Photo Tip #127: Halloween Photo Fun!

Costumes
When photographing people this year, make the most of the costumes and make up by playing with some extreme close ups and wide angles to exaggerate the look. Remember the basics on portraiture (refer to my low light and portrait backgrounds tips), but push this by experimenting with your angles. Get down on a knee and shoot up at people. This can be a lot of fun with small children as well. Have them strike a pose and get into costume character, then get down real low and shoot up at them in their new Halloween outfit, making them look larger than life. This is a fun play on perspective and adds creativity and humor to the photo.

Lighting
Halloween is also a great time to play with lighting in your photos. Remember, in low light you will need to either use a flash or turn the ISO on your camera way to up to deal with night time or low light conditions. You can also push the creative envelope here by adding a colored gel filter over your flash to color the scene, such as red or green, giving the photo that classic horror or alien-like, otherworldly look. Use a slightly slower shutter speed to give just enough camera shake to blur the action. For example, have someone in costume rush the camera, or use your zoom to zoom in on the subject while the shutter is open. That feeling of rushing movement in the scene creates tension, which makes for a scarier photograph.

Transition
If you're planning to get into an elaborate costume this year, consider having someone document your transformation in pictures. Or, photograph the fun of getting your kids all decked out and putting on their costumes and make up. One fun thing to try is to photograph reflections in the mirror for some fun effects, and have fun with extreme wide angle or close up shots. Refer to my tips about indoor events and previous Halloween tips for some more pointers.

Jack-o-Lanterns
Capture your new Jack-o-Lantern creation this year by shooting it right as the sun goes down behind it. Position it up on a fence or wall, or if you can manage to get a clear sky in the background, let the kids hold the lit Jack-o-Lanterns. You can create a fun effect with the Jack-o-Lanterns glowing brightly against the silhouettes of your kids and the rich color of the darkening sky behind them. You may need to slow down the shutter speed, so again, you'll need to either turn up the ISO or have everyone in the photo hold perfectly still so you can set up on a tripod for a longer exposure. Refer to my previous tip about photographing silhouettes.

Digi's Site Tip: Print Facebook Photos

Did you know that Facebook is the most popular photo storing and sharing site on the web? Well, most of you probably have a Facebook account already, and use it to upload and share photos with your family and friends. But, did you know you can print those photos as well? Our Facebook app allows you to order prints of any of your Facebook photos, as well as photos you are tagged in. Visit http://apps.facebook.com/orderphotos/ to get started!

"I spent some time in our backyard looking at the migrating hummingbirds take a drink from our hummingbird feeder. This is one of the photos…a hummingbird sticking its beak into the feeder…speed used was 1/800."
– Stephen

"I took this picture July 9th, 2011 of my grandson's water polo match with my SLR camera and zoom lens using the sports setting. ISO was 400, Shutter speed 1/2000, F stop 7.1. The lighting conditions seemed perfect to me."
– Ray

"Using one of your suggestions, I got down on the ground and took this picture of my 4 year old grandson. I took several, but this is the one that turned out perfect! Great suggestion!"
– Cindy