General photo tips for shooting at the parks!

[WDI 1998]

Great idea for a thread!

Yes indeed. So keeping that in mind lets avoid the flame war and stick to putting our tips here. If you like them take them to heart if not don't. Making this personal is just a waste of time, effort and a really good thread where we all can benefit from each others knowledge and experience.

 

[WDI 1998]

I am an Architect. When I was in Architecture school I never saw the sense in studying the works of other Architects. I guess in my mind I thought that my designs should come from with in me uninfluenced by the designs of others. I WAS WRONG. So my first tip is:

Study the work of others.

Look at their photos and ask yourself why is it good? What is bad? Why do you think they chose the composition and does it work? Is it properly exposed? Where is the light coming from and do you think its location helps or hinders the shot?

Think about the shot! Don't just look at them. Pretty soon you will start to look at everything this way. Pictures, Movies, TV and going about your every day life. You will see potential shots all around you. You will be driving down the road and out of the corner of your eye you will see something and think what a fantastic shot that would make!

My second tip is:

If you don't get it the first time go back for a second, third, fourth etc. to get it the way you want it.

There are a list of shots I want to retake most of which are far away from where I live so I have to wait until I have opportunity to be there again and reshoot. As an example, I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts. Near to where I lived was an old colonial village green with a beautiful colonial era church. This place has a lot of personal meaning to me and I thought it would make a great panorama that I would take, print and hang on my wall. I went and shot the church. I was not able to edit the shots in Lightroom until I got home to North Carolina. Guess what. I was not completely happy with them. The panoramic was ok but in my opinion not good enough. The shot I took was during the summer and I have had to wait until this summer when I am going back to retake the shots. Use your "failures" as a learning experience. Look at what went wrong with your shot, learn how to correct and improve it and retake it.

 

[NowInc]

Just got a new camera body? Or just not used to the one you have? OR...just because you "never know"...

Pretty much every camera maker provides you the manual for your body in PDF format. Save it on your smart phone or tablet to bring with you without taking up any extra space in your bag.

 

[sporadic]

I mentioned earlier about bouncing flash when possible. Just got done going through my pictures and wanted to give an example. This was in Cinderella's castle prior to lunch. 430EX shot straight up / bounced off ceiling with a bounce card throwing a little light forward. Actually used a hairband to strap my photopass to the flash as a bounce card.

IMG_7155 by smerrick, on Flickr

It could be better, but is definitely an improvement from what we received as our meal photograph. I don't have scans of the pictures they took yet, but the lighting is exactly as in the following two - very harsh, direct, and unflattering - http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7iyoblo-35M/TLclZyKJUwI/AAAAAAAAAHA/wYaZXJn7rTI/s1600/Photo0079.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_COfvQUJMY...A-o/deV0r0ngrD8/s1600/DisneyPhotoImage280.JPG

 

[NowInc]

Don't go cheap with memory cards

I know its tempting, but honestly a FAST memory card will save you a headache and a half.

You may think you won't need a class 10 SD card since you don't shoot burst mode......until the time you actually need it because your'e suddenly shooting in burst mode.

If you shoot RAW (which..if you have been reading this thread...you know that you SHOULD BE), those files are pretty large and take some time to write. Some cameras have a pretty iffy buffer (ie: the D7100's biggest flaw), but a faster SD card can help make things a bit faster (not a miracle solution by ANY means).

With prices being the way they are (I have been able to pick up 32gb class 10 SD cards for less than $40 on several occasions), you have no reason to "go cheap and slow".

 

[WDI 1998]

Don't go cheap with memory cards

I know its tempting, but honestly a FAST memory card will save you a headache and a half.

Very good point. Currently I have a SanDisk 32 gig 45Mb/s card but have my eye on a couple of 64 gig 95 Mb/s cards. A bit pricey but fast. They will set you back about $132 per card...

 

[sporadic]

Some thoughts....

If the camera is in the bag, you're going to miss the moment. You're going to miss your child/wife/girlfriend/goldfish/"service animal" doing that horribly cute thing in front of you and by the time you get the camera out of the bag, its long gone. Keep it on your shoulder.

