19 Halloween Photo Booth Ideas to Spook Up Your Party

This list of Halloween photo booth ideas offers a wide variety of photoshoot formats, from the classic Trick or Treat event, and harvest festival, to even hit horror movie-style parties. Here you will find recommendations on how to organize original and spooky photo sessions in photo booths and other locations.

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1. Include Skeletons Props to Your Halloween Photo Booth

halloween photo booth idea with the skeleton

Bedeck a photo booth with skeleton Halloween decorations. Do not stick to only prototypes of human skeletons, as animals’ bones also look terrifying and creative at the same time. For example, you can hang the skeletons of bats under the ceiling to get spine-chilling pics.

skeleton halloween booth idea

If you want to capture your pet posing next to skeletons, appropriate illumination is crucial in this case. Turning on the flash is not a good idea, as a sudden burst of light can scare your furry friend. Remember that natural lighting is the best option. Dress your pet in a cute costume but make sure that this outfit does not hamper the animal’s movements. Prepare some treats so that it doesn't get bored.

2. Add Colors to Halloween Photo Booth

halloween photo booth idea with paints

Creating a trunk or treat photo booth from bloody white sheets is an excellent idea. The curves of drapes hanging from the ceiling will work like a frame, allowing you to achieve a vignette effect in your Halloween photos. Besides, your guests can dress up as zombies to add more fun to a photo shoot.

bloody paints halloween booth idea

Another option is to pose against a wall with bloody marks. Or change the backdrop to the spooky one using such editors as Photoshop, Adobe Express, and InPixio and use bloody footprints to decorate clothes. If you are going to edit your images, don’t miss a chance to apply zombie Photoshop actions.

3. Add Query Details

strange halloween photo booth idea

To take shots that are not inferior to real ghost photos, add a mystically floating head, fog, or shadow to the scenery. It is possible to add such props right at the photo shoot or at the post-production stage. Use papier mache to make a head by hand or buy a ready-made styrofoam mannequin head. Wrap it with a lightweight cloth, so that it soars in the wind. Attach a head to a branch or put it on a stick, and remove unnecessary details while processing images.

scary halloween booth idea in the wood

I recommend using Photoshop for performing such manipulations. With this editor, it is easy to replace the background, add or remove an object, adjust shades, improve the figure and make-up, and more. Besides, it allows removing a part of the human body to create the effect of a floating mirror or add a ghost to a picture.

4. Create Cemetry Style Halloween Photo Booth

cemetery style halloween photo booth idea

This is one of the Halloween photo booth ideas that require effort. To build a cemetery-style booth you will need many props at hand. These are tombstones, iron fences, and branches (if you plan to shoot in a studio). Your yard and a forest are the greatest places to assemble such a construction. Tell your friends some scary story while getting to the spot. This will help create an appropriate atmosphere and get that perfect creepy shot.

scary halloween booth idea in the cemetery

Your photoshoot is likely to take place in the evening or at night, so having a tripod at hand will be very beneficial. To take decent images in dim conditions is only possible when shooting using a slow shutter speed, so it is important to keep your camera stable for the whole time.

I also recommend shooting with manual focus and using low ISO if possible. Switching off the automatic focus allows you to highlight the necessary details or parts of the scene. ISO 100 is not good for night photography, but ISO 400, 800, or even ISO 1600 works well in such conditions.

5. Horror Movie Photo Booth

horror movie halloween photo booth idea

Create a photo booth that recreates a scene from your favorite horror movie or TV series. It would be great to add themed decor like lights from Strange Things, or pieces of garments like Freddy Krueger's hat and sweater. Head to Amazon or eBay to buy such props.

halloween booth idea horror movie

You can improve this Halloween picture idea by preparing the thematic treats and including them in a photo session. Cookies shaped like famous horror movie characters, lollies, and bubbling drinks that look like a potion are the most popular variants. Look for inspiration in social media networks or your favorite horror films.

6. Imitate a Crime Scene

crime scene halloween photo booth idea

This is one of the most suitable Halloween booth ideas for organizing a college party. Spider webs, cocooned corpses, and caution tapes are the most appropriate props to frighten the guests and receive very terrifying images.

crime scene scary halloween booth idea

Pro tip: Creating soft illumination with lamps, torches, or candles will add a special mood to any image. In dim lighting conditions, shoot at high ISO settings.

