Tips for Halloween Photography and Top 10 Pictures

Halloween is one of those holidays where everyone loves to celebrate no matter how old you are. Kids and adults alike enjoy the candy, parties, costumes, and atmosphere of the holiday. Since it only comes around once a year, you should be ready to capture the action and the moment. You will have created many memories to share with family and friends. Because the holiday is celebrated many different ways and over a period of a few days, the key to capturing the holiday is to take many pictures and find which ones you like best. Start early with the pumpkins and carvings and keep shooting late into Halloween night!

Go to a local pumpkin patch and get some pictures of all the bright orange pumpkins. Get down low to the ground for a unique look. Use a wide aperture to narrow your depth of field and create a pattern of pumpkins in the background.

Document the carving process of the pumpkins. Once the creations are finished, be sure to capture them both at night and during the day. For the nighttime shots, get down low (on the same level of the pumpkin) and use a tripod or high ISO to prevent camera shake. Under these candlelight conditions a tripod down low will work best. The reason for getting low is that shooting down on your subject looks average and boring (it’s the way pumpkins are usually viewed, from a standing position looking at the floor).

#1 and #2 – Add humor to your photos.

Photos by Paul Keleher and raindog

#3 - Get down low and use a long exposure on a tripod. In this case, 1 second.

Photo by base10

#4 - Capture the fine detail of decorations with a macro lens (or macro function on a point and shoot).

Photo by Banana Donuts ~ Half Baked Photography

#5- What would Halloween be without all the candy? Don’t forget to capture all the bright colors and sugary sweet goodness!

Photo by Crystl

Halloween parties are usually at night, so be ready to use a high ISO or a diffused flash to “stop” the action. You can diffuse a flash by using a diffuser, softbox, or bouncing it off ceilings.

#6 - Capture the cute babies and younger kids in their costumes. If there is one day where they are willing to be photographed, it will probably be Halloween as they are dressed in their favorite character. Take full advantage of this and take tons of pictures! They will feel like a celebrity!

At parties, be sure to take both individual and group portraits of friends and those with eye-catching costumes!

Photo by juhansonin

#7 by darkpatator

#8 - Capture homemade costumes to make the memories last forever. (by John Althouse Cohen)

#9 - Don’t forget about pets too. They are part of the family and can be dressed up to join in on all the fun!

Photo by Don Hankins

#10 - Look for interesting moments such as this to help set the mood with the spooky, orange glowing moon on Halloween

Photo by peasap

I hope this guide has given you some ideas for photographing Halloween and making the holiday all the more enjoyable and memorable. Remember to be creative and have fun with it!