WDW park or general photography etiquette (good and/or bad)

[mikegood2]

Initially I was going to ask a question about tripod etiquette in the park, but thought I would be interesting to expand the question to general in park photography etiquette. Feel free to post good and or bad experiences!

As for my question, next month I will be shooting WDW fireworks with a tripod for the first time and was wondering what the proper etiquette was? Seeing that it is in June crowds will likely be large, so I'm looking for tripod does and don't. I don't want to be one of those people who are oblivious to there surroundings, but at the same time I want to get good shots. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[hakepb]

I would think that if you setup early, everyone that eventually gets behind you chooses their location knowing they will be behind you and your tripod...and that is OK.

On the other hand, if you arrive late and set your tripod in front of a kid...not cool

 

[2Tiggies]

^^^ What he said

In my view, it comes down to the above, coupled with a reasonable dose of common sense. What you cannot prepare yourself for is who is going to want to stand right beside you at the time. As with most things in life, you can do everything 'right' to the letter, and still upset someone; the person who was rested and had a relaxed day yesterday and would have happily chatted to you about your photos may be in a different frame of mind and be irritated with your presence tomorrow and you have no control over that. Also keep in mind that courtesy and etiquette are very relative terms and vary widely from one person to the next so what may be perceived as considerate by one person could be seen as annoying or an encroachment on the next person's space.

Be aware, be considerate and know that you have just as much right to be there as anyone else and just take the day as it comes. And most important, enjoy taking your pics

 

[traylorc]

In terms of general photography etiquette, I always like to remind people to avoid using their flash during dark rides.

First of all, using your Flash ruins the experience for everyone else. As 2tiggies mentioned, everyone else has just as much right to enjoy the ride as you do. Most of us do not enjoy going through the Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Carribean while some flash happy person tries to get a "good shot".

Second...IMHO dark rides shots taken with the flash look HORRIBLE!!! Seriously...they look very bad. That's right, a flash can be great when used to provide fill light or perhaps in situations where you are trying to overpower harsh sunlight. But in the case of dark rides, IMHO using the flash ruins your picture. There are certain lighting aspects of the dark ride that help create atmosphere and mood. That mood is ruined by flashing your bright white light on various subjects. There is an old saying that goes "it's not the camera, it's the photographer". While I wholeheartedly believe this, there are some instances where camera/lens is almost as important as the photographer...dark ride shots are one of those instances. You need a lens with a large aperture that can let in as much light as possible. In addition, you need a camera where you can increase the ISO (increase the sensitivity of the camera's sensor). Those are two important factors in achieving good dark ride shots, and using a flash will not overcome them.

 

[mikegood2]

Thanks, that's pretty much what I was thinking, but wanted to make sure. I was thinking about setting the tripod up right behind my nieces stroller. Hopefully that would be a safer. I agree 2tiggies you never know who will be next too you, so you just have to go with the flow.

On our trip in 2011, my brother decided to change our wishes nights at the last minute, as in we were already at the park. So my DSLR and tripod were at the hotel. I did have my monopod though, so I was fairly happy with my parade shots / video.

Traylorc, I agree with you on the flash. I usually take it as a sign the the person taking the photo has little photographic knowledge.

The most recent photo etiquette issue I have run into is the person who walks in front of you when you are trying to take a picture or a group picture. It rarely bothers me except for the case of the individual who look directly at you as they are doing it. If you are in front of a the only or major walkway I can understand, but far too often they can just go around you.

 

[AndrewWG]

I can assure you of one thing. From my experience, you will set up early, get everything ready, the crowds will come in and everything will be great. Then, all of a sudden, some dunderhead will stand directly in front of your tripod and (at best) every photo will have his head in it. There HAS to be a better way...

 

[bleeps]

The most recent photo etiquette issue I have run into is the person who walks in front of you when you are trying to take a picture or a group picture. It rarely bothers me except for the case of the individual who look directly at you as they are doing it. If you are in front of a the only or major walkway I can understand, but far too often they can just go around you.

We are so mindful of this -- watching out for people who are trying to take pictures and either pausing or walking around them -- but many are just either oblivious or callous about it.

I've also been a little peeved at character breakfasts when parents don't bother to mind their kids at all, and think it's cute that their kid is running up to the character who is currently visiting our table. Although it's not my usual style, it has sometimes gotten to the point where I've said loudly and clearly, "honey, Eeyore is coming to your table next, but right now he's visiting my boy and I'd like to take a picture without you in it...."

 

[zackiedawg]

In general, when photographing in the parks I always take care to not impede any flow of traffic...that's my key goal. Never stop right in the middle of a walkway to take a photo of something, as there could be dozens, even hundreds of people coming behind you who now suddenly have to stop, go around, or try to be courteous and avoid stepping into your shot. Stand off to the side, plan your shot - wait for a hole in the crowd - you're the one taking the shot, so you're the one who should be inconvenienced and wait a little if necessary, not everyone else.

