So it's the Hallowe'en Season, and you want to go to all the cool haunts and take pictures. Here's some advice, straight from the Haunted Mansion queue lines:
"NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY! Please..."
Flash photography ruins lighting effects. Granted, my lighting effects in the picture above are not the greatest, but they still look pretty good to the average viewer. Below, the flash has completely washed out everything.
Of course, getting people to stand perfectly still while taking a picture without a flash is pretty tough. But if you're taking pics of a haunt without actors in it, it's a great idea to learn how to use a tripod and, well, your camera. (The tripod is key! Get a tripod here.)
I admit, I'm still working on this concept.
Fortunately, someone wrote a nice article about this. Bryan J. Dorr is a photographer and his tutorial here, can help you brush up on taking pics at night.
You're welcome. ;)
Digital photography school has their tutorial, a little more comprehensive, here.
Photoshelter has a tutorial here.
Have fun, and take spooky pictures!
The Freakshow
12 years ago
Thanks - these links are very helpful. I would love to take better pictures of my lighting effects. They are always blurry without the flash but as you said, the flash ruins everything.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteYes a tripod is invaluable, though what I'd really like is a monopod with a three pronged foot. IDEAL!
ReplyDeleteIt's not just ruining the lighting effects by using flash, you'll also get "red eye" in the people you're photographing, and the sudden bright light will spoil the mood for other visitors. Now there are ways to use flash photography effectively in such situations, but you need a real professional camera setup to do so - not just the basic smartphone camera flash.
ReplyDeleteYour fellow 2014 Cryptkeeper,
Richard @ pureblather.com
(who spent far too many years working in a photo lab)