7. Neon Halloween Photo Booth

neon halloween photo booth idea

Decorate a room with glow-in-the-dark paint, skeletons and LED lights to create a great photo booth. Neon can easily give your photos a gloomy and mysterious look. Capture this scary scene to tell the story that will excite your subscribers on social networks, or just take a couple of fantastic pics in the rays of neon.

scary neon halloween booth idea

Experimenting with unusual techniques allows for achieving impressive results. Remember that Halloween photography is not about beauty, so you are free to play with dark shadows and highlights to give your images a ghostly feel. For example, by lighting a person from above, you can cast a mean-looking shadow on his/her face. You can even go further and ask your models to pose in front of dark backgrounds to bring the focus to their outfits.

8. Include Mummy to a Frame

mummy halloween photo booth idea

You will need to make a mummy for such a photo booth. Cut a human figure out of the foil or buy a doll or a mannequin. Make the papier mâché paste, prepare the strips and wrap the doll in them. For this purpose, cover each side of paper strips or fabric with glue, and remove the excessive paste by squeezing the material. Next, envelop the mummy with strips as tightly as possible.

halloween booth idea with mummy

Now the mummy should get dried in a sunny place. This process takes approximately 24-28 hours. To check whether it is ready, press your creation with a finger. The covering should be chalky and stiff. If you don't have time to make your own mummy, visit Amazon to purchase a ready-made one. Look for a cocoon corpse or mummy decorations.

9. Frame It Up

frame it up halloween photo booth idea

Choose a solid background, and install the frame instead of a photo booth. It can be a black and orange construction with gravestones and pumpkins, a skeleton, cobwebs, and ghosts. Besides, your guests will definitely appreciate it if the images will feature such captions as “Boo Crew” and “Squash Squad”. Note that Pinterest is a great source of creative ideas.

10. Add Witch's Broom Chandelier to a Halloween Composition

halloween photo booth idea with witch's broom chandelier

Witch's broom chandelier is a great accessory for adding texture and ambiance to your setting. Acquire a plain witches broom, then fill mason jars with black sand, and put battery-powered candles inside. Afterward, use the black twine to secure them to one side of the broom. Tie a watchful faux feline to the other side with black wire to achieve a more balanced design.

The broom chandelier serves as a captivating and thematic backdrop for guests to take photos during the Halloween party, adding a touch of witchcraft and mystery to their spooky pictures. It's an excellent way to elevate the Halloween ambiance and create memorable photo opportunities for all the attendees.

11. Build a Setting Around the Chair

halloween photo booth idea near the chair

If you are looking for scary Halloween booth ideas that work well for both outdoor and indoor photoshoots, try to adopt this one. A vintage chair should be in the center of your composition. To heighten the effect, decorate it with cobwebs and black pillows. Such additional props like a mirror, faux fireplace, candlesticks, cotton stickers, science experiment decorations, and gossamer wreaths will make your setting really spooky.

halloween booth idea near the chair

Pro tip: Remember that cool tones convey drama and mystery better. So decreasing the color temperature in your pics would be a reasonable decision.

12. Include Vintage Details to Halloween Photo Booth

halloween photo booth idea

Create a photo booth in a vintage style and arrange it near the window with an old wooden frame, covered with a thick red or dark orange curtain. Old-fashioned chandeliers and antique furniture placed near the window will add a special flavor to a frame as well. Undoubtedly, the web and flying bats will add a special mood to images.

vintage halloween booth idea

Recreating an old haunted house is a sure way of getting striking photos as a result. It is not very difficult to create such a setting. Place some skeletons behind the seat where your guest will pose, and hang some awe-aspiring portraits in the background and that is. Another option is to organize a photo shoot on your doorstep, decorating the entrance with sticky webs and pumpkins.

13. Adorn Your Booth With Pumpkins

halloween photo booth idea with pumpkins

Including pumpkins in a photo session is one of the classic Halloween booth ideas. This prop is especially suitable for outdoor shoots. You will need to add several details like wooden planks and a couple of grates, as well as pumpkin lights to build a horrific scene.

pumpkins halloween booth idea

Whatever fall photoshoot idea comes to your mind, you can complement it with pumpkin lanterns. Decorate them with a grapevine with berries or floral patterns. You can use a stencil or cut out leaves and flowers from new or vintage wallpaper or wrapping paper for this purpose.

