A few years ago, I wrote an article for a photography website called I Heart Faces with tips for taking better Halloween photos of your kids. That website is sadly no longer available, so I thought I would re-write it and share my favorite tips with you here.
1. Get the costume shot early.
Of course, the first thing we all think about is taking photos of our kids in their adorable costumes. But all that the kids can think about is getting started down the street to fill up their pumpkin buckets or pillow cases with candy! So get them ready a bit early. This allows you to take the photos before they realize their full mask is hot and itchy and they run around the neighborhood just wearing the body section of their costume!
Our local Chamber of Commerce sponsors a Trick-or-Treat trail one Saturday in October in the early afternoon. This is perfect for getting photos before it gets dark AND it gives you an opportunity to get photos out of the way before the big night. Check with your community for similar opportunities.
You might even want to do a mini-session to get cute photos on a completely different day. Of course, I can help you with that! 😉
2. Capture the details.
By all means, take the traditional “costumed-kids-on-the-front-porch” photo, then try altering your perspective a bit to capture the details.
Some kids are wonderfully creative and want to make their own costumes. Or sometimes when they are a bit older, they decide at the last minute that they really do want to go out Trick-or-Treating after all. (That’s been the case at my house as the boys got older.) Take photos of the process if you can!
3. Have your children act out their characters.
Super heroes? Get a photo of them running across the yard, cape flying in the wind.
One year, all three of my kids decided to be ninja warriors. And their grandparents were good sports acting as their unsuspecting “victims”.
4. Don’t forget to photograph the food and decorations!
It’s easy to get so wrapped up in the preparations that you forget to take photos of the the food and decorations. Having photos of these things helps your kids remember all the fun of the evening.
5. Turn off your flash.
As the evening progresses, you will be shooting in lower light. Rather than switch to pop-up flash, use the widest aperture you can and bump up your ISO. A wider aperture allows more light to come into the lens. And bumping up your ISO makes your camera more sensitive to that light coming in. By doing this, you can preserve that spooky feel of Trick-or-Treating at twilight that you would otherwise miss if you used flash.
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