Leaves are changing from green to yellow, orange, and red. Soon they will fall and piles will be made for raking (or playing in.) The sun is also lower in the sky and the light that shines at sunset, on the brilliantly colored leaves, is absolutely spectacular. The air is crisper and it’s time to put sweaters on the children. Fall is a great time for outdoor portraits of your children and family.

While anytime is a great time to take pictures, to get the best shots in autumn, you should strive to get portraits of your family during the “magic hour”. This refers to the hour after sunrise and/or the hour just before sunset. Surely there will be great opportunities, throughout the day, for good lighting, but shooting at these times can almost guarantee some of the best natural lighting for your subjects.

Outside photography in autumn isn’t the only option.

Don’t forget there are costumes and fun-times to capture at Halloween. Before the make-up wears off or the costume get accidentally ripped, try getting some candid shots of your kids before they leave to go Trick-or-Treating.

There will also be chances for some great captures, with relationships and memories made, at your family’s Thanksgiving gathering. These are wonderful times to capture through photography for posterity’s sake.

Some Tips for Stunning Fall Time Fun Photos:

• Pay attention to the time of day, to achieve the best lighting. Remember that there is something photographers like to call the “magic hour” which is the hour after sunrise and the hour right before sunset. Shooting outside during these times will produce a wonderful natural lighting for your subject.

• A wide angle shot, including the changing leaves, would be wonderful, but remember to get in closer, too. After all, your baby or children are the main focus of your photography.

• Don’t just set up your children and snap; move around and capture a variety of angles (i.e. get down low, shoot down from up above)

• Take your time and shoot a lot. The perfect shot isn’t always achieved immediately. You should devote some time to getting the pictures you envision. And even if you don’t have a clear vision of what you want, getting out and simply photographing your subjects will yield something worthy. Sometimes a photographer’s favorite photo of his subject is something accidentally shot.

• If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.

• Be sure to share your timeless memories with the whole family. A precious photo book or photo cards are two great ideas that your loved ones will appreciate forever

By Jeff Westover

There she was in all her glory. Long white lab coat, frizzy hair, safety goggles — and a face smeared with the black ash of an experiment gone terrifically wrong. She was, at least on this Halloween night, Dr. Abby Normal. But for most of her life I had known her as Abigail, my daughter, and I had just taken some of the most legendary photos of her life.

These weren’t your garden-variety portraits. Not exactly Wal Mart studio stuff either. They were pictures taken of my kids in their natural element — being kids. That is the real photo opportunity of a holiday like Halloween.

For treasured images this Halloween, here are some quick tips to remember to get once-in-a-lifetime photos:

1. Stop Posing — Halloween is not a formal affair. So don’t bother with the wedding style shots. Engage the kids in the play associated with their costumes — and THEN shoot the pictures. Candids reveal the smiles much more than a “Hold still, honey!” moment.

2. Shoot Early, Shoot Often — Film is the cheapest part of photography. And in this digital age, there just isn’t a reason not to shoot several images. There are many good reasons for being trigger happy with the camera. First, if kids are use to you constantly firing away they won’t bother with the plastic smiles. But most importantly, shooting more simply increases your chances for great pictures. With Halloween pictures some of the best pictures are taken while the costuming is in process — don’t wait for the finished product in getting out the camera.

3. Get in Their Face — Halloween was made for pretend. Kids love to make faces, don costumes and assume a new personality. It is the ultimate form of exhibition. You just can’t let the opportunity pass. They WANT to be noticed. Most point-and-shoot variety cameras have wide-angle lenses. While this helps them to get sharp results and to work well in lower light, they tend to move the subject matter further away. Most have a minimum shooting distance of around three feet. Don’t be afraid to push that limit at Halloween. Get in close, have them make faces, ask them to talk to the camera. They will. It is, after all, Halloween.

