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Halloween Photoshoot Tips
Summer is nearly over, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop now! This time of year is perfect for going outside and capturing the beautiful colors of the changing leaves and a great opportunity to take fall family photos. Take advantage of the stunning outdoor backdrop and get creative making a new Halloween tradition this year with a fun, spooky photoshoot! We love seeing unique, spooky decor in the fall that features you and your family. Halloween is only one night a year, but these photos can be a part of your family’s Halloween memories and home’s decor year after year! Read on to learn our best 3 tips to improve your spooky Halloween photoshoots:
1. Intentional Motion Blur
Add supernatural shadows to your spooky season with a quick phone camera trick! By adjusting your phone’s camera shutter speed, you can intentionally add blurring and exposure effects to your photos. Curious how this trick works? Essentially, you will be allowing the camera shutter to slow down and capture more light. It will create a spooky blurring effect to the photo. You will need to change your phone’s camera capture mode and choose “slow shutter.” IPhone users will have this feature automatically be set to “light trails” and you will need to switch to “slow shutter.” These small effects can make a big impact on how your photos turn out!
Your subject can make small, slight movements for a spooky outcome. Try experimenting with how much activity you want your subject to create! Additionally, you can control the motion in the photo as the photographer. You can also try moving your own body or giving your phone a slight shake! Play around with how you are intentionally creating the motion and blurring the photos.
We love the idea of getting into the Halloween spirit by dressing up! Create a couple of ghoulish characters for a Halloween photoshoot by grabbing a couple sheets or try dressing up in vintage inspired clothing. Head outside at dusk for a naturally spooky lighting element.
2. Double exposure
Another fun Halloween effect is trying a double exposure for a truly ghostly experience! We recommend downloading Double Exposure – a free app for iPhone users.
With this app, you can easily create a double exposure in-app. You can adjust the camera settings and take two photos seamlessly. This will create and show off a ghostlike shadow in the image! If you’re feeling really creative, then try superimposing more than two photos into a single image. You can do this from the in-app camera or upload from your photo library. Uploading from the library is especially fun because you can play with multiple backgrounds or lighting effects.
There are so many fun options when setting the spooky scene by adding holiday decor like seasonal flowers, dead or alive, to your Halloween photoshoot. Don’t forget to include a couple pumpkins, gourds, and jack-o-lanterns!
3. Spooky Silhouettes
Utilize natural light to create spooky silhouettes! Have your Halloween photoshoot outdoors an hour before sunset for brighter sunlight. This will give you strong shadows to work and experiment with! As the sun sets, try adding sheets or large cloths for a more traditional hanging background and play with light from candles. You can also incorporate artificial light from LED candles as a safer option. You can play with more dramatic lighting to create shadows and high contrast images.
At home, try using a projector to create creepy shadows against a backdrop. You can also do this stunt with a large flashlight for a more traditional special effect. Try playing with depth and what scenes you can create!
The Halloween season is the perfect time to practice and play with your phone’s camera functions while creating magical and spooky photos! Check out these videos for more fun, halloween photoshoot inspiration.
Now that you have your spookish photos ready, don’t forget to print them! Our processing time for photographic prints is only 1 business day. You can capture your spooky photoshoot in late September and take advantage of our quick turnaround and have your ghostly photos ready in early October!
These Halloween-themed photos will look perfectly ghoulish in a spooky collage on a XL photostrip or on a memory page to remember the thrill of the spooky season. For extra fun, include a couple images with an adorable “booed” prank and spread the Halloween mischief! The changing of the seasons brings a fresh air of excitement and a burst of creativity for new autumn activities that can make for fun photography projects. One of the best parts of the fall season is the crisp October weather and the beloved holiday that invites us to delight in all things spooky and chilling.
Share your spooky halloween photos with us on social media by tagging us!