Capturing Nightmare Fuel: Blood Noir Through Tyler Church’s Lens

Christmas season is upon us (sorry, Thanksgiving). But I want to rewind a few days to highlight some spectacular photography from this year’s Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida. Specifically, Nightmare Fuel: Blood Noir. Tyler Church is a master at photographing fire, and HHN’s pyro-heavy show gives him plenty to work with.

Tyler and I first met on opening day at Universal Kids Resort. We walked the park, snapping hundreds of pics and talking shop. He has a dramatic style he’s honed over years behind the camera.

In addition to photographing theme parks, he’s also done beautiful work snapping pics of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, concerts, Disney Legends, Imagineers, and more. He’s also been known to capture other photographers. Some subjects are more impressive than others.

For Halloween Horror Nights, Tyler used a Nikon Z9 paired with a Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S lens. But gear is only part of it. I asked him how he captures fire so beautifully:

“For fire, you normally want to keep your ISO low – 100-300 range – and your shutter speed high. But it depends on the speed of the pyro, what fuel is being used, and how hot it’s burning. For example, for a shot like this, I was set to 1/400 sec, f/4.2, and 200 ISO.

“But for Nightmare Fuel, my settings are 1/1,000 – 1/1,600 sec, f/3.2, and ISO 640.”

Alright, enough talk. Check out some Nightmare Fuel-heavy Halloween Horror Nights pics.

Visit Tyler’s website to see more of his outstanding photography.