Sioux Falls photographer wins Halloween with epic Harry Potter-inspired shoot

Trisha Murphy didn’t wake up today and start planning her family photo shoot for next Halloween—but her fans already can’t wait to see what she has in store for 2022.

The 2021 photograph featuring four characters from the famed Harry Potter series of books and movies marks the ninth year the Murphy clan has come together for an event that features creativity, teamwork and technical skills.

Murphy, owner of Rowan Tree Photography, and her husband, Ryan, are the parents of four children: Rowan, 15; Finn, 14; Declan, 11; and Bergen, 8. The Halloween shoots started when Bergen was 11 months old, and Murphy realized she now had the perfect number of characters for a “The Wizard of Oz” theme.

“It’s not like I set out to do a photo shoot,” Murphy said. “But I thought, next year, oh, we should try something like that again. It’s been a tradition since then. But it wasn’t intentional.”

This year’s Harry Potter photo features the young wizard himself joined by friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley and archenemy Lord Voldemort.

It also took what Murphy describes as “composite editing to combine portions of several shots together” to create the effect of a windswept battle of good and evil. At least seven photographs were combined to make up the final depiction of Hermione.

And while it may seem like the wind always blows in South Dakota, Murphy borrowed a neighbor’s leaf blower to make sure she had the drama she wanted in an epic battle scene, with rippling hair and fabric.

Murphy learned graphic design when she worked in marketing for Architecture Incorporated.

“I knew how to do Photoshop before I knew how to do photography,” she said. “That’s what led to the photography.” She started her business in 2011 and concentrates on family pictures and senior portraits.

That means this is her busiest season with families seeking group photos for Christmas distribution.

“For about a week, I don’t get much sleep,” she said. The burden eases a bit since generally her family’s photo-shoot costumes can be recycled for Halloween trick-or-treating.

But not always. “Three or four years ago, we had a mixture,” Murphy said. “We had a couple ‘Toy Story’ characters with a goblin and a princess.”

Murphy has a mental list of possible photo-shoot themes, but she doesn’t settle on one until “the last point I can get the costumes” ordered online, she joked. Her children take part with the liberal use of bribes such as treats and soft drinks but actually would be disappointed if the tradition ended.

So would the fans who anticipate the final result each October. That goes beyond family and friends.

“I’m so appreciative of the people who have followed what we’ve done over the years,” Murphy said. “I get so many messages ahead of time. ‘What are you doing? I can’t wait to see it.’ That encouragement and excitement is really special to me. It’s our thing, but it’s for everybody else too.”

Despite that, Murphy said once Rowan, now a high school sophomore, graduates, the tradition will come to an end. People have protested and urged her to continue once — at some date far into the future — grandchildren arrive.

To see the Murphy family Halloween 2021 shoot and examples from earlier years, click here.