmas is a time when family and friends get together to celebrate the holidays. Make the most of this in by experimenting with some wider shots of a table full of delicious food or people gathering around the Christmas tree with key product placement.

6. Don’t be Afraid to Get Close Up Show off the detail of your product with macro or close angle photography. Zoom in on the perfectly decorated cookies, the pattern on the top of a minced pie or the design of a wrapped present.