If you’ve been decorating with AtmosFX, you already know how these innovative decorations can make you the neighborhood’s undisputed champion of Halloween, Christmas – or any other special event you might be celebrating. Why not receive that same high praise from decorators around the globe?
The AtmosFX Hall of Fame is not simply a great way to show off your hard work, but it is also a great way to inspire others. And heck, earning 1,000 points for use in the AtmosFX Online Store just by submitting doesn’t hurt, either. And if you are selected, you’ll earn a FREE decoration collection of your choice.
How best to submit high-quality photos and videos that clearly shows off your work? We can show you a few tricks to help you capture your decorations at their best.
Easy Tips for Quality Videos
These quick tips are sure to make your video stand out.
Use a Tripod
Shaky cameras can make an image blurry. A tripod will help you get a smooth, clear picture. You can find lots of affordable and versatile tripod options for traditional cameras or smartphones from any place that sells photography gear.
Horizontal Video, Not Vertical
Filming on phones can be both easy and high quality, but be sure to turn your phone sideways! Vertical videos show less detail, and are more difficult to include in our AtmosFAN Sightings compilations.
Don’t Zoom, Move Closer
Zooming in when taking a photo or video can drastically reduce the quality of the image. If you need to see more detail in your decorations, simply move the camera closer to the subject.
Hold Still on Key Decorations
No matter how massive your display may be, there’s likely a few key decorations you’ll really want to highlight. When taking a video, make sure to stand still and hold on those key decorations for about 10 seconds.
Clean Your Lens
Camera lenses, especially the ones on our phones, can get dusty or smudged during regular use. Be sure to clean your lens with a safe microfiber cloth before taking your shots. Don’t use paper — it can scratch the lens!
Pick the Right Time
The absolute best time to shoot your videos or photos is “Blue Hour,” which is the hour after the sun has set. This will provide enough dark for your decorations to pop, but enough light to see your home and all the surrounding details.
Use High Resolution
Check your camera settings and select a high resolution (higher resolution = higher image quality). The best resolution setting to use is 1920 x 1080 (also known as 1080p). If you can select a frame rate (the number of still images recorded per second), select 30 frames per second (also known as “FPS”)
- Here’s how to change your camera settings for iPhone
- Here’s how to change your camera settings for Android
Additional Tips for Great Results
Sometimes the AtmosFX team receives great content that we aren’t able to use, for a variety of reasons. There may not be enough actual content to share, or it may include something that we can’t show. These tips will help you make sure your AtmosFAN submission is a strong candidate.
Before/After Shots and DIY Instructions
AtmosFX Decorations are a lot like magic, and decorators are a lot like magicians. The best decorations can not only shock or surprise an unsuspecting audience, but also impress an experienced decorator who might already know how the trick is performed. That’s why it’s so cool to document not just the final product of your decorating, but also the story of how you made it magical.
Take Photos AND Video
Videos are a crucial part of showing off decorations because movement is such an important component in how they entertain. Unfortunately, capturing good video can be tricky because lots of cameras have a hard time getting a perfect image when in the dark. Taking photos can sometimes provide more detail and clarity than a video.
Privacy Consideration for Families
If you’re taking pictures of trick-or-treaters, please consider the privacy of kids and families by not taking videos or pictures of children’s faces. It’s awesome to show people interacting with and reacting to your decorations, but unless it’s your kids on camera, try not to get too close-up or shoot their faces directly. At AtmosFX, we don’t want to share identifiable pictures or videos of trick-or-treaters without a parent’s permission.
Avoid Unlicensed Music or Videos
AtmosFX may not be able to share content created by other companies. This especially extends to copyrighted material such as music or movies. For example, if your shot includes a Disney character, or music not provided by AtmosFX, we may not be allowed to re-post it.
Send the Original Clip
When you’re sharing your videos, you’re welcome to upload them directly to AtmosFX using the “Upload Files” option in the AtmosFAN submission form. Don’t upload them to Facebook or try to convert the videos. The original video file will give our team the best quality option to showcase. If the video file is larger than our upload will allow, uploading to YouTube and sharing a YouTube link is a good solution.
Advanced Tips for Great Videos
If you really want to take your pictures and videos to the next level, here are some advanced tips to consider.
White Balance
Photographing video projections presents some challenges that usually aren’t present in regular photography. It’s similar to pointing your camera at a light source rather than at a lit object. This can cause the subject of your photo or video to be overly lit and the background to be too dark.
Cameras with a properly adjusted “White Balance” will create the best possible lighting and color in your final product. Check your camera’s user manual for more information about “White Balance.”
Your phone’s camera automatically white balances for you, but you might notice that the image becomes brighter or darker depending on the lighting conditions. If you want to rely on auto white balance (AWB), make sure to try to center your image on the brightest part of the projection.
Neutral Density Filters
Picking the right time of day and using white balancing are great options when photographing your decoration display. An additional option is placing a neutral density filter over the lens of your projector. A neutral density filter is an inexpensive transparency or lens that limits the wavelengths of the light emitted from the projector. It may slightly decrease the brightness of your display to the naked eye, but it will look great on camera. Why? The filter helps the camera capture your display by reducing the hotspots and blowouts that can often be associated with photographing a projected image in the dark. Once you’re done shooting, simply remove the filter from your projector.
You’ve Got Great Video. Now What?
We hope these tips help you get high-quality shots of your decorations. Of course, you’ll want to share the images with friends and family – and post on social media, of course! (Don’t forget to tag #AtmosFX!)
We also encourage you to send us your photos and videos using this simple online submission form. You’ll be on your way to potentially being honored as the next AtmosFAN of Week!
If you have any questions about getting started, drop us a line at support@atmosfx.com and we can point you in the right direction with easy instructional content.