4. Let Them Call the Shots — It’s their party. Ask them what kind of pictures they want. When my son was Harry Potter a few years back he wanted to jump off the roof on his Nimbus 2000. We had to reason with him a bit. But a little leap from a lawn chair to the grass did the trick and we got the shots of Harry in flight. Chances are your kids have an idea of the persona they are adopting. Let them call the shots to document the experience.

5. Use the set — Most of us decorate for the season. There could be haystacks, a bubbling pot, a roaring fireplace. Use these props, even if they don’t fit the theme of the costume. Down the road the memories you cherish will include all the fun that went into creating the holiday environment in your home.

Good candid pictures of children require active participation and putting them at ease. Halloween is the easiest of seasons in which to do this.
© 2004 by Jeff Westover

About The Author
Jeff Westover is a freelance writer and father of seven from Salt Lake City, Utah. He is the managing editor of My Merry Christmas.com, where folks have been making merry online for more than a decade. He writes about holidays, families, parenting, home schooling and photography for a variety of publications both online and offline. Please visit http://mymerrychristmas.com for more articles like this one.

Halloween is that time of year when your creative juices can begin to flow. It’s a fun time for the family and if you have a baby or toddler, and it is the first Halloween that they can actively participate in, then it can be even more exciting. Granted if your little one is too young to comprehend anything much past when the next meal or sleep is going to be, then your Halloween efforts may not amount to much. But if they are coming to the age when they can express their joy and delight then you are ready to create a bit of Halloween fun.
The key with toddlers is that you don’t want to scare them. A scary Halloween at this age is likely to scar them for life so keep it simple, lighthearted and fun. Here are some tips to help you prepare for the big day.

Trick or Treating

1. Keep it Simple – At this age your toddler won’t appreciate much of what is going on around them so you don’t want to spend a fortune nor a lot of your time in preparing for the day. Of course this won’t apply if you have older children in the house.
2. Create a Fun, Happy Theme – You don’t want to traumatize your baby with scary witches, dark costumes or blood and guts. Create a happy theme that is bright and cheery. For example, ensure that the jack-o-lanterns have happy smiley faces and the costumes you choose are more in line with fairies or princesses rather than scary witches or ghosts and ghouls.
3. Costumes – If you want to dress up your baby or toddler in a Halloween costume then look for something that is easy to put on and take off. Look for costumes with zips, velcro or buttons that are easily undone and of course a costume that allows for easy diaper changes. The costume also needs to be soft and flexible so that your baby isn’t uncomfortable. Avoid costumes with masks. This may restrict their view and cause them to topple over.
4. Keep it Safe – Be aware that most candies at this stage will probably be a choking hazard for your baby or toddler so be careful in your choice of sweets. Ensure that the costume you choose for your baby is flame retardant as you may be around real candles during this time. You should also ensure that the costume does not have too any dangly bits that your infant could place into his or her mouth.
5. Trick or Treating – If you are going to be trick or treating then follow these few tips:
   • Carry a torch and if your toddler is old enough, allow them to carry one too. Attach the torch to your child’s costume to ensure it doesn’t get lost.
   • Glow in the dark neck or wristbands are another way of keeping track of your toddler.
   • If you are taking a stroller then attach some reflective tape so it can be easily seen in the dark.
   • If you are worried about losing your toddler then buy one of those cords that attaches your wrist to your toddlers wrist. This allows your toddler a little freedom as they don’t have to constantly hold onto your hand and it means that you can feel secure that they are close by.

Your first Halloween with your toddler is likely to be a fun time that will be remembered forever. As a memento of the experience purchase a gift box and place in it your baby’s first Halloween costume, their first Halloween gift and any other little item that will serve as a memory in years to come.

About the Article
Article provided courtesy of Only Cookware – a resource for cookware sets, stainless cookware and enamel cast iron cookware.

By Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller

Our children are being bombarded with candy from every direction. Chocolate bars, gum, suckers, and assorted gummy candies line the checkout lanes in grocery stores. School fundraisers sell candy bars, cookies, and brownies in the hallways during lunch hours. Every mall, skating rink, soccer complex, movie theater, and even the video store has a place to buy candy.

