Disney Photography Tips

[weilkevin]

Luckily(or unfortunately, depending on who you ask ), my camera has a nice non-interchangable lens on it, so I won't have to worry about changing lenses or carrying extras.

I'll definitely be bringing along some plastic bags though. Do you find that they work as well as you would hope? I'm not so worried about rides being a problem but the flash rain storms scare me. Any suggestions other than a plastic bag? I know I can buy a $300 waterproof enclosure but thats going a bit too far haha.

I did get yelled at over the loudspeaker on Dinosaur for having my DSLR out and I was NOT taking flash pictures.

Thats crazy! I mean I'm not too surprised that you can't take pictures but for them to interrupt the experience by announcing something over the loudspeaker seems a little out of character for Disney. Its nice to know that other than that, the cast seems accepting as long as your respectful. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Sewfun]

Luckily(or unfortunately, depending on who you ask ), my camera has a nice non-interchangable lens on it, so I won't have to worry about changing lenses or carrying extras.

I'll definitely be bringing along some plastic bags though. Do you find that they work as well as you would hope? I'm not so worried about rides being a problem but the flash rain storms scare me. Any suggestions other than a plastic bag? I know I can buy a $300 waterproof enclosure but thats going a bit too far haha.



Thats crazy! I mean I'm not too surprised that you can't take pictures but for them to interrupt the experience by announcing something over the loudspeaker seems a little out of character for Disney. Its nice to know that other than that, the cast seems accepting as long as your respectful. Thanks for the tips!

I was a new friend I had met there and we were loving the ride when "PUT THAT CAMERA DOWN!" shouted over the loudspeaker. I looked at Glenn and said "Did I just get yelled at?" He started laughing and said yes. I was taking pictures but not flash. The spiel at the beginning of the ride said no flash pictures. She must have been having a bad day.

 

[Sewfun]

Luckily(or unfortunately, depending on who you ask ), my camera has a nice non-interchangable lens on it, so I won't have to worry about changing lenses or carrying extras.

I'll definitely be bringing along some plastic bags though. Do you find that they work as well as you would hope? I'm not so worried about rides being a problem but the flash rain storms scare me. Any suggestions other than a plastic bag? I know I can buy a $300 waterproof enclosure but thats going a bit too far haha.

I haven't broke down yet to buy a waterproof enclosure for my Sony. I have a waterproof P&S that I use for vidoe or photos on water rides. I think I am going to take a gallon ziplock bag for my camera this time, as I am not going to haul my camera backpack into the parks this time of year. I did it in May and was drenched. I think it will work well, as those are pretty secure. I would not go on Kali River Rapids though, just because right now I can't afford to replace my equipment. I do have an extended warranty that protects against water damage but honestly it isn't worth the risk to me.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I took some shots on Dinosaur once. I don't remember anyone complaining. I'm not sure why I bothered. It was very dark, so the shots were pretty useless. On top of that, the ride is so jerky that I didn't dare put the camera to my face. I almost got a black eye when I was on the Safari ride with a 1D and a 70-200 f/2.8.

 

[Sewfun]

I took some shots on Dinosaur once. I don't remember anyone complaining. I'm not sure why I bothered. It was very dark, so the shots were pretty useless. On top of that, the ride is so jerky that I didn't dare put the camera to my face. I almost got a black eye when I was on the Safari ride with a 1D and a 70-200 f/2.8.

Mark, I agree with the ride and bothering to take pictures. I was just surprised at how the castmember handled it. I have never been yelled at like that in a Disney park. They are usually much better at letting you know when you are doing something wrong. I hate it when people take flash pictures in POTC because it does ruin the ride for others. I hope it was just the person was having a bad day. Nobody said a word to me when I got off the ride.

 

[weilkevin]

I'll probably bring a few zippered gallon bags and just double up on them just to be safe.

Speaking of the Safari. I read some people just say to take in the sites and forget the camera. How do you guys feel about this? I got a really nice video of the entire ride a few years ago and it wasn't distracting at all. I work with animals every day at my job so I'm extremely interested in getting some good shots. Any thoughts?

Also, I'm not sure if anyone is familiar with the adapter tubes and zoom add-ons but I know my camera is compatible with the TCON-17(I believe it adds 1.7x zoom) zoom add-on with an adapter tube. I've been considering getting it for awhile but the size seems to be fairly prohibitive. Does anyone have any advice about this?

I can't add pictures or links but if you search TCON-17X you can find a picture of the tube and lens add-on. SO BIG!

Thanks all!

 

[Gina421]

It's been great reading all these tips! We are heading to DL next week and I'm bringing along my canon rebel xsi! Excited to take some "new" shots!

 

[mrodgers]

I haven't read the whole thread yet. I'm on page 4, but I notice something on this board all the time which I don't ever see in regular photography forums....

This is a post processing tip. Straighten your photos. I quickly scrolled through all the rest of these pages and I counted 19 photos of the ones that are still available for display that the scene is falling out of the photo because either the horizon line is slanted down or light poles or other vertical lines are leaning.

This is the very first thing I notice of a photo that is bad. It just pops out drastically for me and I can not appreciate viewing the photo at that point. Every photo that pops out at me as "Wow, great shot" I look at again and easily notice that the horizon is level or vertical lines are vertical.

Unless it is for artistic merit, which one of the photos in this thread of a wide angle shot of a boy running from the surf it does look good and has artistic merit from it, the horizon and vertical lines should be level.

