A jack-o’-lantern is a carved pumpkin. It is associated chiefly with the holiday of Halloween, and was named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs, called ignis fatuus or jack-o’-lantern. Thanks, Wikipedia. The difficult part, after carving them, that is, is getting the exposure right in the inevitable photographs. Too little and only the cutout face appears. Too much room light and the internal illumination is lost. The trick is to get close and check the results on the camera’s LCD display.

Here is my photo taken in subdued room light.

The Wikipedia page has photos with, I think, too little external fill light.

It could be improved by cropping and darkening, but the color in the interior of the pumpkin is lost by overexposure. The camera could be set to underexpose, but the quick solution is to move in close so the camera adjusts automatically to the internal light of the pumpkin, one votive-type candle. The room light was a table lamp with the equivalent of a 75 watt bulb, about eight feet from the pumpkin. The fill light keeps a little detail in the surface of the pumpkin.

Automatic exposure on the Nikon P7000 camera provided 1/30 second at f2.8, fast enough to avoid a dreaded tripod setup.

There are three factors to balance: the exposure, the internal lighting, and the external fill. It’s best to experiment to get color in the pumpkin innards and still have a little detail defining the shape of the pumpkin. The preview screen of digital cameras is ideal for guiding adjustments.

Make sure the candle flame is not visible in the image as it will cause an overexposed spot. People have been known to run a light bulb in the pumpkin using an outdoor extension cord and fixture. That makes the pumpkin glow through the flesh. Effective, but too modern for me.

And yes, I did carve the pumpkin.