Photo courtesy of Lonnie Kemp

Christmas songs are hitting our ears, so it must be time for holiday lights to appear!

Once again, The Roanoke Times and roanoke.com would like for you to submit your beautifully decorated house of lights to our online searchable database of holiday lights displays around Southwest Virginia.

It would be a shame to not share the fruits of your hard work with the world!

How to submit: Visit www.roanoke.com/lights.

Criteria: Only a display's owner may submit display information.

Photos: We're happy for you to upload photos of your display.

Staff photographer Eric Brady's tips for the perfect photo

1. Be ready to take the picture close to dusk. The lights will seem brighter, but there will still be enough light to show some of the surrounding environment.

2. Turn off the flash and use a tripod. If you don't have a tripod, use something stable like a fence post or ladder. This will help to prevent motion blur.

3. Try shooting on the tungsten setting (the one with the light bulb icon).

4. Think about composition. Think dynamic instead of static. Try framing the image with an object in the foreground (perhaps a lit Santa) with lights in the background. Layers are more dynamic.

5. Your camera instruction manual might come in handy for this tip: If you can, set your f-stop manually. Try for F8 or higher. The higher the number, the greater the depth of field.