PHOTOGRAPHY
Okay everyone, I'm not sure but I think I am the only photographer in our little group so I thought it was time to talk photography whilst at
Disneyland.
I am a firm believer that photos are one of the most important elements of a great holiday, in the sense that, once it's over, all you have are your memories and your photos (and the thousands of dollars of souveneirs
). Your memory will eventually fade but the photos won't and it's the photos that will reactivate your memory in the long run.
So I guess I just wanted to remind you all of a few key things to getting great images whilst at Disneyland (keep in mind I haven't been there yet,
)
1. Make sure to fill the frame when you are taking photos of people. If the focus is on say a character and your little ones, shoot with the camera veritcal rather than horizontal to make sure to get as much of them in as possible. Keep their heads in the top third of the frame. Many times I have seen people's images where they put the heads in the centre of the shot, having a ton of sky or useless stuff above and miss out of tons of detail down the bottom.
2. Horizontal images are great for fitting in lots of detail, like the castle, etc. but vertical works best for people (unless shooting a large group) because you often don't need all of that space at the sides of the image.
3. Remember, often the sweetest things are the little details. Try to capture small details in your images that will bring those memories flooding back. It seems to me that Disneyland is a place filled with colours and textures and amazing details and it would be wonderful to capture that also.
4. Try to be a little creative with your images. It doesn't take any extra time to shoot something from a different angle or place. This is especially great if you have been to Disneyland a few times, why keep taking the same photos, try for something different. Get down low and shoot upwards, get up high and shoot down, angles are great too. Again, fill the frame with what you are shooting, don't have lots of blank sky, etc.
5. If like me you are always the designated photographer, consider using Photopass. I plan to work the Photopass thing until the photographers can't stand me anymore. I am tired of going on holiday and not having one image of me in it. I definitely think Photopass is worth the money to capture your whole family in some great locations.
6. If you have a small camera, make sure to hold it out in front of you and take some photos of yourself and whoever you are riding with, mid ride. Imagine how cool a self portrait of you on dumbo at night would look, etc. Often those in motion blurry less than perfect images are real faves in the end.
7. If you are going to take a photo of one of the most popular things at DL, like the castle, always plop one of your family members into the image. It gives it more relevance than just another shot of the castle. Let's face it, you could've just bought a postcard of the image done with a better photographer than yourself if you aren't going to have family in the shot.
8. If you are like me and love love love food and can't wait to go on an eating odyssey, make sure to take photos of your food before digging in, you'll get a real kick out of looking back on those.
9. Take a photo of each sign of your favourite rides or locations. When looking through the photos, you want your images to tell the story, even if you aren't there to explain what was happening. Taking images of Ride signs, outside of shows and restaurants and storefronts really helps set the mood for people who may enjoy looking at your trip photos with you.
10. Spend some time in the photography section of the DIS boards. We spend so much time researching the best prices, what to take, what to see, etc., why not spend some time thinking about how we want to capture the memories while we are there which brings me back to my original comment about the photos being one of the only things you are truly left with in the end.
11. Most of all, capture your children's faces, zoom in, don't be afraid to fill the frame with their sweet smiles. Because frankly, that's what it is all about. IT'S ALL ABOUT SMILES ON FACES!
12. It's great to take a moment to compose a shot that will be treasured, but it's also okay to capture a blurry child in motion having fun. Not everything has to be technically perfect, but if the time allows, stop, brace your elbows to your sides to prevent camera shake, take a breath, press the shutter, then breath out.
I hope some of those tips can help you on your trips. I can't wait to see everyone's images. Looking at other's holiday photos makes me happy and tides me over until I finally get there (fingers crossed Dec 2010).
For myself, I have tossed up whether to lug my heavy expensive camera and lenses around with me. Part of me would love to just take a tiny point and shoot for convenience. But in my heart, I know I would be disappointed when I got home. I know I want to be able to take a photographic journey as well as a fun one, so I will just suck it up, lug the stuff and in the end I know I will be happier. And I will chant to myself "it is okay for a photographer to take crappy blurry snaps when she is having fun with her kids and it doesn't matter" over and over
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