As this is named "Photography Board" and not "Vacation Snapshooter's Board" and with the amount of folks constantly posting that they want a dSLR for better photos, or ask about the quality of pictures, or what camera takes the best quality, it must be said again that great photos come from the photographer and not the camera. In the old days of film, the photos had to be processed. In today's digital world, people don't think they do any more. Post processing is a term that I don't like now in the digital world. Post processing sounds like editing and changing a photo to something different and I think many people do think that way. I like to think of it as "digital developing."

Whether you shoot a point and shoot or a dSLR, in JPEG or in RAW, every photo must still be "developed". First thing I look at is whether my photo is level. It is difficult to do looking through the viewfinder (or on an LCD screen) as the view is quite small. I check to see that the horizon is level or vertical lines are vertical immediately upon looking at the image on the computer after uploading from the camera/card.

Other subtle "development" corrections need to be done, yes even with the "I get it right in the camera" crowd, but this tip is about leveling your photo. I didn't count the overall number of photos in this thread, but as I said, I counted 19 of them that were not level which is a pretty high percentage of the overall count.

 

[ruggierihenderson]

All given tips are useful and i want to give some more photography tips. Look your subject in the eye as much as possible, Use a simple background, Lock the focus of camera, You should know your camera flash range, Try to take some vertical picture and you can use Photoshop software to make clear photo.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Thanks for bumping this thread up to the top, again. I've just re-read all 13 pages, and it's very informative. Let's try to keep it active. My tips aren't going to be as astute as those previously posted, but I'll take a shot at a few beginner-to-beginner tips.


Get on down!

Don't worry about what others might think, and the dust brushes off. Get right on down on the ground for a new and interesting angle. (Just keep in mind that the sidewalks in Disney are HOT! For every one of these photos, I was literally lying flat on my back on the ground. For the Spaceship Earth photos, the subjects are actually straddling my legs and standing right over me.


Walt Disney World Summer 2011 004.jpg by BirdsOfPreyDave, on Flickr


P8040006.jpg by BirdsOfPreyDave, on Flickr


Epcot_FW (35).jpg by BirdsOfPreyDave, on Flickr

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Expect the unexpected

If your camera's in your backpack or hanging from the handle of the stroller, the only pictures you'll come home with are the ones you stop and have people pose for. Find a comfortable camera strap that allows you to have it out and handy always.


Walt Disney World Summer 2011 245-Edit.jpg by BirdsOfPreyDave, on Flickr

Pulling out of the Frontierland Train Station on the train, I just happened to look down to my left. If my camera hadn't already been in my hand, there's no way I could have captured this shot.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Don't be afraid to be silly

Every shot doesn't have to be something that could hang in a gallery. Take some pictures to remind yourself of the lighter, silly side of the vacation. Cast members are usually happy to play along. (I guess it breaks up their day of standing there waiting for someone to ask them what time the 3 O'Clock parade starts.)

This is actually a PhotoPass picture. We asked the Tree of Life photographer if he'd mind taking an unusual photo for us as we were leaving.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

The good, the bad, and the ugly

Disney World is exhausting. The days are long, there's a lot of walking, and the Florida sun is hot. Someone's going to have a meltdown. When they do -- when the hollering and crying are at their peek -- go for the camera. Not only will it probably shock them into calming down, but it makes for a great photo to put in the album.

This one was captioned "Some days you're the princess, some days you're not" in our PhotoBook that year. It's one of my favorite shots in the book. Everyone who looks through the book bursts into laughter when they get to this page. Well, everyone except one particular person.

 

[Bewitch324]

I think this picture of the crabby child may be one of my favorite pictures EVER!!!! Talk about capturing a moment!!!!

Thanks for sharing,
Brooke

 

[mummygina]

I've just read the full thread (eyes are now sore and I've done zero house jobs, but I have a list of tips to try!)

Request please - any tips for taking pics on dark ride (eg PotC?) I'm guessing a similar approach to fireworks??

 

[wbeem]

Request please - any tips for taking pics on dark ride (eg PotC?) I'm guessing a similar approach to fireworks??

No. Fireworks takes a tripod, which is hard to mount in a moving boat and not effective there, anyway. You aren't stable if you're moving.

During fireworks, you can shoot at a low ISO for a long exposure. In a moving, dark ride, you need a high ISO to get a faster shutter speed. I usually shoot at ISO 6400 & f/2.8 inside something like Pirates of the Caribbean. Some shots work, some don't because the shutter may still be too slow. Faster glass would help, too.

 

[10dedfish]

No. Fireworks takes a tripod, which is hard to mount in a moving boat and not effective there, anyway. You aren't stable if you're moving.

During fireworks, you can shoot at a low ISO for a long exposure. In a moving, dark ride, you need a high ISO to get a faster shutter speed. I usually shoot at ISO 6400 & f/2.8 inside something like Pirates of the Caribbean. Some shots work, some don't because the shutter may still be too slow. Faster glass would help, too.

Totally agree. I was able to pull some shots off in POTC at 1600 ISO and F2.8, but I deleted alot more than I was able to keep. Some I was able to save in PP, noise removal, etc. But fast glass and a high ISO is the way to go.

Matt

 

[mummygina]

Thanks for the dark ride tips (I've noted them down to take to the parks and try out as a little too many things for me to remember!) Think it will be LOTS of trial and error!

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I posted this earlier today and it was shot with the Sigma 30 @ f1.4, 1/80, ISO 6400.


PotC 4 by Gianna'sPapa, on Flickr

 

[traylorc]

Here are a couple of my favorite dark ride pics from the Haunted mansion:


_DSC6784 by traylorc, on Flickr


_DSC6786 by traylorc, on Flickr