When setting up a tripod, my goal is always to set up right on a rail or fence, right behind or in front of a garbage can, a pole, a rock...anything that is already there and people have to go around anyway - in other words, my setting up isn't causing any additional obstruction. Having fences in front of you is great to help avoid heads in your shot - even garbage cans and vendor carts can put a few feet between your lens and the next place a person can stand.

When taking photos at Disney, I also try to be mindful of the fact that I'm not the only one who wants to get the shot, so I try to get my shot or shots in as quickly as I reasonably can, if I'm conscious of someone else who might want to shoot from the same perspective...and I move away quickly when I get my shots, rather than standing there chimping my LCD and trying more. If I want to try again, or it didn't come out great, I let the other person get their shot and 'wait in line' for my opportunity again.

None of these are rules or mandatory behavior - just what I feel is courteous and right. It's nice when others have the same personal standards and courtesies with me...but I can be patient and hold my tongue if not...Disney isn't the place in my mind to have loud arguments with someone who's less courteous or mindful, and I prefer to spread a nice image of photographers to others whenever possible, because I've run into more than a few photographers who give us a bad name with their behavior, attitude, or lack of common courtesy.

 

[mikegood2]

Great advice zackiedawg. I try to follow the majority of what you wrote and most of the time I do. Trying to be as courteous to others as you would like them to be with you is a great approach! I would think and hope most photographers feel the same way.

As far as locating the tripod I think I'll take advantage of one or both of our strollers and use them to protect the tripod. They are going to be there anyways so i might as well take advantage of them. If not I will look for items like you mentioned above.

As long as you or anyone else don't walk in front of me while making eye contact the entire time we will be fine!

 

[wiigirl]

I can assure you of one thing. From my experience, you will set up early, get everything ready, the crowds will come in and everything will be great. Then, all of a sudden, some dunderhead will stand directly in front of your tripod and (at best) every photo will have his head in it. There HAS to be a better way...

I can't tell you how many times that has happened to me.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

I can assure you of one thing. From my experience, you will set up early, get everything ready, the crowds will come in and everything will be great. Then, all of a sudden, some dunderhead will stand directly in front of your tripod and (at best) every photo will have his head in it. There HAS to be a better way...

They're usually about 7 foot tall, and put their child on their shoulders when the show starts.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Two things to keep track of once your tripod is set up: the safety of those around you, and the safety of your equipment. Most tripods are black, and with the lights dimmed low they're even more impossible for people to see. Once I set mine up, the two of us try to stand right at the two back legs to block them from being tripped over. I then try to keep a close eye on the front leg, and anyone who may be heading toward it. I keep telling myself I'm going to put a supply of glow necklaces in my bag to make my tripod legs more visible in the dark, but I haven't remembered a single time.

I don't put my camera on the tripod until the show actually starts. It stays on my shoulder strap for as long as possible. My hand stays on it constantly after it's on the tripod, lifting it off only when I'm pushing the remote shutter release.

If you have a backpack or something, place it under your tripod to make that space look less available. WBeem posted a story on another DIS tripod thread about an occassion when a stranger who told his son to crawl under William's tripod and sit there for the show. I only heard the story through his DIS post, but the thought of it still insenses me, today. He handled it a lot more gracefully than I would have.

 

[mcraige]

When setting up a tripod, my goal is always to set up right on a rail or fence, right behind or in front of a garbage can, a pole, a rock...anything that is already there and people have to go around anyway - in other words, my setting up isn't causing any additional obstruction. Having fences in front of you is great to help avoid heads in your shot - even garbage cans and vendor carts can put a few feet between your lens and the next place a person can stand.

Great advice, but it doesn't always work. In March, I tried this, with 2 legs of the tripod against a fence, and me sitting on the ground by the 3rd leg. Well... along comes this guest who managed to get around me and kick and bang into my tripod. This was a full hour before the fireworks started. I finally ended up putting 2 of the legs over (inside) the fence, with just the one exposed. That seemed to work pretty well.

 

[MolonLabe]

If you have a backpack or something, place it under your tripod to make that space look less available. WBeem posted a story on another DIS tripod thread about an occassion when a stranger who told his son to crawl under William's tripod and sit there for the show. I only heard the story through his DIS post, but the thought of it still insenses me, today. He handled it a lot more gracefully than I would have.

WOW! Some people

The only times I've set up tripods in the parks is pre RD before a ADR when virtually no one is in the park. This worked out great, didn't need anyone to take pictures of us. Also after closing at AK. We had a late ADR and we finished eating and let Yak and Yeti around 6:45. Park was dead. We didn't see a cast member or anything but once every 10-15 minutes.

I got some great shots of the family and I around the various photo spots.

For fireworks, I will shoot off a railing or trash can if I'm in the parks. I wouldn't try and use a tripod unless I lived in the area and had the time to camp out for and hour or two prior to the fireworks. I'm jealous of Mr Beem in that regard

What I did was set up the tripod on my balcony at CR and got some amazing shots.

I'm doing CR again this year and I made plans to be on the balcony one night for Hallowishes. I'm looking forward to that.... and I'm 99.9999999% guaranteed not to have some yahoo float their balloons in front of my camera view, lol.