Halloween gets bigger and better every year. The stores sell more and more décor, kids trick or treat in multiple locations, and costumes just keep getting bigger and better.

If you want to make your Halloween one to remember, taking photos is a must.  Here are some tips to help make your photos a success.

1. If you want to get a shot of that jack-o’-lantern you spent hours carving, you’ll need to hold the camera steady. The easiest way to do that is with a tripod. A low camera angle could actually work since most pumpkins are not usually tall.  You may beHalloween able to get your camera ground level or propped on a something.  You can even use the camera’s self timer to minimize camera shake and keep the pumpkin nice and sharp.

2. If you want to photograph your kids in costume next to that jack-o’-lantern, you will need a flash. An external flash is ideal, but a pop-up flash will do. If that’s the case, or if you’re stuck with a point-and-shoot, set the camera to Night Portrait mode to combine a longer shutter speed with a flash fill to nicely balance dusk ambience with your costumed goblin. If you’ve got an external flash, or a camera that gives you manual flash control, do the same thing. Build an exposure that allows for the ambient background and add your flash fill to illuminate the subject.

3. One of the greatest ways to work in low light is also one of the newest. If you want to photograph a haunted house, you cannot use a flash and blind everyone inside.  So…you can open the aperture, crank the ISO and get shots you were never able to before. Combined with an image stabilizing lens, a high-ISO-capable camera will allow you to work wonders when handholding your camera after dark on Halloween.

4. Boost sharpness to amplify detail and up the surreality quotient. You can boost sharpness and clarity in many programs, from Aperture to Lightroom to Photoshop. Take it over the top and exaggerate those edges and textures and you’ll inherently make your goblins look creepier. If there was a holiday tailor made for this hyperreal post-processing effect, it’s Halloween.

5. Consider creepy white balances to add to the mood of your photos. Set the white balance incorrectly—on purpose—to create a deep orange color shift. Shoot with tungsten light (like most light bulbs around your house) but set your white balance to daylight and you’ll get a good orange glow. If you want a cool blue hue, do the opposite: Set your camera white balance to tungsten and shoot in daylight. There’s no rule that says the correct white balance is always the best white balance. When it comes to setting a mood, color contributes a lot. And using a deliberately incorrect white balance is a great way to put color to work for you.

Article Source: Digital Photo Magazine

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