And then there is the holidays. Halloween trick or treat bags bulge with every kind of candy imaginable. Christmas stockings are topped with bubble gum and chocolate bars. Valentine messages are stamped on candy hearts and boxes of candy are the staple of communicating love. Easter baskets overflow with jellybeans and chocolate bunnies.

Candy is everywhere and its presence wreaking havoc on our children’s teeth and waist lines. Children are visiting the dentist with serious tooth decay at younger and younger ages every year. Obesity in children is a national concern.

With candy being universally available and regularly within sight of children, what is a parent to do? How do you combat its influence on your children? How do you lessen the influence of advertisers and get candy consumption under control in your family? How can you win the candy wars?

The following suggestions can assist you in curbing your children’s candy consumption. Use them to increase the health and well-being of your family.

1. Begin by being a model for your children to follow.

If you are a chocoholic and find yourself foraging through the cupboard for the last chocolate bar or eating an entire bag of M & M’s once they are opened, reflect on the message you are sending your children. It will be difficult for you to curb your children’s candy consumption when they see you unable to curb your own. So model the message. Eat a small portion of candy and set the rest aside for later. Talk to your children about your desire and your willingness to stay conscious and make healthy choices about your own candy consumption. The positive images you give them on how to set candy aside will help them to be more likely they are to set it aside themselves.

2. See candy as a wonderful opportunity to set limits with your children.

As parents we set limits around television, computer time, video games, bed times, friends, and a variety of other items. Setting limits with candy does not mean you make if totally off limits. It means that you provide opportunities for your children to enjoy candy within some clearly defined parameters or guidelines.

Children want guidelines. They thrive on structure. It is the structure provided by the adult that allows them, to relax into being a child. Of course they will push and test the limits. That is there job. Pushing and testing the limits does not mean that your children want them changed. It most often means that they want to see if the structure is really in place.

Set your limits early before you go to the store, before the Easter bunny arrives, before the Halloween bags are full, before you bring candy into the house. “We will be buying one treat today in the store,” sets the limit. So does, “We are shopping for food today. This will be a non-candy trip.”

Discuss with your children how candy consumptions will take place before they head out to gather a bag full at Halloween time. Agree on a portion to be eaten each day and a place to keep it. Do not allow candy to be taken into their bedroom. Do not leave bags of candy in the cupboard for easy access. This is part of setting limits and it is your responsibility as a conscious, committed parent to see that it is done.

Setting a limit doesn’t means you have to say, “No.” Sometimes saying, “Yes,” with a qualifier, helps you avoid power struggles.

“Yes, you can have one right after supper.”

Another important way to set limits and structure candy consumption in your family while reducing resistance and resentment is to offer children choices.

3. Offer your children choices when it comes to candy consumption.

“You can choose five pieces of candy out of your Halloween bag for today and set the rest aside for a different day. Let spread all your candy out and look at your choices.”

“You can choose one piece of candy now or two pieces of candy for after supper. You decide.”

“You can choose to have your Easter basket candy kept in the kitchen cupboard where we can keep track of it or you can choose to be done having access to your candy.”

With candy, remind your children that responsibility equals opportunity. Your children have an opportunity to have some candy. If they are responsible with following the parameters you have set then the opportunity continues .If they choose not to be responsible with candy, they choose to lose the opportunity to have it available. In that instance, access to candy is removed.

This could mean you may have to remove all the candy from the house and make it unavailable to anyone. That would include you.

4. Make the eating of candy something special.

Educate your children that candy is not food. It is junk and has no nutritional value for their bodies. Candy and the opportunity to eat it is something special and are reserved for special moments. Keep candy eating rare and enjoyable. Once the line is crossed and candy becomes an everyday occurrence, specialness of it wears off and it presence is now expected..

