Taking Great Halloween Photos by LeNae Gerig, Hot Off The Press October 2007

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Halloween is a great photo-taking opportunity! Bright costumes and beautiful scenery combine to provide you with the potential to take beautiful and memorable photos.

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One Halloween tradition in our family is getting a picture of my daughter Lauren in her costume in the same spot on our porch every year. This allows me to create a sort of photographic timeline, chronicling her growth and the way her taste in costumes has changed over the years.

I also like to get a photo of Lauren from behind as she walks up to a house to trick or treat. Be sure to get this photo before it gets completely dark out. The average flash on a camera is only good within 9 to 12 feet, so keep that in mind when you're trying to snap pictures after the sun's gone down.

Another tradition at my house is a yearly Halloween party - and that means trying to get a group picture of a bunch of kids who have much better things to do than sit still and smile! My advice is to take what you can get. It's practically impossible to get a shot where everyone will be looking at the camera and smiling prettily. So, instead I try to get one imperfect group picture and then a bunch of candid shots. Candid photos of games like bobbing for apples will make your pictures and pages so much more memorable then posed shots could.

For group shots, I love to gather everyone in front of some sort of ‘set'. One year we brought in some hay bales, another we just used a bunch of pumpkins and our fence. These ‘sets' become backdrops for great photos and are a natural place for people to gather to take pictures!

My number one tip to getting great Halloween photos is to use your zoom! I've found that close-ups, especially those of your child, really pop off the page. Pictures with tons of background and tiny images of your child off in the distance don't have nearly as much impact. Close-up pictures really capture your subject's expression and the feeling of the moment. Plus I just think that close-ups are more fun to scrapbook!

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Digital cameras are great for taking these fall pictures, especially since you can fix a lot of photo goofs. For example, if you forget to zoom in on your subject you can always crop and zoom in later. If you're using a digital camera, make sure to use the red-eye reduction feature (you don't want your child to look too spooky, after all!).

When you're taking a picture indoors try and place your child against a neutral background. A background with a bright pattern or lots of things going on will detract from the image of your child.

I also try to always get a picture of that most important Halloween accessory–the candy! A picture of your child's loot spread over the kitchen counter or spilling out of their hands is a perfect addition to any Halloween layout.

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When I'm scrapbooking my Halloween photos, I like to include in my journaling why and how my child chose the costume she's wearing. Reminders of how long it took your child to decide on just the right costume (or how many times they changed their mind) will make the pictures that much more memorable later on.

This year I'm so excited to get my Halloween photos printed. That's because I have one of Hot of the Press' Halloween Finished in a Flash™ kits ready to go. This kit has everything I'll need to create fabulous fall and Halloween pages. With a kit like this just waiting for photos, I can't wait to get started taking pictures!