In regards to this one in particular, a decent strap goes a long way to keeping your camera ready when toting a DSLR and heavy glass. I picked up an Optech Utility Sling (http://amzn.to/11yocIj) a few months before our trip and its hands down the best $20 I've ever spent on camera gear. I bought it mainly for use with my 7D and 70-200 2.8 for shooting sports, but it made carrying the 7D and 17-55 2.8 all day a breeze in the parks. There are other manufactures of slings and much pricier ones at that, but I can highly recommend the Optech solution. Worked wonders for my neck!

 

[ddbowdoin]

Buy a camera, use it at Disney, then return it... Okay, that's not a legit tip but that's what I ended up doing.

I thought I found THE camera until I found out it has the WORST AF ever, really it does.

 

[sporadic]

Buy a camera, use it at Disney, then return it... Okay, that's not a legit tip but that's what I ended up doing.

I thought I found THE camera until I found out it has the WORST AF ever, really it does.

This your new Fuji??

 

[NowInc]

I have yet to use "the perfect" camera. It stinks...every single body has a flaw..some are able to be overlooked..some not so much. What was said above does sort of ring true...you never really know how well (or poorly) your camera is for you until you get it out and use it for what you bought it for. Example: If I shot sports (I don't, nor do I ever plan to), I'd be pretty upset with the D7100. Why? Even with a super fast AF, the buffer on the camera is pretty small. If I shot jpg, it wouldn't be an issue, but for raw? 6 burst shots and then the buffer starts showing its ugly head. Thankfully..for what I use the camera for..I CAN overlook it. So I guess the tip that would go along with this would be as follows:

Make sure the camera you own is the camera you need.

 

[ddbowdoin]

This your new Fuji??

Terrible man...

The IQ is out of this world and image quality is outstanding so a great camera for times when you have all the time in the world, but if that was the case you wouldn't be complaining about the size of a DSLR. But when you need the shot, as in that special candid moment when your wife is hugging Mickey, good luck with the AF on this thing. I'm so disappointed but there's a reason I buy from BH... 30 days no questions asked return policy with no restocking fee.

 

[ddbowdoin]

I have yet to use "the perfect" camera. It stinks...every single body has a flaw..some are able to be overlooked..some not so much. What was said above does sort of ring true...you never really know how well (or poorly) your camera is for you until you get it out and use it for what you bought it for. Example: If I shot sports (I don't, nor do I ever plan to), I'd be pretty upset with the D7100. Why? Even with a super fast AF, the buffer on the camera is pretty small. If I shot jpg, it wouldn't be an issue, but for raw? 6 burst shots and then the buffer starts showing its ugly head. Thankfully..for what I use the camera for..I CAN overlook it. So I guess the tip that would go along with this would be as follows:

Make sure the camera you own is the camera you need.

Reviews can only take you so far... You need to have it in the field and see how it actually performs in relation to how you shoot.

 

[gsrjedi]

So I guess the tip that would go along with this would be as follows:

Make sure the camera you own is the camera you need.

In my brief time, I would say this applies to lenses and other camera accessories as well. Especially for new people. Don't just go on a lens buying spree (unless you can readily afford it), learn the kit lens and it's deficiencies for what you want to shoot and buy what you need to get the shots you want. ddbowdoin's point about field testing stuff also applies to things like bags and tripods and other accessories. My first tripod was an $18 one from Target, but after using it a couple times I could go into a camera shop and look at tripods and have a better understanding of what I wanted from one. That's the kind of thing that's hard to do when you're new to this hobby.


If I had to give a tip for shooting Disney Parks, I would say to switch things up if you get a chance to photograph the Parks regularly. I've only been to WDW twice, so I'm sure my next visit will be a frantic photo quest still, but my AP for Disneyland says I've been 19 times this year. I just got the 55-210 and the 16mm with the ultra-wide adapter for my Sony NEX-5N. When I take my last visit to DL as an AP this year in a couple weeks I can't wait to use these new lenses and get some fresh perspective on a place I've taken countless photographs at.

 

[PhotoDave219]

If I had to give a tip for shooting Disney Parks, I would say to switch things up if you get a chance to photograph the Parks regularly. I've only been to WDW twice, so I'm sure my next visit will be a frantic photo quest still, but my AP for Disneyland says I've been 19 times this year. I just got the 55-210 and the 16mm with the ultra-wide adapter for my Sony NEX-5N. When I take my last visit to DL as an AP this year in a couple weeks I can't wait to use these new lenses and get some fresh perspective on a place I've taken countless photographs at.

