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Tips for Capturing Spooky Silhouettes with your Phone

Thursday, October 30, 2014

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Halloween might be all about the candy for my kiddos….but I’m more into the photos! There are so many fun moments to capture at Halloween, why not try your hand at a spooky silhouette? It’s easier than you think, using nothing but your phone!

Simple tips for capturing spooky silhouette photos with your phone this Halloween.

Follow along with these quick tips and you’ll be capturing spooky silhouette photos of your little ghosts and goblins in a snap!

Tips for taking Spooky Silhouette Photos with Your Phone

1. The right place at the right time. First things first, you need to choose the right location and the right time of day to be able to shoot a silhouette. Find an area where your subject can stand that you won’t get distracting elements in the background or shoot from below to avoid background distractions. An elevated area like a hill works great. You also need to shoot when the sun is low in the sky, so early morning or just before sunset.

2. Get in position. To create a silhouette you need to position your subject so the light is behind them. As the photographer, you will be shooting towards the light source.  Your background needs to be brighter than the subject in order for them to be in shadow.

Simple tips for capturing spooky silhouette photos with your phone this Halloween.

3. Exposure. Typically, when snapping a photo you want to make sure your subject is exposed properly. When taking a silhouette it’s different – you want to make sure your background is exposed properly. To do this with your phone, simply tap the brightest spot on the screen and snap. With the bright background behind your subject exposed properly your subject will be left dark creating that spooky silhouette effect.

4. Getting a crisp silhouette. To get a crisp, clean silhouette pay special attention to how your subject is posing. Making sure their limbs are all visible is a good idea and to do this they may need to exaggerate their pose slightly. Move their arm a little more away from their body, separate their legs. If shooting multiple people have them spread out so they don’t run together in the silhouette.

Simple tips for capturing spooky silhouette photos with your phone this Halloween.

5. Let’s focus. If your subject is moving, use burst mode by holding down your shutter button to capture the action. If you’re having difficulty getting focus, try a tripod and self timer – they’ll help eliminate any movement on your part. Lot’s of apps out there offer a timer option, I’ve used the Camera+ timer and it’s been great!

In low light keeping your phone really steady is key and to do this you may need a tripod. I recently purchased this Gorilla Pod to use with my phone and it’s been so great! I used it to take this image the other night and it would be helpful when silhouettes in low light too! It can attach to anywhere and is super light weight so can be taken along while hiking, etc. Right now it’s on sale for 40% off on Amazon. It’s regularly $29.97 and right now it’s only $16.74!! It would make such a great gift for the phone photographer on your Christmas gift list!

Use a gorilla pod to get spooky silhouette photos with your phone this Halloween!

6. Editing. If you don’t get a silhouette that’s completely blacked out, it’s ok. You can leave it like that or add some depth/contrast with your favorite editing app. I used the PicTapGo app to edit the photos in this post. I applied a filter that added a slight haze to my images along with more depth and contrast to enhance the darkness of the silhouette and the colors in the sky.

That’s all there is to it! Have fun capturing some spooky silhouettes this Halloween!

Looking for more Halloween inspiration or photo tips? Be sure to check out these posts:

Tips for Taking Creative Costume Photos of your Kids

How to take Spooky Pumpkin Photos

5 Quick Tips for Taking Memorable Halloween Photos

Silly Spider Hairdo

Do it Yourself Katniss Everdeen Costume

25 Simple Do it Yourself Costume Ideas

Free Printable Halloween Journaling and Filler Cards

16 Spooky Fonts for Halloween

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Rebecca

Rebecca

Rebecca Cooper is a 42-year-old wife and mother of four from Alberta, Canada. As a photographer, crafter, author, and blogger, she finds joy and fulfillment in celebrating everyday moments. She loves to read and eat chocolate, and is a firm believer in afternoon naps. Rebecca shares her family’s adventures, photo tips, simple craft projects + more right here at Simple as That.
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Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: Halloween, Phone, photo tips, photography, Silhouette

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Courtney O'Dell says

    Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 3:53 pm

    This is awesome! I have been looking for a good phone tripod- I am going to check it out!

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 4:09 pm

      I’ve been having lots of fun with it Courtney! Def check it out.

      Reply
  2. Jess @ Let's Do Something Crafty says

    Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 4:04 pm

    These are fab! x

    Reply
  3. Sarah @ 2paws Designs says

    Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 8:18 pm

    Great tips! I love how those shots turned out. It hadn’t dawned on me to try to get silhouettes on Halloween. Not sure if I can pull off tomorrow, but pinning to remind myself for next year. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 8:41 pm

      There’s always tonight Sarah! 🙂 😉 The kids and I definitely had a lot of fun with these!

      Reply
  4. Sarah @ Bombshell Bling says

    Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 11:02 pm

    I didn’t even know a phone tripod existed! Awesome!

    Reply
  5. Sara // Simply Happenstance says

    Friday, October 31, 2014 at 1:01 am

    Wow! Such amazing photos and wonderful tips you’ve shared! I really want to figure out a place to do this with my kids tomorrow evening! Thanks for the inspiration, Rebecca! xoxo

    Reply
  6. Hanah says

    Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 7:15 am

    I really love these iPhone tutorials. So often it’s the only camera I have with me so it’s great to know how to get the most out of it. Would love to see more of them.

    Reply
  7. Dona says

    Friday, October 30, 2015 at 8:38 pm

    How do you get the orange pumpkins in silhouette shot?

    Reply

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Rebecca Cooper — Founder, Simple as That Blog

Hello, I'm Rebecca. Welcome to my blog, Simple as That. Come along as we embrace simplicity in crafting, photography, travel, and family life. Read more about me.

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