# Lighting



## Georgeb68 (Mar 26, 2013)

What is the best way to light your props......Is L.E.D. Spot lights the best , or black lights, or regular spot lights? I used to use the little strobe lights but seeing the pictures that people post here, it looks like most of them have spot lights. We all work so hard to make a decent display but once it gets dark we lose some of the detail. Also if you do use spot lights, whats best? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
George


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## Dr. Maniaco (Sep 7, 2012)

Hey George,

This may not be very helpful, but I actually use every kind of light you just mentioned. I use small spotlights, very close, to highlight props, I use floodlights to give my cemetery an overall color/effect, I use blacklights on ghosts and webs ... 

I think the trick is to set-up enough in advance to try out different effects a night or two before. And don't be afraid of color. An overall eerie green light looks great, but when you throw a red spot on something within that, it really pops.

There are some great pictures in some of our member's photo albums you should take a look at for ideas.

If not helpful, I hope this gives you some confidence to just try some different things and see what works for your haunt.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

You'll find many good threads about lighting in this forum (Atmosphere) when you have a moment to browse. For our graveyard display, we use one or two floodlights (red or blue), one backlight (amber), and individual LED mini flashlights in holders to highlight individual props. We also scatter a few lanterns with tealights around to good effect.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:Hey George, I use a little bit of everything...I have LED's but I still love the light you get from regular spotlights. (the regular, Lowe's variety, on sale after Christmas if you're smart and green, blue and red bulbs) There are lots of people here that will definitely have more insight for you....and hopefully they will read the thread soon. I love LED's but I like way more light than they put off, but I love the portability of no drop cords strung all over everywhere. Remylass has wonderful lighting on her display and Spider Rider's haunt lighting is just amazing. Find someone whose display you like, and then PM (private message) them questions. Everyone here is so nice, and will be glad to help you.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

There's a good lighting tutorial here:

http://www.robertdbrown.com/haunt/

Click on "YardHauntLighting-SkullAndBone" to download the PDF


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## Georgeb68 (Mar 26, 2013)

Thanks for all your help....I am new to the site and love how nice and helpfull ,you people can be!
Many thanks again!
George


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Re: blacklights - We put glow-in-the-dark skellies in one of our cars on Halloween along with a battery-operated blacklight. Visitors always get a kick out of that set-up

We also use a blacklight to light a flying crank ghost who is set up just inside an upstairs bedroom window.


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## dlstorminc (May 17, 2013)

Hi there,

Actually, LED is good, if your looking for a power saver LED is the best way to go. The other option I've ran into for our haunt we plan on doing is these:

Amazon.com: Feit Electric ESL13T/R 13-Watt Compact Fluorescent Mini Twist Bulb (60-Watt Incandescent Equivalent), Red: [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/[email protected]@[email protected]@41q2Gew1KdL

Over at Amazon. They are 13-Watt Compact Fluorescent Mini Twist Bulb (60-Watt Incandescent Equivalent) is what we are using to light scenes in the haunt with. I think, for us anyways, this will be a power saver if done right. Sounds like for you LED may be the best way to go thou. Just depends on what you want to do with the light really and if it is outdoors, you could run into issues with weather if not covered and waterproof.

Yeah computer boards and water really love to play together in the wrong way...

Be safe


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

A lot depends upon what you need to illuminate, what your ambient light situation is, and what kind of look or effect you are going for. You also need to consider foot traffic, power requirements, weather, etc.
There is no "One Perfect Setup" that will work for everyone, so the more you can tell or show us about what you have and what you want the better.


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## DelbertLittle (Jun 9, 2013)

Georgeb68 said:


> What is the best way to light your props......Is L.E.D. Spot lights the best , or black lights, or regular spot lights? I used to use the little strobe lights but seeing the pictures that people post here, it looks like most of them have spot lights. We all work so hard to make a decent display but once it gets dark we lose some of the detail. Also if you do use spot lights, whats best? Any help would be appreciated.
> Thanks
> George


Leds will work fine for you. Even I am using these lights. They are best available at affordable prices. So go with leds


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## Osenator (Nov 11, 2011)

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=35409

Check this tread I started a few weeks ago.


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

For overall lighting, I use Compact flourescent in flood light housings, and to make props stand out, I use homemade LED spotlights(red for uplighting, purple to down light). For accents, I use LED flicker candles.

Like fontgeek said, there is no "One perfect method". Every haunt is different, and every haunter has a different taste as far as lighting goes. Some of us like to have all the eye candy catch attention, while others like a spooky atmosphere with minimal lighting. Personally, I like to have things lit well enough that there is little risk of someone tripping or getting injured.


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## Lunatic (Oct 3, 2006)

I use green & blue spots and black fluorescent. I someday will replace some of my spots with LED's. I like the look and how easy it is to hide them. Oh yeah, and they're more energy efficient.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

BioHazardCustoms said:


> For overall lighting, I use Compact flourescent in flood light housings, and to make props stand out, I use homemade LED spotlights(red for uplighting, purple to down light). For accents, I use LED flicker candles.
> 
> Like fontgeek said, there is no "One perfect method". Every haunt is different, and every haunter has a different taste as far as lighting goes. Some of us like to have all the eye candy catch attention, while others like a spooky atmosphere with minimal lighting. Personally, I like to have things lit well enough that there is little risk of someone tripping or getting injured.


:jol:I do agree with Bio....safety is a must...but why spend all that time on props unless you let everyone see it lit up! Night/Halloween, Night/Halloween, just sort of goes together like peas and carrots, huh?


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## DelbertLittle (Jun 9, 2013)

DelbertLittle said:


> Leds will work fine for you. Even I am using these led lights. They are best available at affordable prices. So go with leds


Thanks for sharing information guys..


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## stagehand1975 (Feb 22, 2010)

At the haunt I work at, we light half the place with leds. A lot off our leds are from the pro makers of them. And the rest are prewired for 12 volt and all purchased from those China sellers on that auction site. 

We have entire room that are lit only with leds. I find it makes it easier to hide the things that you don't want people to see. I also find that a few strategically place points of light really creates some nice shadows with almost no over wash.


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## Daphne (Oct 18, 2006)

I upgraded from florescent 4 foot black lights to LED's from Minions Web. They weren't cheap but when it rains, I sit inside and watch it as opposed to running outside trying to bring lights in before they short out. My haunt is also lit for a month now, not the two nights before Halloween like before and the difference is simply amazing.

I use the big, blue LED's for my cemetery along with reds for some individual props. The blue is incredibly powerful though so I have had less success with orange and purple in the cemetery because they seem to get blown out.

Still looking for an brighter purple and orange that can hold its own with that blue!


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