4 Tips for GREAT Halloween Portraits | Childrens Photographers NY

As a children's photographer in NYC and on Long Island NY, I find Halloween time to be the best time to photograph the magic that surrounds our children, and that they embody all year round - but that comes out to shine during this time.

This year, got Ghouls? Pirates and Princesses? Mermaids and Madhatters? Go capture some GREAT portraits. Here's how.

Tip 1: Make sure you start photographing them in their costumes early, even before Halloween. The more sure they are in their costumes and FEELING their character, the more it will ensure that you capture a few GREAT shots of fierce WonderWoman, magically shy Unicorn Girl, frighteningly ghoulish Freddy Fazbear, or whomever they have chosen this year to be.

Go ahead, call them by their character name! Goad them to snarl, sneer, Jedi sword fight, curtsy - BE and ACT the part. Your encouragement will go a long way in allowing them to feel comfortable and free - and allow you to take some great shots both you and they will want to remember.

Because by next year, they will certainly want to be something or someone completely different. Yet if your kids are like mine, know that they will still want to remember what they were the years past. And you will have the prints to remind them, and you!

Tip 2: Take advantage of Fall Harvest and Halloween-centric events around your town. Many of them will surely have wonderful, even spectacular set-ups for your child to play in - and for you to use as a wonderful backdrop that you cannot replicate at home. Mommypoppins.com has a wonderful list of event listings in your area for every day of the week, and Time Out New York Kids does too.

But, you don't need to be part of a large 'to do' to find inspiration! Surely there is that house in your neighborhood everyone drives to to see their ghoulishly lavish Halloween display - and so should you. Or that set up of pumpkins, scarecrows, scary webs by your local market? Go ahead and take advantage!

Tip 3: Whether you are looking to capture a detail of your child's costume, of scenery, but especially of your child's expression, make sure to isolate your subject from the crowd or from distracting elements. Then, get close! And don't be afraid to get closer still or to zoom in, making sure your camera is in portrait mode if automatic camera. Why not also go ahead and explore your macro settings?

Tip 4: Chances are, you will be doing lots of your photo capturing in low light situations.

Make sure to bump up your camera's ISO to at least 800 and bump up your shutter speed too, or put in on Night Portrait mode if available on an automatic camera. And do make sure to use a tripod if it does get too dark so you can capture images that are more sharp.

I personally never use flash, but if you do because your subject is too dark it's more flattering to use fill flash then full flash mode when you are capturing your subject up close.

Lastly, if possible, move your child to where there is more available light, or simply angle their body towards it as you are photographing them. However, do also acknowledge that the darkness can set the mood for your portraits: embrace it!

Click here to contact Andreea B. Ballen Photography if instead of being behind the camera you would like to have fun with your little ones and would like a professional photographer to capture your images for you, and turn them into prints and albums that you can look back to for generations to come.

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