Tonight is Halloween and, whether you like it more or less, the streets are filled with photo opportunities. Maybe you are one of those who enjoy it and live it to the fullest, or maybe it is your children, or maybe you just get excited about any opportunity to go out with your camera. Therefore, whatever your case, today I am going to leave you some tips so that you can take advantage of and take advantage of the situation. A way to practice, enjoy and take home colourful, gloomy, different images or, why not, night portraits. Go for it!
MASTER THE LIGHT
How easy said like that, right? This is probably your main problem. I know. That's why I put it first. Let's see what you can do.
SEIZE THE DAYLIGHT
As much as Halloween is a night party par excellence, during the day there is already movement, children dressed up at school, going from house to house, contests, decorated streets, shop windows, house doors... Take advantage while there is light to capture all these details and moments.
CANDLE LIGHT
You will find candles in many places, outside or inside pumpkins. This light is very suggestive and attractive, as well as offering you the possibility of illuminating what you want to photograph in the middle of the night or in a dark room. The most important thing is to adjust the white balance, point metering and that the subject is as close as possible to the candle (without getting burned, of course ? ). Be careful with the kids…
LOOK FOR THE LIGHT
If you are on the street and want to capture street scenes, take advantage of the light from street lamps to illuminate your subjects, also the light from shop windows or even the light of passing cars. The light will be your best ally, look for it, wait near it or move your subjects to it.
FLASH
Speaking of light, I know, it's very tempting to use flash. And unavoidable if you shoot in automatic mode. But if you want to improve your results, take an external flash if you have it and know how to use it. If this is not the case, it is preferable to shoot without flash. Otherwise you will have very (or too) bright photos in the foreground and all the black background.
However, you can use it as a resource in specific photos, to convey that gloomy feeling that the built-in flashes can achieve. Of course, I think Halloween is one of the few times when you can (creatively) pull your camera's built-in flash. But not to resort to it all the time and for all kinds of photos.
DECORATION AND DETAILS
I have mentioned it already, people put a lot of interest in decorating for Halloween. Take the opportunity to capture all those details, either as a whole or by focusing on small parts, playing with the aperture, the composition, etc.
CHILDREN
Children are great protagonists in this party. The illusion moves them, the emotion overwhelms them as much as the sugar of the candies. There is a tender and sweet part in this whole party. Beyond the gloomy, fear and so on, don't forget to capture that most candid and innocent part of Halloween. Take a look at this mega guide that we have prepared for you on children's photography, with all the tips and tricks, as well as a lot of inspiration.
ABANDONED PLACES
Perhaps your thing is not walking the streets behind the children or capturing the details or decoration. And yet, you love Halloween and what surrounds it. I leave you an idea, make one or more friends who have more or less your tastes and feel like a photo session. Find an abandoned place, wear some costumes and play. Have fun with photography. Try light painting, a portrait, a self-portrait or whatever you fancy. You have the theme, the inspiration, the rest is up to you ;).
BUGS AND MACRO
How good are you at macro photography? Have you ever tried it? Do you like bugs, insects...? Today could be a good day to recreate yourself in them, for example, in spiders with their spider webs so typical of tonight. What if you take the opportunity to get started in this fantastic discipline in which you can magnify any little thing? Here are some tips to get you started with the macro.
GASTRONOMY
It is inevitable to associate party with food. Sweets, cakes, cookies, pumpkin recipes and much more are baked at home. If you like gastronomic photography, it is an ideal time to practice it and achieve very colorful and attractive photographs. If you follow these tips or these others for desserts , you will be as successful with the photo as with the recipe;).
LOW KEY
Low light can be an excellent opportunity to make an emotional impact on the audience using the low key technique .
FEAR
Don't forget the central theme. Fear, death, mystery... An opportunity to capture terrifying photos. To do this, in addition to letting your imagination run wild, help yourself with these tips to add mystery. Or you can also be inspired by these images. You will leave your audience with their mouths open.
ENVIRONMENT AND EDITING
He tries to capture the environment, the atmosphere that is created in houses, in neighborhoods and even in commercial areas. Capture beyond a costume, a mask or a pumpkin. To do this, play with the edition with the aim of transmitting what you are experiencing. Try to move the public to that moment, to that same place. Vignetting, darkened areas, low contrast, cold tones, etc., will be your allies when editing.
BLACK AND WHITE
A good time to photograph in black and white and give your photos that touch of mystery. Of course, think beforehand if the photo you are going to take will look good in grayscale. Not all photos support it. But if you are clear... go ahead!
SETTINGS
Although I have already told you something, and despite the fact that there is no infallible recipe since situations can be very varied, here are some suggestions as a summary:
- Shoot in Manual Mode whenever possible. If not, in Aperture Priority or Velocity Priority.
- With children you will have to use a rather fast shutter speed to be able to catch them clearly (they move a lot ? ).
- Don't be afraid to raise the ISO value , without abusing it, of course, but assess whether the noise that may appear is worth capturing that moment. Perhaps you want a landscape 100% sharp, but the first time your child goes out for candy, you would rather capture it with some noise than miss it due to not having enough light.
- Spot measurement when working with lights such as candles, flares, etc.
- Disable the flash, unless you want to achieve a specific effect.
- Use wide apertures to capture details, closed for the general environment.
- If you are going to photograph a group of people (children or adults), use medium apertures, because they will rarely all be in the same plane and with wide apertures (large f/ numbers), some would be in focus and others out of focus.
To finish, I leave you with some articles that can help or inspire you:
- Tips for Photographing a Party
- Master Night Portrait Photography With These Simple Tricks
- 11 Easy Ideas For Your Next (and Successful) Night Portrait Without Flash
- 13 (Very Simple) Tricks To Get Well-lit Photos When There Is No Light
- How to Photograph Children in Focus (Without Dying of Despair)
- Weekly Challenge 182: Halloween
Do you want to go out and give it your all? Your camera awaits you, but first, let me ask you a favor. Share this article on your favorite social network and leave a "Like". In this way we will know that this is the type of content that interests you and it will be able to reach more people willing to take the camera for a walk ;). Thank you and… Happy Halloween!
