It’s Halloween today! And all across the world, people are dressing up in costumes and enjoying the festivities that come with the fun today. If you’re a passionate photographer, then you’re probably going to bring your camera with you. Only a monster wouldn’t do this — and if you’re dressing up as a monster of some sort, then I’m sure that there’s some sort of pocket you could cram a camera into. So if you want great photos, then be sure to note the most important tip for photographing Halloween.
Before we list off a few actual tips, here’s what we think is the most important one: have fun. If you have fun, then every time you look at the photos, the fun memories will flood back to you. That’s incredibly important when it comes to photographing Halloween. I mean, why even do it otherwise? Don’t get way too caught up in trying to make the perfect photograph. Truthfully, you probably won’t care in a few years.
“I’m not saying it’s wrong to take pictures that wow people. But what’s not right is to take pictures with the goal of impressing people, of winning awards, or of raking in likes and comments on social media.”
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Now, here are some actual tips to help you out.
Opt for Wide Aperture Lenses
Yes, we’re saying this — the magazine that tells you to do away with natural light photography and instead go for using a flash. Well, use fast aperture lenses when photographing Halloween. Chances are that you’ll be doing this at night time so you need more light to take photos. Don’t bring an LED panel around with you, that’s a fast way to annoy people. Who wants a giant flashlight-style thing shining in their face all night? Instead, either use a small flash, or get really fast lenses. Most kit lenses just won’t cut it for this kind of photography.
We’ll talk about it more, but go for candid moments. If you’re shooting proper portraits, then you’ll have to stop your lens down. Make sure that you and your subject are in sufficient lighting to give you a shutter speed that you can hand-hold.
Be Careful Around Alcohol
During Halloween parties, people surely like imbibing alcohol. Stay away from it. There’s nothing worse than someone spilling beer or wine on your camera gear. Not only will you have to clean it off later with isopropyl alcohol, but it could majorly damage the gear. When you’re not actively shooting, try to cover your camera up with your hands to protect it.
If you’re using a flash on-camera, this gets even dicier. We recommend not using it in this situation unless it’s a very high end one that can probably resist a splash or two.
Search for Intimate Moments
The key to looking for intimate moments has to do with identifying emotions — both yours and those of the people around you. If you see moments where emotions are clearly being expressed, then there’s a chance that they can make for a fantastic photograph. But there are also times where you might think something is emotionally stimulating. At that moment, be sure to snap an image.