6 Tips for Capturing the Magic of Halloween

Unsplash/Jocelyn Maloney

Who doesn’t remember their favorite Halloween costumes from childhood? There’s almost nothing more fun than looking through the pictures of Halloweens past: remembering the costumes, the jack-o-lanterns, the candy. We offer these tips to help capture the magic of Halloween this year so it can be a part of your MemoryWeb for years to come.

  1. Start early while it’s still light. Be sure to get everybody dressed up early enough to get some good shots while it’s still light outside. Low light photos can be a challenge. make it easy on yourself by getting some good shots early while the makeup is still fresh.
  2. Get eye level with your subject. It’s quite likely the subject of most of your Halloween pics will be children: those little ladybugs, turtles, robots and jedi warriors. Your shots will turn out so much better if you squat or bend down to their eye level, or even a bit below eye level to get your shot. You want faces, not tops of heads.
  3. Get before and after pictures. If your subject is undergoing a dramatic transformation -- lots of makeup and a wig, for example -- take some snaps of the process from start to finish.
  4. Consider the background. Consider what’s behind your subject. Your photos will look much better if taken outside with a decorative hay bale as a backdrop rather than inside against your kitchen cabinets. Maybe there’s a house in your neighborhood that goes all out for decorations where you could stage a quick photo shoot.
  5. Get some candid shots. It’s so tempting to get only posed photos, with all your little trick-or-treaters lined up against the fence. There’s definitely a place in your photo collection for those shots, but you also want a few photos of your little ones in action: ringing the doorbell, peering into the loot bag, running down the sidewalk.
  6. Lighting. Throw some extra candles in your jack-o-lanterns before you shoot them and slip a flashlight or two into your pocket before heading out. You can have someone hold the light source to the side of your subjects, avoiding the flattening effect of flash. (See more low light photography tips here.)

Bad Halloween photos are just scary, but these tips should help you step up your Halloween photo game!

Download MemoryWeb today and you can peruse your photos of Halloweens past with ease.