Halloween Photography Ideas and Tips for Spooky Pictures

Whether you're an amateur photographer or just want to get some spooky pictures this Halloween, use creative lighting techniques to set the photographic scene. Instead of just placing your costumed kids or yourself in front of the camera with a straight flash, trying shooting with light from below or changing the lighting atmosphere with color.

Lighting From Beneath the Subject

Remember at summer camp when you woke up to find your best friend standing over your sleeping bag with a flashlight shining up at their face? Remember how creepy their face looked with light making shadows in the wrong direction? That's the idea behind lighting from below a subject. Low lighting is a staple in horror movies and thrillers for the uneasy, frightening feeling it creates. Even a sweet bunny or kitten can be made demonic by sticking a light under their chin.

To take advantage of this effect with your Halloween photos, set your kids on a chair of bale of hay. Place a row of flashlights or battery operated lights at their feet and let the light shine up at their faces. For toddlers in Halloween costumes, sit the toddler on a clear plastic box or pedestal and place a bright glow stick or battery operated light underneath it. Or, turn your camera upside down so the flash goes off below the subject instead of above it. More expensive digital SLR cameras have optional flash units with pivoting heads. These are perfect for adjusting so the light bounces off the floor (or a piece of white board placed on the floor, out of the frame) and back up to the subject.

Moody Colors

Change the entire lighting atmosphere with a little color swap. Glowsticks are available in spooky greens, blues and pinks. Mix them up or use several of the same color to add spots of Halloween glow in your photographs. Small piles of glowsticks are fun in the backgrounds of photos to mimic studio effects.

Especially around the holidays, cellophane plastic wrap is available in many different colors including green and red. Use this cheap alternative to expensive lighting gels with the same color effect. Tape a piece over your flashlight heads, battery powered lights or your camera's flash. Now you have a blue, green or red light instead of plain white light. (Note: cameras in automatic mode may try to correct the color with a white balance. Photo labs are also notorious for this. I recommend shooting in manual mode and making your own prints at home.)

Clean up the Backgrounds

When using special lighting techniques, pay attention to the background. A cool effect will be diminished by a dowdy living room slightly out of focus in the background. Instead, drape dark colored cloth, preferably black, over a tall couch or pin it to the wall. Place your subjects in front of the black backdrop and use props and lights to make the Halloween photo interesting. Or, take your children outside to the front porch. Find a corner and place pumpkins, hay and flowers in the right places. They should form a scene without BEING the scene. Most of the background should be out of focus behind your child (by using a wide aperture or shooting with "Protrait" mode - check out Your Digital Camera's Scene Modes: What the Mountain and Palm Tree Icons Mean for more tips on this).