14. Use Few Details for Halloween Photo Booth

minimalistic halloween photo booth idea

Decorate the wall with handmade bats, spiders, or cobwebs. You can cut out bats from black construction paper or cardstock using ready-made templates available on Pinterest and other DIY sites.

halloween booth idea with minimum decorations

Homemade ghosts make good props as well. Using glue dots, attach construction-paper eyes and mouths to a bell made of white tissue paper. Cover it with cheesecloth.

15. Decorate a Both with Crescent

halloween photo booth idea with moon

A starry sky will a full moon makes up a perfect background for a Halloween photo session. For this craft, take construction paper or a poster board, cut out the stars, and attach them to an old curtain in the way most convenient for you (using glue, staple, etc.). If you cannot capture a full moon with your camera, a crescent can also create an appropriate setting. For a more dramatic effect, include candles or pumpkins in the frame.

photo booth halloween backdrop idea with moon

By the way, using free textures for Photoshop can add some vintage feel to your images. Halloween pictures with dust, scratches, and cracks will definitely look more terrifying and atmospheric. To apply the texture, open it in the same file as your shot, switch on Screen mode, and correct the opacity.

16. Experiment with Halloween Props and One-Tone Background

halloween photo booth idea with props

This is one of the Halloween photo booth ideas in a minimalist style. Install a bright single-color backdrop and add such Halloween photo booth props for guests as a classic mustache, glasses, and hats or something more creepy, like fake organs or bloodied body parts.

17. Build a Witch House

witch halloween photo booth idea

For this photo booth, you'll need any kind of witchy attributes, like bowler hats, gargoyles, magical broomsticks, and ghastly dark pumpkins. I also recommend purchasing a witch costume to fit the general atmosphere.

witch halloween booth idea

Pro tip: Adding a mysterious fog will let you get really atmospheric images. You can create it in just a few simple steps: take a cast-iron Duch oven, fill it with dry ice and add a little water – that’s it! A fantastic effect is guaranteed. It is also possible to add smoke to images at the post-production stage using such editors as Photoshop and overlays.

There are more than fifty top-rated overlays with original smoke effects. All of them are available in JPG format. You can use Creative Cloud and Photoshop versions starting from 4 to 6 to apply these overlays.

18. Stick to Autumn Motives

halloween photo booth idea with autumn decor

To bring this pumpkin head photoshoot idea into life, you need some hay as seats, pumpkins as décor, and a wooden backdrop. Such a booth will have a pleasant rustic atmosphere. If you have children, it would be a great idea to craft some Halloween décor with them to complement the composition. For example, you can turn an old book, letters, or paper into nice autumn leaves.

scary halloween booth idea with autumn decor

If you want to add some creative touch to your photo shoot, create a Halloween candy wreath. Mind that the candies should be old-fashioned and of different colors associated with autumn. Acquire a 14" foam wreath ring and wrap a ribbon around it. Attach candies to it using hot glue or any other method. Finish the design with a yellow burlap bow.

19. Create a Fairy Tale for Kids

fairy halloween photo booth idea

Creating a real fairy tale is one of the most appropriate Halloween booth ideas for a children's photo session. When shooting outside, it is enough to stretch the web, pick up a few accessories and dress up a kid in the right costume. But do not forget about such fabulous accessories as magic wands, witch hats, bowlers, skulls, and more.

fairy halloween booth idea

If you are going to take photos in a studio, pay attention to the background. For example, you can draw or print the whole gingerbread Halloween town. Amazon is the place to start your search for such backgrounds. Cartoon Halloween Photo Backdrop, Halloween Backdrop with Pumpkin, Happy Halloween Ghost Backdrop are some of the most interesting options for children.

Tools for Halloween Pictures Improving

tools for halloween pictures

With Lightroom and ready-to-use tools, enhancing shades, contrast and brightness is a simple procedure. The collection contains more than 500 Lightroom tools, with the help of which you can easily refine photos taken in Halloween photo booths. Benefit from them to alter the color scheme of an image, making it darker and more mysterious. The collection is suitable for improving photos in RAW and JPG formats.

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