Forget every other holiday Halloween has got to be the best holiday of the year! Between the spooky decorations, scaring people and free candy, it’s hard to decide what makes Halloween so much fun. Probably, the idea of dressing up as anyone or anything you want. It’s got to be that! None the less, Halloween is loads of fun. And we all know, where there is fun, great photos are close behind. However, all the fun is mostly at night and saying night photography is a challenge is quite the understatement. Especially when in most cases, using flash will ruin your photos. No worries, this Halloween, we will have you ready to take the grisliest and most scary photos. Maybe sexy and creative ones too. Just take ten minutes and check out our Halloween photography tips below!
Halloween Photography Tips #01
Don’t Wait For Night Fall To Start Shooting
Although all the freaks come out at night, you don’t have to wait till it’s dark to start shooting. Start a little early so that you can capture the special moments leading to the main event. Get pictures of children trying out their outfits and decorations being put up.
A picture of the setting sun with your costumed children not only ushers in the Halloween night but also takes advantage of the great lighting.
Halloween Photography Tips #02
What Should Be Your Subject?
Believe it or not, many people tend to overthink when it comes to selecting the pictures to take. The result? Unnecessary shots and lots of wasted time taking pictures rather than enjoying the holiday. Halloween subjects are all over the place begging to be noticed! Start with your neighbor’s house decorations that is if they are creepier than yours. Your friends and or children should be your number one subject matter. Oh, and don’t forget the jack-o-lantern.
When taking photos of your heavily costumed companions, you need to remember to take their photos without the costumes. This not only provides great before-after shots but also gives room for easy identification as the years go by. You don’t have to take down your whole costume for the shot, making your face clear is enough.
Speaking of faces, leaving out the fine facial details such as fangs, whiskers, crazy eyes and other spooky stuff should definitely be a crime. Taking close-ups of individual faces will ensure you get these details. Don’t forget pictures of special events such as trick or treat photos and group pics.
Halloween Photography Tips #03
Lighting That Brings Out The Spooks
As I said, lighting is a huge challenge in Halloween photography. Luckily, you have a couple of choices when it comes to bringing out the scary side of your shots. One, of course, is to do away with your flash altogether so as to maintain the dark, scary atmosphere in your shots. This is a little tricky and will require a bit of camera tweaking to avoid getting underexposed photos. You will definitely be needing a tripod to remain steady. Also, use a high ISO to compensate for the poorly lit environment without using artificial light.
If you are new to photography and don’t have time to master all the tricks and settings of night photography, go ahead and use your flash. But, do it the right way! One way of getting the Halloween mood in your photos is by using a color diffuser on your flash. Red and orange tend to work best in this case.
You can also count on artificial light to illuminate your subjects, such as candles or even the jack-o-lantern itself. Glowing sticks are also a great way to light up your subject. If all these tricks don’t fancy you, don’t be afraid to go a little old school by illuminating the face from below using a torch. This will give you a spooky ghost face and eliminate any lighting challenges.
Halloween Photography Tips #04
Capturing Jack-O-Lanterns
This is one of the highlights of every Halloween festival. So, don’t forget to capture a few shots for your gallery. Shooting jack-o-lanterns can be quite overwhelming since you risk underexposing the shadows and at the same time, overexposing the flame. To find the right balance, a little experimentation at different exposures is called for.
Also, to get your lantern all lit up and spooky, you need to use more than just one candle. This helps solve the difficulty in finding the right exposure. If you still can’t get the right glow while indoors, go ahead and dim or completely eliminate all other sources of light in the house. Since your subject, in this case, is stationary, getting a steady shot will be easy. Go ahead and use a long shutter speed and a tripod to allow your camera to capture as much light as possible.
Halloween Photography Tips #05
Get Creative!-Duh!
I do not advocate for trying to get perfect photos throughout your shoot but I also don’t expect your shots to be plain and boring. You can create a memorable album for Halloween photos by going all in when it comes to your costumes as well as the composition of your shots.
One way of getting creative is by making gory Halloween food and taking pictures of it. You can also blur some of your images to get an edge or a sense of motion. This especially applies to ghost photos. My favorite is to use the spirit of Halloween to your advantage by scaring people and being ready to capture the reaction with your camera.
Such little things make Halloween all the more memorable and lead to amazing photos. Hell, you can even make Halloween postcards out of your pictures!
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