anna sganga photography: Trick or treat, smell my feet...

Halloween festivities are right around the corner. The Halloween spirit is in full force at our house. Halloween also happens to be one of my favorite holidays. It's such a great time to capture the spirit of your little ones in their costumes.

I don't know about you, but I love to make my costumes. My children have grown into the habit of 'what costume can we make this year,' particularly my daughter. We don't leave dress-up to Halloween in our house though. There is usually a ninja or princess wandering the house on a weekly basis. Sometimes Spiderman will make his debut at the grocery store. I'm okay with the kids wearing their dress-up gear outside of the house, I think it builds character and is a great conversation starter.

Just a few tips for you on capturing some great shots of your little goblins and ghouls on Halloween:

Have your little one try on their costume before the actual event so they are used to the different parts of the costume. Having said that, if there are any pieces your little one does not like, wait until you're ready for pictures before having them put it on.
Take your photos while the sun is still shining. The kids are usually so amped to go trick or treating that they're just running around waiting for the time to pass. This is a great time to get them outside (weather permitting) to snap a few shots.
If it's already dark, silhouettes are great to capture. It will give a spooky effect to the shot.
Be careful with your flash at night, you'll capture your subject pretty well, but be prepared for losing some of the detail of your background.
Kids are fast so make sure you have your camera set to the appropriate setting. I would suggest using the sport setting and continuous burst setting to capture moments with lots of movement.
Most importantly, have fun! Take your camera with you on your walk through the neighborhood. We're so lucky to live in the digital age of film. Take lots of pictures, you'll get a few that you love!

Here are a few of my favorite Halloween shots of my little ghoul and goblin. This was from 2 years ago and we made the costumes. My ghoul was a cheetah and my goblin was Wyatt from Super Why.