Halloween

little girl dressed up in halloween costume standing outside
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Get Ready For The Perfect Pic With These Halloween Photoshoot Ideas

These are just creepy enough.

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Halloween is the one time of year when it’s acceptable to dress your kids up as little demon children, put fake headstones out in your front yard, and use blood as a legitimate decorative accent. Since it’s such a brief window of time, I like to come up with fun and spooky Halloween photo shoot ideas for my daughters every year so that I can relive the creepy season long after the holiday has passed. What can I say? I’ll take a picture of my kids dressed up as zombies over them in Christmas dresses any day.

Throughout most of the year, my love for all things creepy, dark, and borderline disturbing is considered an “unnerving quirk,” as my husband says. But, every fall, for a little over a month, it suddenly turns into some totally normal “Halloween spirit,” so I have to soak it all up while I have a chance. I love brainstorming new Halloween photo shoot ideas every year because, not only do I get some amazing pictures of my kids out of these little photo sessions, I also get a chance to get creative and use my seasonal decor in new and different ways.

As it stands, my daughters are both too young to get too scary with my photo shoots, but there are still a lot of great kid-friendly scenes that have just the right amount of spook to them. So, if you’re in the same boat and on the hunt for some Halloween photo shoot ideas of your own, here are a few to consider this year.

1

Witches In The Woods

susan.k., Getty Images

There’s nothing that says autumn and Halloween like falling leaves and bare trees. Have your kids dress up in some witch costumes and turn your nearby trees into their spooky forest with some sunlight and photo magic or some fake fog.

2

Zombie Kids

Loop Images RF, Getty Images

For this, you will need more makeup skills than photography because it’s all about making your kids look like they’ve risen from the dead. In addition to the makeup, dress the up in tattered clothes and rub some dirt on them to really make the look come alive (or dead).

3

Jack-O-Lantern Faces

susan.k., Getty Images

This Halloween photoshoot will be less about preserving images of your kids in their costumes, and more about remembering their adorable Jack-o-lantern handiwork for years to come. There are a lot of different background options you can use, too, like a pumpkin patch, a wooded area like in this photo, or a worn-down wood fence.

4

Secret Laboratory Backdrop

Dina Belenko Photography, Getty Images

Set up a spooky laboratory or lair where your kids can concoct their witch’s brews and build friends for Frankenstein. Keep the space dark, fill up clear bottles with water with food coloring, and don’t forget to add a few spooky elements as well, like the eyeballs in a jar in this photo.

5

Dressed Up Feet & Legs

Victoria Caverhill/Adore Photography, Getty Images

You don’t even have to do any fancy makeup for this type of Halloween photoshoot, just dress your kids up from the waist down to create fun pictures like this. Costume ideas include a clown, superhero, witch, princess, or a classic sheet ghost.

6

A Trick-Or-Treat Parade

kokouu, Getty Images

Find the best-decorated house in the neighborhood (or dress your own up) and have your kids pose in a line while wearing their Halloween costumes, like in this photo. Make sure there are pumpkins, pretend headstones, ghosts, or other on-theme props to really bring the photo to life.

7

A Cornfield Backdrop

Elizabethsalleebauer, Getty Images

You could simply recreate this photo as is and you’d have one very cute picture of the kids, but it has more of a fall look than Halloween. To add some Halloween vibes to it, have the kids wear their costumes, hang some bats or ghosts from the corn stalks behind them, and add a few Jack-o-lanterns to the pumpkin mix.

8

A Haunting Dinner

Elizabethsalleebauer, Getty Images

How much fun is this picture? It’s easy to recreate, too, just put a table in front of a window, add a spooky-looking candelabra, cut some bat shapes out of black construction paper and hang them on the window, turn out the lights, and let a cloudy day do the work for you. Your kids don’t even have to dress up in masks if they don’t want to, some dark, gothic-looking outfits will work just as well.

9

Banners & Balloons

Eva Blanco / EyeEm, Getty Images

Grab a cute Halloween banner or garland, some orange and black balloons, a witch’s hat, and your baby and you have everything you need to create a very cute photoshoot. This little one is sitting on a bed, but you can just as easily hang a white sheet and have your baby sit on the floor instead. If you want to add a little more flair to the photo, mix in some purple and green balloons and add a few spiders to the floor or bats hanging from overhead.

10

TP Mischief

Darrin Klimek, Getty Images

For this photoshoot to work, you’re going to have to let go and let your kids go wild with the toilet paper (but, they will think you are the coolest grown-up ever for letting them do it). You will certainly get some good photos out of it, though, because what kid wouldn’t be laughing and smiling as they toss toilet paper all over their house?

11

Haunted House Scene

Marie Vanderweide-Murray, Getty Images

Set up a space in your home to look like a room in a haunted house. Get your favorite spooky decor to use as props and have your kids dress up to pay a part. For a little extra fun, let the pets join in like in this photo.

12

A Spooky Fireplace

Anjelika Gretskaia, Gett Images

If you have a fireplace in your home, deck it out in all things spooky like in this photo and have your kids sit in front of it (roaring fire optional) reading old, worn-out books, mixing up a witches brew with a cauldron between them, or practicing spells with a magic wand. If you happen to have a rocking chair and a skeleton handy as well, then definitely add them in as props.

13

Black Backdrop & Balloons

M_a_y_a, Getty Images

Snoop around your town to see if there are any black garage doors around to help you recreate this photo (if not, a black sheet works just fine). Dress your kids up in black clothes or costumes, and have them hold a bundle of orange, white, and black balloons. Or, use this picture as inspiration, and do something a little different with some purple and green balloons or a white outfit of some sort.

14

Trick-Or-Treat Candy Extravaganza

kokouu, Getty Images

Set up a scene like this one, with a “Happy Halloween” banner, balloons, pumpkins, props, and anything else you can think of to make the space look like it’s decorated for a party. Then, sprinkle candy and candy wrappers all over the table and floor and have your kids sit on the couch dressed in their costumes, looking like they ate way too much candy. Or, make it a little more playful and have them actively eating the candy and enjoying every bite.

15

Creepy Clowns

Johner Images, Getty Images

I would argue that there is nothing that’s quite as terrifying as a clown, whether it’s meant to be scary or not. So, this photo here is downright nightmare-inducing. It’s also a really easy scene to recreate (as long as you have kids who won’t smear the paint everywhere). All you need is a white backdrop, a white table cloth, some candles, pumpkins, and kids who are willing to dress up like little black, white, and red murderers... I mean clowns.

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