The glowing pumpkins, the trick-or-treating, the ghoulish costumes—all are best shot after dark when the lighting can get pretty tricky. Today’s cameras, and even some smartphones, are up to the challenge, if you do take the time to do more than point and shoot.

Follow these tips to make the most of those after-dark shot and even scare up a few ghosts.

General low-light strategies

Raise the ISO Level: One of the easiest changes you can make to compensate for low light is to raise the ISO setting, which makes it more sensitive to light. The more sensitive it is, the faster the camera can take a photo, which will reduce the amount of blur caused by camera shake. One caveat: If you push the ISO number up too high, you’ll start seeing noise, those grainy-looking imperfections you see most easily in solid-colored areas. So you’ll want experiment to see where your camera or smartphone realistically tops out.

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Use HDR mode for composed shots: Many cameras and smartphones have a shooting mode called HDR, for high dynamic range. Basically, in this mode, your camera takes two or more shots at different exposures and then combines them so you get detail in the lightest and darkest areas. If there’s any movement, though, the shot will be blurry. On the other hand, it may be the only way to get a shot in very dark situations, especially with a smartphone.

Use a tripod: One reason why so many low-light shots don’t come out well is because it’s really hard to hold a camera or phone still long enough to take a crisp shot. Using a tripod takes that factor out of the equation. Also, try using the camera’s self-timer mode to avoid the movement that inevitably occurs when you press the shutter button.

Use a fast lens: A fast lens will let more light through so you can take your pictures faster, reducing the potential for blur. You can tell how fast a lens is by looking at the maximum aperture. A typical camera will have a maximum of f/3.5. A good camera will come in at f/2.8 or lower. Even smartphones can have fast lenses, like the iPhone 5 with an f/2.4 lens and HTC One X with its f/2.0 lens.

Jack-o-lantern shots

The best time to capture a shot of jack-o-lanterns is at twilight, or 20 minutes after the sun goes down. At this time of day, the glow from the jack-o-lantern will produce about the same amount of light as the night sky. With everything equally lit, the camera will have an easy time capturing the details everywhere in your shot. If you miss this 20-minute window, you can turn on HDR mode.

Adding ghosts to your photos

To create a shot with your camera, it will have to support long exposures—at least 8 seconds. For an 8-second exposure, you’d have the person in the frame for about 5 seconds and then exit for the remaining 3 seconds. The result is a double exposure in the space where the person stood, which gives him or her a ghost-like, translucent look.

If you don’t have a camera that supports double exposures, you can merge two photos together in Photoshop Elements or another photo editing program that lets you layer one photo on top of another and control the transparency of those layers.

Creating spooky silhouettes

Any object—or Halloween costume—that’s readily identifiable by its shape is a good candidate for a silhouette shot. Before sunset, find a spot with a clear line of sight to the sky with your subject’s back to the sun, so your subject won’t have to compete with other objects on the horizon. As the sun is setting, take photos of your subject with the flash turned off. You should have a window of about 20 minutes before the sun is too dark to act as a backdrop.