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Tips, Tricks and Treats for Halloween Photos

Creative costumes, smiling children and bright orange pumpkins are just a few of the things that make autumn a special time for photos. Read these tips to learn how you can turn tricky Halloween snapshots into treats that you’ll treasure for years to come.

Tips for Halloween Photography

There are a few things to keep in mind when photographing kids on Halloween:

  1. Don't wait until it's dark, get a few shots while it's still light out
  2. Stoop or bend down to their perspective to capture the details of their costumes and the expressions on their faces
  3. Move quick, because costumed kids on Halloween would rather be trick-or-treating than posing for photos.

Avoid Creepy Night Photos

We've all watched a scary movie where the protagonist is wandering through a dark house with a candle, limiting what the main character -- and the audience -- can see. While this dark lighting effect is cool in horror movies, no one wants it in their photos. Every camera's flash illuminates a scene up to a limited distance. This limit is known as a maximum Flash Working Range. The range can vary depending on shooting conditions and camera settings, but the maximum effective Flash Working Range of most Olympus point-and-shoot cameras is about 10 to 15 feet. So, what's your best bet when it comes to taking well-lit night photos? Make sure you step inside your camera's flash range when shooting your favorite ghouls and goblins. Check your camera's specifications to determine its maximum flash range.

Night+Portrait Mode

Many Olympus cameras come with Night+Portrait Mode which lets you take pictures of people at night or in dimly lit environments. This is a great way to capture very interesting night shots because it will generally reveal the details behind your subject, which can help emphasize the setting and composition of your photos. Night+Portrait works because the flash illuminates the subject in the foreground while a slowed shutter speed helps capture a natural-looking exposure of background details. When using this mode, you may want to ask your subject to remain still -- before, during and after the flash -- to help reduce motion blur. Also, since it is using a slower shutter speed, try to brace the camera as much as possible, or use a tripod.



The Three Legged Monster If you have the space and the time, you'll almost always get better nighttime photography results with a tripod. So, if you have the space and the time to set one up, try a tripod -- they are particularly effective when shooting with long exposures or when you're not using a flash. Don't have a tripod, you can also try setting the camera down on a steady surface and using the self timer.

 

Eliminating Those Devilish Red Eyes



It can happen almost any time you use the flash. To help prevent red-eye, enable the Red-Eye Reduction Flash mode before you take a shot. To remove red eye in a photo you've already taken, switch to Playback mode and use the Red-Eye Fix feature. If you don't have Red-Eye Fix in your camera, you can remove red eye with photo editing software like OLYMPUS Viewer 3.


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