RECORD THE PREGAME SHOW

Snap pictures as the kids are getting ready for trick-or-treating. Kids adore their Halloween costumes. They ooze with excitement. Their eyes and mouths come to life with exaggerated expressions. Watch for great faces.

SHOW YOUR COLORS

Halloween celebrations are rich with vibrant color. Capture background hues by using a slow shutter speed with your flash unit. If you use one of the Tough series of cameras, consider setting the shooting mode to "Nightscape." This is foolproof way to slow down the shutter speed. Another approach with Olympus interchangeable lens system cameras and select compact cameras is to set the flash sync on "Slow" and manually adjust the shutter speed. Try speeds as low as one second to get interesting and spooky light trails punctuated by sharp details when the flash fires.

RAMP UP YOUR EXPOSURE INDEX

If you can, shoot with a higher exposure index (E.I.) or ISO value. You can combine a higher ISO with flash to help capture lots of ambient background light indoors and out—and add depth to your images. I routinely use E.I. values as high as 3200 to maintain great image quality when shooting with an OM-D camera.

STEADY IT UP

The Olympus image-stabilizing technology is best in it’s class. If your shooting with a current Olympus interchangeable lens camera, set your camera body on “S-IS1,”All Direction Shake I.S.” and you can prowl the neighborhood and shoot handheld up to several seconds. Use an aperture of F5.6, an you’ll get pin-point sharpness in dim light. If your camera doesn’t have a modern I.S. mode, consider using a small, lightweight tripod when you tour the neighborhood haunted house. 

GET CLOSE

Improve those faraway scenes of kids walking down the sidewalk with parents in tow. Remember to stay within about five to 10 feet of the goblin group. You'll also be within flash range so your results will be well-exposed.

GET LOW

Get in the habit of kneeling down to photograph children. Cuddle up to their bags of Halloween candy. This puts you on their level and results in an image with a more pleasing, realistic perspective.

DON’T FORGET THE DETAILS

To fill out your personal Halloween photo album, shoot lots of details and tell a story. Close-ups of the jack-o-lantern faces, the candy bowls, and tight shots of painted faces are ideas for starters.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TWILIGHT

Use the time just before dark — the "magic hour” — to take portraits of your kids in costume out in the front yard or on the sidewalk. Try to include a little environment to add visual interest.

Related Tip: Blue Hour Photography

BONUS TIP: CHECK OUT FALL FESTIVALS

For a fun and spooky time, check for local fall festivals in your area. Loads of pumpkins to discover and creepy Halloween gatherings about on the weekends leading up to the big night.

 

ABOUT LARRY PRICE

Web: larrycprice.com
Blog: larrycprice.com/blog
Twitter: @LarryCPrice
Instagram: @LarryCPrice

Over his storied career, Larry has worked for some of North America’s largest newspapers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Baltimore Sun, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Denver Post. He is currently at work on a longterm project about global pollution with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting in Washington, D.C.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LARRY

WANT MORE HALLOWEEN TIPS?

Learn how to capture spooky scenes, abandoned places, or how to add costumes to your photos.

For more seasonal tips - like capturing autumn leaves, trains and more, check out the Featured Tips area of our Photo Tips page.

Pumpkin for related photos
Photo by Olympus Visionary Frank T. Smith