When scary and creepy are fun, and Dracula is a subject you can really sink your teeth into, then it must be Halloween. The trick for amateur photographers is to capture all those Halloween moments on film so they will become cherished memories. The treat is a Halloween photography contest in which they might win a cornucopia of prizes, including a Fujifilm FinePix F30 camera, a trip to HersheyPark, a Sprint multimedia mobile phone, and a limited edition set of It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown postage stamps.

There are plenty of contest categories to choose from, including best-costumed pet, spookiest photo, cute kids and best costume.

To get that perfectly dramatic and eerie photo, the experts at Fujifilm offer these tips:

• When taking a portrait of your little boy or girl in a "scary" costume before he goes out trick-or-treating, first figure out what's the best part of the costume. Is it just the mask on the face or is it the entire costume? Then get in close and fill the frame with the parts you've decided are best.

A pro tip: It's usually better if you don't shoot from head to toe, as shoes are the weakest part of the costume.

• If you're shooting a child or a group of children, bend down low to kid's eye level. Don't shoot from adult level down on these little ghouls-you'll trivialize them. Bend down to below kid's eye level. Nothing makes a monster more imposing than looking up at the scary countenance.

• If you're shooting two monsters, get them as close together as possible. People tend to drift apart when there is a camera pointed at them.

Remember, you'll be shooting at night, so vary the lighting and don't use the automatic flash. To get enough candlelight in that pumpkin, use three candles. One or two is not enough.

Tip from the pros: When you want to show a scene at night, shoot before it's totally dark. At twilight, the sky has a rich blue/purple color.