5 Tips for Creative Halloween Photography
admin | Oct 27, 2009 | Comments View Comments
Getting creative photography out of a ghoulish holiday like Halloween is as easy as following a few simple tricks and guidelines. But first…
Start with the right settings
Halloween at night can be a little tricky on your camera. If you’re on a point and shoot camera look for your “scene” settings and use the “night setting”. Just remember that you’ll want to brace yourself and your camera as often as possible as this setting increases your ISO and uses a longer shutter speed.
If you’re using a DSLR adjust your camera for night time photography by upping the ISO and using a longer shutter speed. Bringing along a flash helps tremendously. Try dragging the shutter for better exposures, just remember to keep that camera steady!
Party pics at Halloween can be great, but remember that there’s more to Halloween than trick or treating and bad costumes. It’s about ambiance and mood. Getting creative with your photography means opening your mind to looking at it from different perspectives.
TIP #1 – Go Hollywood
Some of our best memories of Halloween involve things that go bump in the night. We can thank Hollywood for that. So if you’re buddies are all vintage with their costumes, use vintage plugins and filters, or better yet real expired film! It’ll really add to the mood.
Tip #2 – Let Nature be Your Guide
Yes, Halloween can be all about fake blood, face paint, and wigs, but don’t forget that nature provides creepy crawlies year round. And nature can be a stunning thing to behold.
Tip #3 – Eerie Camera Tricks
Great spooky backdrop…check.
Old wedding dress…check.
Willing model….check.
Camera set to high shutter speed…check.
Tip #4 – Kids Can Be Scary
Some great Halloween makeup and a little selective de-saturation in Photoshop can make a big impact. Reminds me of those Children of the Corn movies. Scary.
Tip #5 – Kids Can Be Cute Too
Halloween is a great time to capture kids in their costumes. Plus you can use them against them later in life, like on their first dates! Use natural light from a window if available and try to avoid shooting down on them.
Photographs:
someone said his name is jason by pretty life photography
Just like diamonds… by Wayne’s World 7
Free Goth Baby Belladonna Creative Commons by Pink Sherbert Photography
Who dressed YOU? by juhansonin
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Have your wife carry a bright LED penlight around to shed a little extra light on occasion.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalartform/404...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalartform/404...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalartform/404...
Great advice. Using an LED penlight to help illuminate your subject can add to your photographic arsenal.
Hi Damien,
Halloween is fun to capture with DSLR. I must praise you for the Eerie tricks, it looks superb and I am surely going to try it out at this Halloween.
Thanks for such wonderful tips.
Hi Damien,
I usually don't click photgraphs on Halloween as I am too busy in enjoying it with my friends.
But this time I have planned to capture every bit of it in my DSLR camera. I am glad that I have read all your tips and now I am pretty much confident that the pictures will be awesome.
The colors of the spiderweb and dress images are lovely. I'm looking for tips about how photographers accomplish this!
In regards to tip #4, I love that photo that accompanies it =D It speaks for itself! =D
Till then,
Jean
For the spiderweb image it's about finding a spiderweb with dew on it. Don't have dew? Carry around a water bottle with the ability to create a fine mist and you have instant “dew”. Works great with flower photographs as well.
Great tips for Halloween photography. I agree that there is more to Halloween than just costumes. It seems like those are all the Halloween photos you see these days.
Heheheheheh! Kids can be scary indeed! Thank goodness not all of them are emo-goths. I prefer to see kids as beautiful, pure and innocent myself.
Good halloween photography. These are effective & simple tricks of photography.
Very good advice on taking photos! That is so right you have to be creative with your photos. Your Halloween photos look awesome!!!!
Yeah thanks for the night time shooting tips. I have a Sony DSC camera and was baffled at why my night images were coming out staticky and unclear.
These tips seem to be published from an old experience photographer knowing much about these kinds of tricks. Good work indeed.
I have found that the commercial portrait studios do a nice job, but when it comes to buying the prints, you are pushed into buying more than you want, and most times of the same pose.
Some portrait studio photographers do need to do a better job of ensuring that more poses are available for consideration as choices for their clients.
I have found that the commercial portrait studios (eg. Sears, JC Penny etc) do a nice job, but when it comes to buying the prints, you are pushed into buying more than you want, and most times of the same pose.
I have found that the commercial portrait studios (eg. Sears, JC Penny etc) do a nice job, but when it comes to buying the prints, you are pushed into buying more than you want, and most times of the same pose.
I agree in that there is more to Halloween than just costumes. It seems like those are all the Halloween photos you see these days.
Photo by Maharepa With Halloween just a couple of weeks away I thought it was time to update our Halloween Photography Tips article with some new information and photos. Photography Tips to Keep in Mind for Halloween There are plenty of subjects around to photograph at Halloween.
Photo by Maharepa With Halloween just a couple of weeks away I thought it was time to update our Halloween Photography Tips article with some new information and photos. Photography Tips to Keep in Mind for Halloween There are plenty of subjects around to photograph at Halloween.