5 spooky Halloween pictures by Sebastian Nagel

Photographer Sebastian Nagel has around 117,000 followers on Instagram, whom he regularly supplies with aesthetic and creative images. For Halloween, he worked with our Lumen Sticks. He told us what is important for successful Halloween photos, how he edits his pictures, and what inspires him in his work.

Motif 1: Flame Look

When it comes to Halloween, generally gloomy locations in the evening or early morning are advantageous. Fire or smoke also always work very well. Creepy makeup is great too, but it always depends on what you want to achieve. Extreme poses and facial expressions are personally important to me, so no run-of-the-mill posing. It's perfectly fine for it to be cramped or totally psychopathic.

Motif 2: Color accents in the dark

What applies to posing also applies to the location

This can of course also apply to the location. Most of my Halloween pictures were taken in an abandoned building complex in Kaiserslautern. I consciously chose the location because it is vacant and there was a fire in the building, which of course looks impressive and is extremely suitable for the Halloween theme. The flame image was taken indoors. I placed the Lumen Sticks on the left and right, which glowed blue and orange, and I added the flames later. I photographed them that same evening in my driveway. For this, I bought bio-ethanol at a hardware store, lit it, and then placed it in the image with Photoshop. Primarily, however, I used the Lumen Sticks to create split colors. For example, blue-orange or blue-pink. Depending on the mood, I also created complementary or warm-cold contrasts and illuminated the model to achieve the best possible result.

Motif 3: Corpse Paint Beauty

Lumen Sticks for background, model and great contrasts

I always had the sticks on two tripods (Rollei Compact Traveller Star S2). For my photos, I always placed the face in the middle between the sticks, using the "Lumen Stick Bundle". Every now and then, I also illuminated the background and, in dark lighting situations, the model.

I shot with my Sony Alpha A7 Mark 1. So, with a rather old camera. I mostly use a 1.8 Sony lens (50mm), with the camera principally in my hand. I actually never shoot on a tripod, at least not when it comes to people photography. If I'm shooting landscapes or stars, then of course I use a tripod. The biggest goal I have with my photos is to convey the mood I want to achieve to my viewer. And preferably in my very own style. My biggest inspiration is actually my own ambition, because I constantly want to improve myself.

"My art is not just classic photography"

Overall, I simply love what I do. And I love it even more when I see the viewer in front of me and that 'wow' on their face. And I also love connecting with my followers and getting their feedback.

Motif 4: General Ghost

I would say that my art isn't just classic photography, but also digital image processing. For this, I use Photoshop CC and for culling, I use Bridge or Lightroom. In Lightroom, I always make a few pre-settings to see how the image looks. But I primarily use Photoshop. Later steps in the Halloween pictures primarily involved professional skin retouching. I usually do this with a mix of frequency separation and local dodge and burn, then of course contouring and adding light accents, which I do with global dodge and burn. And then I apply my personal look to the image. These are Lightroom or Photoshop presets. For the flames, I also inserted them using the 'multiply negative' mode.

You don't need the newest or most expensive camera for great pictures.

It's also important to me with my pictures that I want to show the viewer that you don't need the newest or most expensive camera for great pictures and end results. It also works with inexpensive cameras. For example, my Sony is now available for 750 Euros, and that's a full-frame camera. The autofocus isn't the fastest, but that's not a big deal. It's more about your own style and technique.

Motif 5: Reaching out

Please note: The Lumen Stick RGB shown in the photos is the previous version without an integrated and non-removable handle. The technical specifications of the new model with an integrated handle are identical. You can use the new Lumen Stick RGB in the same way for a shoot as described and shown here.

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