Share Your Nativity Scene

Every nativity scene interests us

There’s no contest and no judging. An eight-inch nativity on the corner of a sideboard, a first nativity set up with the kids, a ten-foot display in the works since September: there’s room for all of them, and the simplest ones are often the most loved. Yard nativities, church nativities, heirloom sets handed down from Grandma: all welcome.

What we love is seeing what each person came up with: a stone wall, a lighting idea, an arrangement, a family figure, a way of doing things passed down from parents or from where you grew up. Not sure because yours doesn’t look like the ones on the site? That’s a great reason to send it.

Photographing a nativity scene

A nativity is made to be seen a certain way, and a photo taken any other way doesn’t do it justice. Four simple habits:

1. At the nativity’s level, not from above. Hold the camera at the height of the figures. From above, a nativity looks like a model; at its own level, it looks like a village again.
2. The nativity’s lights on, the overhead light off. The nativity’s own lights create depth and shadows; overhead light flattens them.
3. In low light, no flash. The flash wipes out exactly what you want to show. Rest your phone on a book instead of holding it, since the exposure will be long (or use your phone’s night mode).
4. One wide shot and two close-ups. The wide shot sets the scene; the close-ups show how it’s done. It’s often the close-ups we publish.

Send the files as they are, without shrinking them: we’d rather have a large, slightly dark photo than a small edited one.

What happens to your photo

You keep your rights

By sending a photo, you give us permission to publish it on this site and our social media, with your name credited, and nothing more. We don’t sell it, we don’t share it with anyone else, and we don’t use it in ads.

We credit you as you ask

With the first name or nickname you give us. If you’d rather stay anonymous, enter “Anonymous” and that’s what we’ll show.

Your email address is never shown

We only use it to let you know when your nativity is published. The details are in our privacy policy.

One last thing: please only send photos you took yourself, or that you have the right to share. A photo found online could get us both into trouble.

The form

Only your first name, email address and photos are required. The rest helps us write a good caption, but you can leave it blank.