15 Ways To Document Your Holiday Party With GIFs

Don't let uninspired photography make a memorable party look meh. Bring your holiday events to life with a few simple motion photography techniques. Each of these GIFs was created during the course of a single party using Auto Awesome on Google+.

1. Capture the frenetic energy of preparation.

Time-lapse photography gives the satisfaction of seeing a chore progressing to completion.

2. Illustrate the specific steps of cooking.

Let's be real about food photography: It's usually only interesting to the people eating the food. Turn this around with some informative action shots.

3. Get up close and personal with the main course.

You can highlight the texture, color, and shape of food by strategically panning over each dish.

4. And show how your food wiggles and jiggles...

These canned cranberries wouldn't look very interesting as a still image.

5. ...or quickly disappears.

Goodbye, sweet pie.

6. Break down a place setting to highlight the individual elements.

This shot will make your mom happy if you're using family china.

7. And bring an entire table to life.

Unlike a still image, stop-motion photography lets you give appropriate attention to every aspect of your feast.

8. Preserve the excitement of guests arriving.

A series of zoomed-in shots from the top of a stairwell can show the bursts of joy as guests arrive.

9. Add depth and character to the ubiquitous dinner table portrait.

It doesn't take much to make your dinner look like a scene from The Matrix. Set your camera on a tripod and take a series of shots while moving around the table in an arc.

10. Treat your champagne with the respect it deserves.

From the pop of the cork to glasses overflowing with bubbles, if there were ever a beverage that deserved a GIF, it's champagne.

11. Let the bubbles put on a show.

Stunning.

12. Record the spontaneous moments before and after a toast.

A single photo of glasses touching really doesn't tell you much about the personalities and energy in a room.

13. And depict the sweetness in the air when dessert is served.

A GIF of steam rising from a pot of homemade hot chocolate is as close as you can get to photographing a smell.

14. Capture the mood as the party descends into the wee hours of the night.

With the flicker of candles setting a mellow vibe.

15. And ends, like many good parties end, when someone pulls out a guitar and bongos.

And with that, you reach a noisy and awkward conclusion to an otherwise perfect night.

Challenge yourself to create your own amazing animations with Auto Awesome. Once you install the Google+ app, turn on Auto Backup, and simply take a series of 5+ photographs of the same subject to create an animated GIF!

All images via JUrquhart / BuzzFeed

Party location via Sascha & Nina.