When nothing else seems to work for you there is one tip that almost always results in a nice Halloween photo. When all else fails, set it on fire. Now, I'm not saying to set things on fire that aren't supposed to be on fire. PLEASE be careful when you work with fire. Plan ahead and select your subjects carefully.
Safety
- Always have adult supervision
- Only work with fire in a wide open area with nothing else flammable in the area
- Have a fire extinguisher on hand
- Do NOT set anything on fire that will be damaged
- NEVER use fire with live subjects
Adding fire to your Halloween photos plays on an instinctive fear of fire and years of movies linking fires to Halloween. For the example photo I filled a goblet candle holder mostly full of water (and a few drops of red food coloring) and set a shot glass full of rubbing alcohol in the center. Because the water is red and the shot glass clear you do not see it inside the goblet. The water also helps insulate the goblet from the fire. You can use a candle for this type of shot but you will not get the same type of flame.
Another Halloween fire idea is the
flaming green pumpkin I covered in the
Fun Photography series.
