Halloween is NEXT WEEK. As in just DAYS away! If you're like me and love Halloween and getting your kids all dressed up in their outfit - you're going to want pictures! Lets be real, As soon as it starts to get dark out and your child is dressed with pillowcase in hand, you know you've got about 2 minutes worth of focus where you can snap a few frames, so you've got to make it count. Candy and Pictures are on two completely opposite sides of the priority scale for these tykes, they don't care about the effort it took to make or find their costumes, all they know is that your pictures are standing in the way of a night filled of sugary goodness. To prep for the 31st, I threw together some quick do's and don't when it comes to taking pictures of your costumed crew, and I did it all with my cell phone camera. 

1. Take Pictures Days Before

This is what I do. Our church usually has a Halloween party and we get all decked out in our costumes for it. I usually have a sister or mom come over before hand and be our human tripod. That way, when it's go time and it really is Halloween, I can get the one shot I need to document the day and we can be on our way - enjoying the night out and not stressing about missed shots. This method does take a bit more planning and doesn't leave you much room to be the "grab costumes the day before Halloween" kinda person, but it also helps get more wear out of your costumes and you can enjoy them longer! Check out last year when we went as Ash, Misty, Pikachu, Eevee and Squirtle! 

2. Even Lighting is Your Friend

I get not every house or location is going to have beautiful, soft, golden sunlight, but the main thing you are aiming for is even light. Whether that is full sun or full shade, just try to avoid a mixture of both. Your phone's camera will try and compensate for the two extremes and will usually result in really dark shadows. For example, I had Jones throw on my Spiderman costume Danny got me our first married Christmas together, and I took him outside for a little demo. You can see that we can see all the details when he's in full sun or full shade, but when he's turned away from the light or in a partially shaded area, we loose the shadows. (*My favorite is full shade - so find that if you can for the easiest results)

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(Left: faced away from the sun. Right: partially shaded)

(Left: full sun straight on. Right: Full shade)

3. Watch Your Background

It can be tempting to just snap the picture wherever your kid is standing - and sometimes that's the best we can get, but if you've got a second to observe the background, do it! It can even be as simple as moving yourself to cut out the distracting elements, like the neighbors' garbage cans below! Not a total deal breaker, but it'd be nice if they weren't there. 

4. Photograph them in Character/Playing

Jones is not a fan of the amount of pictures I take, especially when I try to pose him. But having him act like Spiderman and throw leaves around really helped get him in the spirit and produced some pretty cute images. 

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5. Use Portrait Mode

Not all phones have this option, so if you don't, I'm sorry! It's the easiest way to get "professional" looking pictures - the only downside is your subject needs to be calm and still so that it doesn't blur the wrong thing by accident. 

(Portrait mode left, regular camera right)

6. The Classic Door Shot

I love the classic standing in front of the door shot, it helps document your home as well as the costume and it can show off your porch. You can even have them play around like in the above tip to get a good shot. 

7. Avoid Flash if at all possible

I know this is another thing that can't always be avoided, but try your hardest to not use flash if you can! Flash on a cell phone is hard and tricky because you have no control over it and it will always make your subjects flat. Find an alternative way to light your subject - either indoors or by shining flashlights from above/to the side. You might feel pretty ridiculous, but you'll get results! 

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(Left: Flash, Right: No Flash but used a flashlight to light subject)