One of my biggest photo dilemmas this time of year is the dreaded red eye. Both of my kids have large-pupiled blue eyes that are magnets for the satanic glow. I suppose Halloween might be the one time of year when the effect might be appropriate – if they were going for that horror movie look. But who wants their pretty princess in her tiara to end up looking like Linda Blair in The Exorcist? And the supposed red-eye reduction features of some point-and-shoot cameras never seem to work for me. That strobe-like flash – a desperate attempt to shrink the pupil before the actual picture is taken – always just serves as a distraction, delaying the photo, causing the kids to lose interest and me to miss the shot.
As a newbie photographer who has only recently upgraded to a camera that can no longer fit in my pocket, I never understood why red eye haunted my every indoor photo or why the people in my pictures often look bleached out and the rooms we celebrate in look like dreary black caves with no details. According to photography professor Ken Kobré, the problem is the FLASH on my fancy new camera. When shooting inside, my camera pop-ups up the flash to add some light to my pictures. Unfortunately, it's not really very attractive light. It's sort of like blasting my family with a flash light. It washes out colors and facial features of anyone close to my camera and leaves those in the background swallowed up by darkness. The beam is so focused it hits what it hits and leaves everything else in the dark. Pop-up flash also reflects off the back of the eyes of some people (especially those with large pupils, like my kids), causing that demonic red glow that camera manufacturers affectionately call red-eye. No wonder my pictures are so disappointing.
Professor Kobré explained to me that professional photographers have a few tricks up their sleeve that save their photos from these bleak results. They use expensive external flash equipment that bounces light off the ceiling and then evenly distributes it to the room below. This method of lighting a room is more natural and flattering. It ensures that all your subjects at the Halloween Party – from the green-faced witch to yellow Sponge Bob and his square pants – are equally lit and adorably visible. Plus -- with bounced flash, red eye is impossible. If you don’t have an external flash for your 35mm SLR camera, you can use a surprisingly simple product called Lightscoop. I don’t have a super expensive camera or a fancy flash, and frankly, I wouldn’t know how to use them if I did. I was relieved to find out that I could improve the quality of the flash photos my camera takes with a small inexpensive attachment that costs less than $35 but produces professional looking results. It is an easy fix that even I can handle. Avoiding Awkward Poses and Fake Smiles
Professor Kobré also shared some tips from his career as a photojournalist with me. I explained that my son is just about the goofiest, most smiley kid ever, but the second you pose him for a photo, his normally jolly face freezes into a grimace that is more menacing than cute. And who wants that in a scrapbook, even at Halloween?
Professor Kobré’s solution: instead of asking people to pose – or even allowing them to pose whenever a camera is near – encourage them to continue what they’re doing. Snap them while they’re deep in conversation, admiring a friend’s costume, or when their tongue peeks out in concentration while in the middle of a craft project. Catch the kids with their mouths ringed with orange frosting from that pumpkin cookie. These are the kinds of candid moments that bring memories alive for future generations. Be a Ghost Yourself Also, in order to catch those candid moments, try to blend into the background instead of calling attention to yourself as the photographer. Kids will often ham it up when they see a camera, but if you hang out for awhile, camera in hand, quietly snapping photos instead of yelling out “smile” or “say cheese,” eventually the kids will ignore you in favor of something more interesting. And that’s when you usually get your best shots. If You Must Pose, Be Natural If you want a posed class photo or a picture of your kids with their closest friends, try allowing the poses to be more natural. Let the kids be themselves – silly, or at the very least, relaxed. Nothing comes across as more unnatural than two 8-year-olds standing stiffly next to each other, American Gothic style. Instead, have them interact, tell each other a joke, or let them drape their arms around each other and give each other rabbit ears. All of these things are more “natural” to a child than standing still and forcing a smile.
Hopefully these tips will help you with all of your holiday parties – not just the ones at school. I personally can't wait for this year's party. I'm planning to do a fun layout on both kids’ costumes. I know that these will be memories worth sharing and photos worth keeping.
Wendy Brant is a Chicago-area-based writer, mom, and family photographer who struggles to take decent photos and to eat five fruits and vegetables a day. Even though she never exactly aspired to be a journalist, she graduated with a journalism degree from Northwestern University, and almost 20 years later it’s finally coming in handy. When she’s not at her computer writing (or surfing the internet – shhh!), she can be found volunteering at her kids’ school or daydreaming about having a personal chef.