Have different candy around at different times to bring attention to the special event that the candy may represent. Focus on the event and how different types of candy are significant at different times of the year. Talk about the cultural or family significance of what a particular type of candy may represent. Change the focus from that of mass consumption to that of significance to you and your family.

5. Don’t use candy as a reward.

When you use candy to motivate your children to perform a particular task or behave in a certain way, you are positioning it as a tool of manipulation. Using candy to get children to behave is a form of bribery and produces children who perform for a substance. In this way you end up producing a “candy junky,” someone who chases after the next fix of the desirable substance.

Candy should never be used as a reward by parents, teachers, or any professional working with children. This distorts the role candy should have in a young person’s life and teaches children that the reward (in this case candy) is more important than the task performed..

6. Help your children create an inner authority.

You are not always going to be present when your children have access to candy. You are not going to be there to enforce a limit for your children or give them choices. You want the ability to curb candy consumption to already be inside them. This control for within will develop in children if you can start early and consistently utilize the suggestions above.

Another way to help your child build inner controls is to debrief or talk through your child’s choices with him after he returns from a place where you know candy is easily available. Help him think about and talk through his decisions. Ask him to articulate what he would want to keep the same and what he would like to different next time. Help him create a plan to build on his successes.

Your child’s inner authority is the only authority she will take with her wherever she goes Help her learn to trust her ability to decide and make healthy, responsible choices.

By following these six suggestions you and your children can enjoy the wonderful taste of chocolate and other candies. The holidays can be filled with pleasant moments of special candy consumptions. The “candy wars” will no longer be necessary. Instead, eating candy will move from a weight and tooth decay issue to a wonderful time when one can simply enjoy a sweet taste upon the pallet.

About the Authors:
Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller are the authors of The 10 Commitments: Parenting with Purpose. They also publish a FREE email newsletter for parents and another for educators. Subscribe to them when you visit, http://www.chickmoorman.com or http://www.thomashaller.com. Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller are two of the world’s foremost authorities on raising responsible, caring, confident children. For more information about how they can help you or your group meet your parenting needs, visit their websites today.

There she was in all her glory. Long white lab coat, frizzy hair, safety goggles — and a face smeared with the black ash of an experiment gone terrifically wrong. She was, at least on this Halloween night, Dr. Abby Normal. But for most of her life I had known her as Abigail, my daughter, and I had just taken some of the most legendary photos of her life. I honestly think it is possible that Halloween is more fun for parents than it is for the kids, especially when the kids are little and parents are able to dress them up. There are so many options for cute Halloween costumes for little kids, it might be hard for a parent to choose.

For a young baby there are all kinds of “Baby’s First Halloween” outfits, bibs, socks and other items to help celebrate the baby’s first trick or treat. Depending on how old your baby is you may want to stick with one of these outfits, especially if he is a newborn, or still very small. It can be difficult to find cute, ultra little outfits for little babies. If your baby is close to his first birthday, you may be able to find a cute costume in a size 12-18 months that will fit your baby well.

For older babies and toddlers there are a wide range of costumes that can be bought. At this time of year you can find costumes in just about every store and at every price. Wal-mart, Target, Kmart and other stores like them often have less expensive versions of the costumes that stores like Disney and Spencer’s Gifts carry.

The most popular costumes for little girls are the Disney princesses, fairies and Barbie’s. A little girl loves to dress up as a princess for a day, with the tiara and pretty dress. She loves the attention it brings from the people who open the doors when they say, “Trick or treat”.

Little boys tend to gravitate to the super hero costumes. Superman, Spiderman, The Hulk, Batman, and whatever other popular hero is out there. You will also find a lot of police and firemen costumes, as well as sports stars that boys will like.

You can find branded costumes, like Winnie the Pooh, at all stores, however they will all be a little different. The more exact, more quality Disney costumes you will find at the Disney store even though you will still find an acceptable version at Wal-mart. While the costumes at the Disney store may be more quality, they will also be more expensive, normally costing at least 2-3 times as much as the version you will find other places.

