Spooky Cemetery Photos

I am a lover of Halloween and all the spooky delights that come with the holiday.  The scrapbooker in me loves the opportunity to create fun layouts with photos of my kiddos dressed up in their costumes.  The crafter in me loves the opportunity to create decorations and centerpieces.  The photographer in me loves the opportunity to scope out locations to snap scary photographs, and of course the logical choice would be a cemetery. 

While on a vacation this summer, I had the chance to stop in at two very old cemeteries. The first cemetery stop was King's Chapel and Burying Grounds in downtown Boston.  The chapel just celebrated its 325^th year so when you walk through the burying ground it's not surprising to see dates on headstones that date back to the late 1600's. This was a great stop for some spooky photos for sure!

Following are photos from the King's Chapel Burying Ground. I edited the photos on my Mac computer using actions from FX Photo Studio.

My second cemetery stop was the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal, Canada.  This cemetery opened in 1852 and the drive through the property is quite extensive with many photo opportunities along the way.

The following photos are from Mount Royal Cemetery. I edited in iPhoto on my Mac and using some actions from the FX Photo Studio as well.

Here are some tips to use when taking your cemetery photos and editing your photos.

1)  Take your photo from an interesting perspective. Get low to the ground and shoot at an upward angle.

2)  Take into consideration the time of day. Early morning and early evening will yield the best shadows, which are a great element in your photo.

3)  Use some fun Photoshop actions when editing your photos. Spooky photos are meant to have an unreal and unbelievable aspect to them.

4)  Consider turning some photos to black-and-white for a great effect.

5)  Desaturate the color to give your photo an aged feel.

Have fun creeping through the cemetery trying to capture spooky photos.  Don't forget to call out to the spirits. Who knows...maybe you will capture one in your photo!