Halloween is party time and this party time has already come and gone; but the jack-o-laterns remain; at least for a little while. Along with festivity and fun, Halloween is also a very interesting time to click photographs. The places are full of colours, props, sweets and cute little kids, dressed to KILL!

One of the major props of Halloween is the Jack- O- Lantern. Clicking a Jack-O-Lantern can be quite a tricky task, since you need to capture the effect of the candle that is lighting the inside of the carved pumpkin. Now to get the perfect effect, you will always need to place Jack in dim light so that the inside can look luminous, but clicking photographs in low light can be a tough task. Here are a few tips that will help you get the right frame for your magnificent Jack.

Since your lantern is a stationary object, you can take your time to frame your shot. Hence, place it in a dark corner and use a tripod, like the sturdy Velbon VTP-815, to click it. The pumpkin is a bit of a tightrope to walk on, since you have to get the right exposure. There are often dark patches that need extra exposure and there is the glowing candlelight that needs low exposure or it will look burnt. Therefore, it is advisable to click on various exposure settings and make sure to keep you shutter speed low to get the right effect. Increasing film sensitivity can also get you the right effect.

Since the light is low, you can also keep more than one lantern in the frame to give the extra light. You can also use extra candles inside the pumpkin.