I will echo that. Always look for new things.

 

[NowInc]

Have a sling bag?

As a general rule for myself, I typically never "remove" my sling bag when I sit on rides (unless of course the ride requires me to). Instead I slide it over to my lap and rest it there. The reasons I do this are as follow:

Fast lens switches.
Not getting good results from that super zoom f5 lens on spaceship earth? With your bag on your lap, your awesome prime lens is right there for the swap in.

"Tripod" in a pinch.
Now I'm not saying its a great substitute for a tripod, but lets face is...ride stops happen from time to time...and in an ideal world we could have our tripods set up everywhere..always. However..the world is far from ideal. So what do you do if you get a sudden stop while on a particularly dark ride? With a bit of practice, you can learn to "steady" your bag on your lap and rest your camera on it to help keep it from moving while you do a longer than usual exposure (one that hand held would be near impossible to keep steady).

I did this a few times this weekend and will post results soon (Importing gigs and gigs of SD cards now..may take a bit).

 

[Master Yoda]

Have a sling bag?

As a general rule for myself, I typically never "remove" my sling bag when I sit on rides (unless of course the ride requires me to). Instead I slide it over to my lap and rest it there. The reasons I do this are as follow:

Fast lens switches.
Not getting good results from that super zoom f5 lens on spaceship earth? With your bag on your lap, your awesome prime lens is right there for the swap in.

"Tripod" in a pinch.
Now I'm not saying its a great substitute for a tripod, but lets face is...ride stops happen from time to time...and in an ideal world we could have our tripods set up everywhere..always. However..the world is far from ideal. So what do you do if you get a sudden stop while on a particularly dark ride? With a bit of practice, you can learn to "steady" your bag on your lap and rest your camera on it to help keep it from moving while you do a longer than usual exposure (one that hand held would be near impossible to keep steady).

I did this a few times this weekend and will post results soon (Importing gigs and gigs of SD cards now..may take a bit).

This is a great little thing to have for such an occurrence.

http://www.thepod.ca/

 

[NowInc]

Keeping this thread rolling:

Practice things you don't think are important
Mainly..things like swapping lenses, putting on filters, changing batteries..etc. Simple things like this seem easy enough, but one day you may find yourself having to do one of those things (or something else) at a moments notice (especially lens swaps!)..and all the practice will pay off. In theory...you should be comfortable enough to removed and put a new lens on without looking at the body at all..or at least with only a quick glance.

Learn your camera!
Sort of touched on this before, but in the category of "Practice what you preach" I was surprised to find out that my camera body had a feature I must have missed when reading the manual. It had an IR sensor in the back as well as the front for wireless shutter. (I would go wired normally, but the wireless controller is WAY smaller and takes up a lot less space in my bag). How did I find this? By being bored one night and actually looking at the camera. I saw the sensor and wondered what it was, and after a quick googling, tada!! So I guess to sort of add on to the previous tip about this, I would go and say REALLY learn your camera...not just by glazing the manual.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

The only tip I would give is if you have a lens hood, don't walk around with it backwards on your lens. Either use it or leave it at home. I've rarely seen this in WDW, but it was rampant on my trip to DL.

Keeping this thread rolling:

Practice things you don't think are important

Learn your camera!

These are both great. I'm still learning things about my camera that I feel dumb for not noticing before. You can only cram so much new information at one time, but you can continue to build your knowledge with practice and some "research."

I practiced setting up and tearing down my new tripod in my living room several times before I used it in a park. Feels silly at home, but pays off in action.

 

[NowInc]

The only tip I would give is if you have a lens hood, don't walk around with it backwards on your lens. Either use it or leave it at home. I've rarely seen this in WDW, but it was rampant on my trip to DL.

I would say ALWAYS use the lens hood..even at night. Lets just say if you were to drop your camera..its not much..but it IS one extra "point of impact" between your lens and the ground.

 

[Master Yoda]

I would say ALWAYS use the lens hood..even at night. Lets just say if you were to drop your camera..its not much..but it IS one extra "point of impact" between your lens and the ground.

I keep a clear lens filter on for the same reason. A scratched $6 filter is a much easier pill to swallow than a scratched $1000 lens.