Murder mystery party photographs
Taking photographs of your murder mystery party
Murder mystery parties are great occasions for taking photographs. I've taken lots of photos at murder mystery parties - and far too many of them have been mediocre or worse. Here, then, are my tips for making sure that your photos are something to be proud of.
Digital v film: Whether you prefer a digital to film photography is mostly a matter of personal opinion. I prefer digital photos, but then I like to share mine on the web. A much under-rated advantage of digital photography is that it costs as much to take a dozen photos as it does to take one. (Unlike film, where processing costs can be expensive.) And when I've been around professional photographers, the one thing that marks them out from the rest of us is the sheer number of photos they take. So if you have a digital camera, take lots of photos!
Timing: I prefer to take photos at the start of a party. There are two reasons for this - the first is that I am usually hosting the game, and I find I am often too busy once the party gets rolling. The other reason is that the costumes are usually better at the start of the evening - after a while ties and buttons are undone, hats are removed and costumes generally look a little more ragged.
On the other hand, taking photos at the end of the party can be good as
well. If the party has gone well, everyone is buzzing and that can really
come over in a group photograph.
Left - All at Sea (This would have looked much better with a more appropriate background)
Backgrounds: One thing that can really spoil a photograph is a poor choice of a background. A plain wall is often best - some kind of theme backdrop is even better.
(Click here to learn where you can get suitable props and backgrounds.)
Posed or unposed: In short - posed. Whenever I try and take unposed photographs at a murder mystery party, I tend to get an awful lot of photographs of people's backs...
Groups v couples: I find that taking photos of couples works really well - it's best if you hold the camera on its site and take a "portrait" style photo rather than landscape. Taking photos of groups is okay, but there's a point where you can't tell who everyone is, particularly with cheaper cameras and large groups.
Above - This photo was taken by my brother when he hosted Death on the Gambia. It's a lovely photo, slightly spoiled by the curtain pole in the background...
And that's about it - have a good party and take lots of photographs. If you would like to me to publish them here on great-murder-mystery-games.com, do get in touch.
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Article by Steve Hatherley. Find out more about hosting interactive murder mystery games for your friends and family at http://www.great-murder-mystery-games.com.