We will be going on our 2nd trip this October. I like to take photos but I'm not at all what I'd call a photographer. We brought a point and shoot on our trip and took a ton of pictures but I kind of didn't feel I really "captured the magic". For this trip I want to take fewer posed photos and more shots of rides, signs, details, candids, etc. I have a DSLR but I can't use it well, I need a lens other than the only one I have which is a portrait lens which I can't afford with what this trip will cost, and I don't know that I want to lug it around.. I think I'd feel the magic more if I could get a shallow depth of field but with just a point and shoot any tips for making my photos feel more magical?? Am I making sense at all? What gives your photos that magic, or Disney feel?
There is no single formula for "capturing the magic" as that very phrase means different things to different people.
But some basics -- Shallow depth of field can indeed lend a certain feeling to a picture --- But it practically requires a dSLR (or mirrorless) camera. It is very hard to achieve shallow depth of field with a compact.
-- Take lots and lots and lots of pictures. If you take 1,000 pictures -- And get 5 "magical" shots... Then those are the 5 shots you plaster on facebook, that you print and frame.
-- Sometimes it is helpful to use your camera to tell the story of your vacation. If you look at it as a story-telling device, it may help you capture the mood.
-- Don't be afraid of looking for alternative shots. Every has a shot of the castle. Everyone has posed shots with characters. Absolutely go for candids when you can see the joy in your kids faces. But also look for new and interesting angles for your scenic shots.
-- There are times for a wide angle, and there are times you want to get close to your subject. Unfortunately, many novice photographers go too wide, too often, and end up with a lot of dead space in the shot. There is a saying in photography, "dead center is dead." So take into account the entire frame when composing the shot, try to make sure the most interesting parts of the photograph are off-center, make sure you don't have a lot of dead space. This may mean zooming in with your lens, but it also often means zooming in with your feet. I think novice photographers too often take the position of wanting to "stand back" and are afraid of cropping anything important out of the shot. A close-up picture of your kids faces, with just making out the castle in the background, will probably look more magical than a shot where your kids are tiny dots, with a big castle behind them.