For more unique costumes you can look at stores like Spencer’s Gifts which yearly has some favorites such as Spiders and Elephants. A popular baby and child clothing store have different themes for boys and girls as well, like Nascar, and Cowboy for boys, with matching Cowgirl outfits for girls.

Safety
When buying a Halloween costume for your baby or toddler, remember to think safety first. If your baby or toddler is walking chances are they are a bit clumsy and the added weight of the costume won’t help matters much. Make sure there is nothing dragging on the ground that your baby can trip on, and that their costume is light enough and reflects enough that cars and traffic can see them.

Weather
Before you buy a costume, consider what the weather will be like. Some costumes can be layered others aren’t. If you are in an area where it will likely be chilly or could possibly rain/snow on Halloween, look into a thicker costume that will help keep your child warm. If you are in an area where it will probably still be warm and maybe muggy, try to find a lighter costume, one that will allow your baby or toddler to stay cool. Your toddler will be running around, having fun and could quickly become overheated. You don’t want a sick child on your hands.

Saving Money
A great, money saving tip for Halloween costumes is to shop ahead for the next year. Hit the sales where you can get 50-75% off Halloween costumes to wear the following year, or even several years down the road. It is possible to hit up the Disney store a few days after Halloween, and buy some great costumes that are retailed at $35-$40 a piece, for less than $10 each. These costumes will last years and can be used by all your children at different times in their childhood.

Multi-use Costumes
Toddlers, boys and girls a like, like to play dress up, and pretend they are the characters they portray. The days following Halloween are a great time to scoop up deals on left over costumes that your children can use to play dress up with in the house. Imagination for children is not only educational, but can keep them occupied for a long time so that mom and dad can get things done.

Halloween is such a fun occasion to photograph; every year holds something different for your little ghosts and goblins.  From fun family parties filled with apple bobbing, powdered donut consumption, and apple cider to hayrides at the local cornmaze, there are bound to be plenty of moments that you will want to capture with your camera this fall.

Here are five tips to make your photography really pop this Halloween:

#1: Document Your Fieldtrips

There are pumpkin patches to visit, corn mazes to find your way through, hayrides to bump along on, and apple orchards from which to fill your bushels.  No matter where you and your family go this fall, there are some great opportunities for candid and posed pictures alike.  Use natural light to your advantage and remember to get creative with those angles and perspectives.

#2: Photograph the Process

It’s always fun to dress up.  Halloween is a favorite for that factor.  So, wouldn’t it be fun to watch the progress or you can do before and after shots of the little ones you are dressing up.   This is especially fun if your son or daughter is getting made up.  You could take a picture before the make up, during the process, and then the finished face;  showcasing a great transformation of character.   Move in close for an up-close and creative shot and tell the story.

#3:  Catch Your Trick-or-Treaters

Be prepared to snap pictures of the neighborhood children as they approach your door.  This would be interesting to share with your neighbors, making the pictures available to them for print.  Or maybe you and your little ones would like to give them prints as a little post Halloween treat.   No matter what you do it woul be a nice way to remember the time by creating a special album.  Don’t forget to use your night-time setting on your camera!

#4:  Having a Party?  Be a Photographer

Costume parties are a great place to capture some fun.  Maybe you are having an all kid party, or maybe you are having an adult themed costume party?   Regardless, make sure you keep your trusty digital camera handy to snap those great moments.   Bobbing for apples, a costume karaoke contest,  a splendid Halloween craft session, what have you… be sure to remember it all by being the photographer.

#5:  Set the Mood

You can get creative and use some lighting to set the mood of posed pictures.   Also, don’t forget to take pictures of your carved jack-o-lanterns which will make a great prop for your posed pictures, too.   When photographing your little ones that are old enough to ham it up, ask them to really do so.  Tell them to get into their character whether it be a doctor, a zombie, or a pop star.

Just remember to have fun in capturing all the fun!