Why I do Horror Photography
That’s right—horror, of all things. You might think that sounds a little strange, but it’s true. I just can’t imagine doing anything else with my life. After trying other niches and styles throughout my many years of experience as a photographer, I realized this is what I was meant to do.
9/3/20222 min read
Horror photography is not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of patience and courage to make an image that will scare people. But when you succeed, it’s exhilarating!
I choose Horror Photography because I enjoy every single moment of the process from planning out the shoot to editing the photos. Planning a Horror Photoshoot is a lot of fun!
It involves things like collaborating on ideas with the client and makeup artist, looking for inspiration for the Photoshoot, and finding the perfect location. After planning, makeup and wardrobe comes the actual shoot.
As the photographer when it's time to shoot I have many jobs to do at once to create killer images. I like to begin with figuring out the lighting for the subject because the lighting is very important in telling a story/creating art. When I am adjusting my settings for the lighting I like to get to know the model and do my best to make them feel comfortable. Once I take a few sample shots and have found the right settings for the lighting, I will begin posing my model.
There are a lot of things to consider when posing which vary based on the theme and overall concept. Click! It's picture time. I find the perfect angle for the photo and take some shots. Then I like to go through at least 4 or 5 poses depending on the shoot.
I will have the model rest for a couple of minutes as we go through the photos on the back of my camera to see what is and isn't working.
Finally, keeping in mind what changes are needed (if any) to create the best scary images I pose the model for a few more poses until we are finished. (With shooting at least!)
Lastly, my job is to go through and edit the photos. I am not going to tell you exactly how I edit the photos because that is part of the magic but it involves things like tweaking the lighting in the photo, Adding or decreasing specific colors, editing a specific tone to the image, and making the skin look nice are some of the basics!
A photo can take me 20 minutes to 2 or more hours to edit depending on what needs to be done. I love to focus solely on editing with music in the background it always brings my mood up! As you can see I am very passionate about Horror Photography so if you like what I do consider setting up a photoshoot or buying a print. You won't regret it!