General photo tips for shooting at the parks!

[AmongMadPeople]

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.

Yep, I didn't religiously use it until after I had a mishap and damaged my lens. Now the only time its off is if it's in a bag. You don't want to be stuck with a lens repair or replacement bill and think "If only I had taken two extra seconds to put on the hood?"

For what I gather eavesdropping, a lot of people don't understand what the hood is for. But making zooming awkward and impossible is definitely not it. The basic kit (on crop sensor Nikon at least) doesn't come with a hood, so people are plunking down extra money on lenses to then walk around with backwards hoods.

 

[fractal]

Holding your camera properly for clearer and sharper photographs

 

[NowInc]

Make a list of goals
Pre-Plan your trip a little bit. Make a list of shots you want to get, as well as places you wish to capture. This of course doesn't mean go and not be spontaneous..far from it..but for example..lets say you took a photo of the castle your last outing that didn't come out quite the way you wanted. Well..add that to your list..make the "changes" you wish you made the first time. Knowing what you have in mind to capture will greatly increase your chances of getting it the first time

 

[CP_alum08]

Make a list of goals
Pre-Plan your trip a little bit. Make a list of shots you want to get, as well as places you wish to capture. This of course doesn't mean go and not be spontaneous..far from it..but for example..lets say you took a photo of the castle your last outing that didn't come out quite the way you wanted. Well..add that to your list..make the "changes" you wish you made the first time. Knowing what you have in mind to capture will greatly increase your chances of getting it the first time

I did this a lot when I was first starting out. I would find photos online that I liked and take notes of where I thought they would have been standing and such. If nothing else, it takes you to different areas of the park you may not normally go and/or look at things a little differently.

 

[Lord_Vader]

I also use the following website to maximize the sun angle for outdoor shots of various building/facades such as Cinderella Castle, Tree of Life, etc. The map tool overlay is a slight bit complicated to understand at first but taking the time to review the angles/direction the sun is assures it is always at my back or to the side for my shots.

http://suncalc.net/#/28.4186,-81.5799,19/2013.08.03/15:49

 

[ddbowdoin]

I also use the following website to maximize the sun angle for outdoor shots of various building/facades such as Cinderella Castle, Tree of Life, etc. The map tool overlay is a slight bit complicated to understand at first but taking the time to review the angles/direction the sun is assures it is always at my back or to the side for my shots.

http://suncalc.net/#/28.4186,-81.5799,19/2013.08.03/15:49

lol... that's pretty f'n cool man

 

[NowInc]

I know theres ios apps that do it as well..but yeah..ive used this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ratana.sunsurveyorlite&hl=en

 

[NowInc]

some tips for post production:

BE PATIENT!
Don't rush through an edit job. You'll only end up not being pleased with the results. Take your time...think about what you're doing. You'll naturally get faster over time

WALK AWAY!
This is a tip a professor of mine back in my college days preached to me and I never truly believed it was a good idea until I started doing it. Edit a photo...then walk away. 10-20 minutes or so..or work on something else..check email..read the forums..whatever. Then go back to that image with "fresh eyes". The time away from the image will reset your view on it so you are seeing it from a "new" set of eyes and you'll be able to better complete the editing with a new set of things you want to edit on it.

EVERYTHING YOU SHOOT ISN'T WORTH KEEPING!
Be willing to accept that you can...and will..take bad pictures. Be willing to come to terms with that, and be willing to DELETE them. No sense in keeping everything you shoot. It'll just fill up a hard drive with things you'll never look at again.

LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES!
Most of us have been doing this for at LEAST 2 years (some for decades). Every. Single. One of us. will tell you that we learned the most from our mistakes. So when you sit there in post...looking at a picture..take mental (or heck..physical) notes of what you would have (or wished you would have) done differently if you had the chance again. You will. And when you go back, you'll get a better picture. Looking back at my old photos from my early "photography" days, I cringe at some of the pictures I took. I now have a better sense of composition, lighting, and general idea of what I want as the final result and it yields a better day of shooting.

KNOW YOUR LIMITS (and your tools)!
Know what you can and can't do in your photo editing suite of choice. Some of us have been lucky enough to have been Photoshop users for way too long, while others are just stepping into lightroom. Don't get discouraged by other peoples editing skills..instead know where you can improve your own..no matter what your software of choice may be. The awesome side effect to this is that when you are out "in the field"...you'll know what you will be able to do to a photo you take..so it will ultimately help you take a better photo. For example...take a wide picture of a sunset...does it look dull in your camera? DONT DELETE IT! You will know in post you can "punch" it up to get the vision you had.

 

[fractal]

Tip on preventing your camera lens from fogging up in hot humid weather.

 

[NowInc]

Pardon the "bump", but remember my tip about using your camera bag as a "stable" surface? Thats how I got this shot:


Magic Kingdom - Pirates Of The Caribbean by DreGGs, on Flickr

 

[CP_alum08]

Tip on preventing your camera lens from fogging up in hot humid weather.

very useful...but I was expecting something a little more hi-tech

 

[KappleB2]

Thanks for this thread! I have had my Canon T3 for about 6 month and use it ALL THE TIME because I really want to get some good quality pictures and enjoy the "hunt" for the good ones . I can't wait to take it to Disney World next week! All your tips are wonderful!

Thank you!

And anybody have some beginners advice on shooting the Osborne Lights? I honestly don't expect any great pictures from this trip (as I am still learning and playing with manual mode, ESPECIALLY in low light) but I really want to try

 

[Lord_Vader]

Thanks for this thread! I have had my Canon T3 for about 6 month and use it ALL THE TIME because I really want to get some good quality pictures and enjoy the "hunt" for the good ones . I can't wait to take it to Disney World next week! All your tips are wonderful!

Thank you!

And anybody have some beginners advice on shooting the Osborne Lights? I honestly don't expect any great pictures from this trip (as I am still learning and playing with manual mode, ESPECIALLY in low light) but I really want to try

My recommendations... Tall and stable tripod, high aperture settings and long exposure work well. Set your T3 on manual with manual focus, center on a range of lights then adjust your aperture to a fairly high setting (f11 or higher) resulting in a deep depth of field, adjust your shutter speed accordingly. Whatever you do, make sure your flash is disabled so you can capture the light from the Christmas Lights and not the structures behind them.

I used several settings ranging from f11 to f22 and exposures as long as 30 seconds a few years ago when I shot the lights. Full auto on the T3 might work when all the lights are on and not flashing.

All manual for these type shots is always best, longer exposures will capture all the blinking lights.

And most importantly, have fun!

 

[CP_alum08]

Thanks for this thread! I have had my Canon T3 for about 6 month and use it ALL THE TIME because I really want to get some good quality pictures and enjoy the "hunt" for the good ones . I can't wait to take it to Disney World next week! All your tips are wonderful!

Thank you!

And anybody have some beginners advice on shooting the Osborne Lights? I honestly don't expect any great pictures from this trip (as I am still learning and playing with manual mode, ESPECIALLY in low light) but I really want to try

The Osborne lights are actually pretty easy to shoot. The lights are so bright and there are so many that a lot can be shot without a tripod. Obviously for long exposures you still need a tripod but you can manage pretty well without one. I've done it both ways and you just end up with different shots when using a tripod, not necessarily better in my opinion.