High Museum of Art Atlanta | Halloween 2011

– Posted by Mark

It’s been a while since I photographed an event at the High Museum of Art – in fact… I’ve never actually photographed an event there. Most of the time I’m already booked, so I have to send one of our Alumni Interns along with some current Interns to get the job done. Sure we’ve had our photobooth there several times over the past year, and we even taught a photography course there back in March – but I personally haven’t photographed an even there – until this past Saturday.

So. Here’s the thing – when you photograph the Halloween celebration at the High Museum of Art Atlanta – you should aim for something better than regular ‘event’ photography.

I repeat myself a lot – especially to the Interns (partly because I get 8 new interns every 3 months, and partly because I just repeat myself a lot) – and one of the things I like to say is something along the lines of, “…stop just taking pictures of whatever’s in front of your camera – your photos should feel like they’re purposefully made. As if you as a photographer were actually doing your job and not just pressing pressing the button.”

Of course when you spew statements like that (as I tend to do) – you’d better not suck. You’d better be able to deliver the goods. Your photos need to look like you know what you’re doing – and more. They need to look effortless and once again – better than photos that any of the guests made/could have made. Whether it’s a wedding, a corporate event, or a huge Halloween party – your shots need to rock. Not only that – but you need to make more than just a handful of ‘good’ photos. Well. That’s what  I try to do.

Now – I know I’ve been busy with weddings lately. Ever since August we’ve been flying across the country photographing a wedding in a different state every weekend it seems – so it was a really nice treat to change things up.

You’ll see that I sort of pulled out all the stops, used all of the tricks, and generally had a great time practicing.

Power portraits. Rule of thirds. Directing. Disappearing. Trespassing. Anticipation. Physicality.

Oh look. A pair of Interns.

Check out the Gallery of All Photos – HERE.

 

High Museum of Art Atlanta. Halloween. 2011. Photos.