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Halloween Photography Tips

Halloween is one of the most photo-worthy days of the year. Between the pumpkins full of character on display in windows or on doorsteps, scary costumes, rich autumn colours and lots of fun props, Halloween is the perfect time to reach for your camera. But that’s not to say it isn’t without its own challenges, with the lack of light and often fast-moving subjects being the biggest.

Continue reading for our top tips to capturing some freakishly good Halloween photos!

Perfect Pumpkins

It doesn’t get more iconic for Halloween than a photo of a glowing jack-o-lantern so be sure to turn off your cameras built in flash before you try to photograph it otherwise you might find yourself with a shiny looking pumpkin that’s lacking its freaky glow. Instead, pop your camera on a tripod or a steady surface and adjust either your ISO or Shutter Speed to compensate for the lack of light.

If you’re finding the candlelight from inside your pumpkin not bright enough, try adding a few more or switch to using a torch or LED panel. Just be sure to position yourself so you can’t see the torch in the shot. An added benefit to using an LED panel is some give you the ability to change the colour of the light too, so you can really get creative with your jack-o-lanterns!

For a more detailed photo, try bracketing your images!

Use a Tripod

One of the best pieces of kit you can invest in would be a tripod and this isn’t only specific to Halloween. When working with low light a tripod will certainly help to eliminate unwanted camera shake from your images.

They also come in handy if you want to try your hand at some ghostly portraits. Pop your camera on a tripod, set it to a slow shutter speed and have your subject sit or stand in the same place for a few seconds and then move. The final result should be a portrait that looks a little transparent with a ghost like motion blur. A totally spooky and totally fun one to try with the kids!

Find Creative Ways to Light Your Subject

Avoid using the built-in flash on your camera as this can sometimes be too harsh and as a result will leave your image looking washed out rather than scary. Instead think about other ways in which you could light your subject. If it’s portraits, try using a lamp or torch and lighting them from below. This will create some creepy looking shadows and give your photos that instant Halloween feeling.

Glow sticks or torches can be a fun way to experiment with light painting around your subject too, just set your camera to a slow shutter speed and start drawing. This would also be a good way to get the whole family involved too!

If you’re looking for something a little more sinister looking from your portraits, how about lighting them from behind. This will give you a silhouette effect to your photos where you can then get creative with the outfits or poses.

Look for the Small Details

With so much colour and decoration around you can really get creative with your photography. Look for the small details or abstract shots you can take of spider webs, fun costume props, the trick or treats you might have ready for the kids. Even detailed, close up shots of the kids’ costumes and face paint can be a really fun way to create a full account of the day and night events.

Be Clever with your Editing or Shoot in Black & White

One of the easiest ways to give your photos a scarier look and feel to them is to desaturate the colours. This can be done in editing software afterwards or in fact in camera by playing about with your picture styles. The muted colours and darkness really help to add a creepier feel to your photos.

Alternatively, try shooting some of your photos in black and white. Find scenes where there is a lot of contrast, like the kids getting ready in their costumes or the pumpkin carving as these can really work well in black and white.

The key to photography is experimentation so we hope you have some fun trying these Halloween photography tips out!

You can follow us on social media for more tips and tricks and remember to tag us in the images your share using #jessopsmoment as we’d love to see them!

 

     

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