Halloween is the time for dressing up, candy, and a little bit of spookiness. And capturing that holiday should be just as fun as it is to participate in.

Wondering how to get the best photos of your kids in their Halloween costumes?

Here are 5 tips on how to photograph Halloween!

1. Do a test run –   Do a dress rehearsal a few days before Halloween where everyone gets fully dressed in their costumes.  The bonus of doing it a few days before Halloween?? You have your photos ahead of time and have them ready and waiting to post on social media and to send to family and friends on Halloween night. One less thing to stress over the day of!

2.  Have someone shine a flashlight from off to one side of the child. – You don’t want to do this for all of your kids Halloween costume photos, just some of them. It will produce a unique lighting effect for your pictures. Better yet, experiment with different colors of light — red, blue, and green will make some really unique Halloween photos!

3. The biggest mistake people make is to shoot from too far back – You don’t always have to shoot from head-to-toe — especially since shoes are often the weakest part of a costume. Instead, get in close and fill the frame. Take some shots where you fill the frame with just the child’s head and shoulders. And take other shots at different angles filling the lens with the most unique parts of their costume.

4.  It’s not all about the costumes – Remember that there’s lots of fun aspects to Halloween other than the costumes.  If pumpkin carving is done in your home then it needs to be documented!

5.  Include the pets –  If your pet is willing (even if it’s just for a minute) to wear a bit of your child’s Halloween costume, take the opportunity for a fun photo!

Celebrate Halloween!

A tasty treat that is easy to make and even more fun to eat!

Monster Munch

Ingredients –

• 3 c. kettle corn
• 2 c. pretzels
• 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips, melted
• 1 c. white chocolate chips, melted
• 1/2 c. candy corn
• 1/2 c. yellow, orange, and chocolate M&M’s
• 2 tsp. Halloween-colored sprinkles or nonpareils

Directions –

1. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, place a single layer of kettle corn. Mix in pretzels, making sure you have a single layer.
2. Transfer melted chocolates to separate piping or Ziploc bags (with a corner snipped). Drizzle kettle corn and pretzels with melted semisweet chocolate, making sure to drizzle lines very close together (you want the majority of the mix to be covered in chocolate).
3. Top with candy corn and M&M’s and drizzle with melted white chocolate. Top with sprinkles and freeze or refrigerate until chocolate is firm, 20 minutes.
4. Break into pieces and serve

The kids can keep the candy—treat the grown-ups to a fiendishly good holiday drink.

Zombie Slime Shooters

• 1 ounce vodka
• 1 ounce peach schnapps
• 1 ounce sour apple schnapps
• 1 ounce coconut rum
• 1 ounce sweet and sour mix

For the blood slime rim –
Mix 3 tablespoons of corn syrup with 1/4 teaspoon of red food coloring.  Dip the rim of each cocktail glass into the mixture, and slowly spin the glass to coat.  Turn the glass upright and the and the blood will begin to drip!

Cheers!

That’s all for now.  Hope to see you at some of the events!  Enjoy Halloween and be safe out there!