Who is ready for Halloween???🎃 

Depending where you live and your current restrictions, this year's celebrations may look a bit different than previous years, but that doesn't mean it's not worth documenting! 

So if you'll be celebrating in some form with your family - whether it's putting up decorations, carving a pumpkin, wearing costumes, heading out trick-or-treating or pumpkin spotting, or simply just eating the sweets - it's the perfect opportunity to grab your camera and capture some memories!

5 QUICK HALLOWEEN PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS:

1.If it will be dark when you head out trick-or-treating or out on your pumpkin hunt, put the costumes on earlier in the day, or even the day before, and head out for a mini shoot before it gets too dark (or too cold) so you can capture the costumes in all their glory!

2. Don't forget the details. The carving mess, putting on the costumes and the make up, the decorations, the loot bag, the candy wrappers all over the floor.

3. Anticipate the moment. When you're going to door to door, or opening yet another treat, you already know what's going to happen and what the reaction will be, so get your camera ready in advance. Find your vantage point and wait for the moment to unfold in front of you.

4. Don't forget to be present! You don't need to shoot at every house, or capture every treat. Capture a few images and then put the camera down for a bit. Or just capture the well decorated homes, or the first treats, or set a time limit that you'll shoot for. Remember you're there to be the parent/grandparent/carer and to have fun with your family, not to be the hired photographer.

5. If your family celebrates Halloween every year, think of an image you can capture year after year creating a series. I make my kids sit together on the front porch for their 'Halloween Portrait.' It's not an image that's ever going to win an award, and the kids usually have candy in their mouth (very attractive!), but I love seeing the three of them contained together in one frame (not an everyday occurrence!), in their costumes, and having fun. And looking back at this series from the years before melts my heart to see how much they've grown.

And most importantly, as always let go of perfection and HAVE FUN!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!🎃

Jenny Rusby is a natural light, lifestyle and documentary photographer and specialised newborn photographer, maternity photographer and family photographer. She services all areas of Victoria, including inner Melbourne suburbs such as Richmond, Northcote, Fitzroy, Collingwood, Malvern East, South Melbourne, Elwood, as well as outer south eastern subrubs, bayside areas such as Morntington, Sorrento and Red Hill. She also services the west of Melbourne and will travel to Geelong on request.