Capture Halloween Snapshots! Say “Trick or Treat!”

How many of you wait for the perfect moment for that perfect photo-op?  Stop waiting and start shooting!  A camera that is!  Here a few ways to capture those unforgettable moments this Halloween.

Costume Shots

With your child in costume- tell your little ones to act out their characters’ expressions, or make a silly or scary face. This is perfect for fun group photos and family photos! You can use props, signs, or backdrops.  Look around, you probably have a natural backdrop right in your home or yard-think fence, brick or even your home’s wall, maybe you have an orange painted wall, which is perfect for Halloween.

Don’t forget your pets! Remember that your pets may not be able to hold still for photos with a silly hat or mask on – so you have to make this quick! Quickly dress your pet up with props and shoot as many photos as you can before he runs off.  A Treat would be perfect for your pet to “Hold that pose”.

This adorable K-9 is over at HGTV.  This looks like a simple enough costume that a dog might actually keep on.  http://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/halloween-pet-costume-business-man

Setting the Spooky Scene

Take a well-deserved snapshot of your Halloween décor inside the house that you spent so much time assembling. Minimize your flash by producing low light scenery for that spooky, Halloween aura. Don’t forget to take a picture of your decorations, so you can easily set it back up next season.

We found this awesome Halloween inspired mantel over at http://www.craftyincrosby.com/2013/09/halloween-mantel-2013.html. You can even get great inspiration for Halloween scrapbook pages from her super cool paper banner! 

You can also focus on one decorative item, like a bat, spider, cobweb, or the gooey inside of a pumpkin, and consider that the subject of the photo. Focus on that as the subject, and have other elements as the background of your photo.

Finally, Halloween would not be Halloween without pumpkins! The best Halloween pumpkin photos capture the intricate carved designs on the pumpkin. In a darker setting, set 2-3 candles inside the pumpkin to create brighter light for the photo. This will allow the photo to glow in the snapshots!  You may want to also turn the flash off and use natural lighting from the moon, indoors, or street lights to highlight that Halloween atmosphere.

Photo Techniques

Something that I always do is to get a shot of the kids walking in front of me.  This really captures the anticipation of going “Trick or Treating”.  I like to take this picture as soon as we start the evening, when kids are in the best mood, costumes are all intact and the lighting is the best.  Remember that as the evening progresses, darkness will set in and pictures may not turn out as well.

One of the best photos during Halloween is when the kids are on the doorstep of a neighbor’s house!  While your kiddos' eyes are transfixed on the candy bowl the neighbor is holding, turn your camera and catch a shot of  them on the right side, the neighbor on the other side, and the exchange of candy  in the center of the photo! The expression on your child’s face will be priceless.

One final tip that I use almost every year is to stress less about getting every cute costume photo on Halloween night, by taking pictures of your kids in costume another day when you have more time.  Find a nice day that you have some extra time, either before or after Halloween, and have your kids put those costumes back on, and start snapping.  I can tell you from experience, they love to have another chance to put the costumes on again, not to mention the fact that you will be a lot less rushed to take those memorable photos.

Remember, the natural poses make the best photos!  Don’t stage too much and let the Halloween evening unravel itself – from the dressing up to posing for pictures to walking and trick-or-treating to finally eating the candy!

Share your favorite Halloween photos with us-How would you design a perfect scrapbook page of these “Spooktacular” memories?? 

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