How to Add Drama to Halloween Kids Photographs?

Halloween is all about drama and kids have a blast dressing up and pretending to be wizards, witches, fairies or historical characters.  It is the time of year when scary actually becomes cool and fun!  While photographing kids at Halloween, the more dramatic your photographs, the better.  Here are 5 ways you can add drama to Halloween kids photographs.

Play with light and shadow:  

Light and shadow can create magic in photography.  This is one of the easiest ways to add drama to Halloween kids photographs.  Shoot the kids in costume in different lighting and play around with shadows to get the best effect.  However, remember that too much shadow and you can ruin the photograph.  Use the light and shadow to highlight the effect of the costume and makeup, thus creating a more dramatic image.
    

Expressions:  

With the elaborate Halloween costumes, most kids are already in character once they are dressed up.  Get them come up with different expressions – scary, scared, mystical, wise, or even just plain funny.  Focus especially on the eyes in these photographs.
    

Get action shots:  

Once the kids are dressed up, get them to act as the character they are dressed as.  A fairy waving her wand, a witch or wizard casting a spell, or a vampire baring blood-stained teeth.  Kids have great fun acting out these characters and you will get some action-packed dramatic Halloween kids photographs.
    

Close shots:  

Zoom in when shooting expressions or actions.  This will add to the dramatic effect of the photograph.  It will also allow you to capture the little details of costume and makeup – sparkling eyelashes, long nails, lighted wands, or bright red lips with pointy little fangs.  There is a lot of thought, effort and time that goes into a kid’s Halloween look so get in close and capture it all.
    

Background:  

The background will add to the composition of your photograph so remember to include well lit jack-o-lanterns in your Halloween photographs.  You can also add to the drama of your Halloween kids photographs by creating a setting to go with the character – a sign saying Hogwarts Express with the child dressed as Harry Potter or a castle sprinkled with fairy dust and your little one dressed as a fairy or pixie.