Hey, everyone, sorry it too so long for me to get back to this thread, but I'm not the quickest when it comes to collecting my thoughts when it comes to writing, letters, emails, posts in forums, etc. So on a thread like this, where there's a lot to respond to, I tend to wait until the weekends when I have a lot of time. So in short, I thank you for your patience.
I try to take as many pictures (especially of family) as humanly possible without making a complete nuisance of myself! With the digital options these days, click, click, click away. Then go back later and clean up what you don't like. Take extra memory cards, or have something external to move them to during the trip!! When I look back on many of our family trips, especially Disney, I so wish I had more photos - not less! Have a great trip - you will recognize very little after 22 years!!
Since I haven't been down in 22 years, this will most likely be me. I know I'll be taking as many shots as possible of the family. When it comes to having a picture taken of the family as a whole, me included, I'll most likely have someone take it with my phone....I'm not handing my camera over to anyone. I'm planning on taking extra memory cards with me. My plan is to have one memory card per day. It'll cost a lot, especially when I get the good ones, but this way if one fails I'm not losing
all my pictures. Plus it'll also be a great way to organize them.
That's sort of my approach. I have learned to be very quick and efficient with what I take, but I take a lot, knowing I will want those shots once I get home. I get the shots, but I don't dally, and try not to hold things up much. But I know I will have great regrets when I get home if I don't have lots of photos to work with.
You said, "I have learned to be quick and efficient with what I take..." how do you shoot, full manual or one of the program modes? When I do dance and theater photography I tend to use Shutter Priority because it's quick, plus some exposure compensation, for the low lights. If I didn't use shutter priority there's
no way I could get the shot I need because things move too quickly.
We just got back and this was my plan. I took as many pictures as I could have of family, which wasn't too hard as this was my grand-daughters first trip and everyone wanted lots of pictures too. Then I scheduled some time where I could just take pictures of things that weren't family related, ie topiaries and 50th statues. That seemed to work out well, that I got the pictures I wanted, but wasn't slowing everyone else down.
I'm sure your family will love going through those photos of the grandkids, especially when they get older. It won't be difficult, but 'm going to try and get as many photos of the family as I can, being our first trip down as a family that'll be pretty easy. That's awesome that you got some alone time in the park for some photography. I'd love that, but we're only got 4 day park tickets, so no extra time for alone time for me.
Good question! Since I go infrequently (1x every three years or so) I try to take as many pictures as I can. Luckily my family is 'well trained' and rarely feels like leaving me behind to head somewhere.
On my most recent trip (2022) I also had one day in Epcot just to walk by myself and I managed to stop and get shots I never would have otherwise. I used to worry about stopping too often when DS was small but now he's grown and enjoys seeing the pictures after each trip (Disney and elsewhere).
My family's pretty well trained when it comes to my photography as well, so I don't think I'll have too much problems there, though I think deep down it'll become irritating at some point. To have a day in the park to myself for photography. Now that would be amazing.
It seemed the more equipment I got and brought with me, the more cumbersome it got to balance the family vacation with the photography hobby. We go once, sometimes twice a year, and I was finding that I wound up with a lot of similar images, so it became a challenge to get different images, or find ways to improve on what I already had, etc.
But yes, a lot at Disney doesn’t change, but our families do, so it’s important to prioritize capturing people enjoying their vacations as much as possible. I look back at my pictures from over the years and I really love seeing who was with us and what we were doing, maybe for the first time, or our reactions to new experiences, what we were wearing, etc. We still enjoy looking at pics from all our trips.
I still remember the day I said screw it, and went to MK for the first time with nothing but my credit card, lipstick and iPhone. It was so freeing! It became a whole different experience for me and I kind of liked it! I could take silly pictures just for fun, and it carried over to even when I got home - no downloads to deal with (on broken computers), no post processing (not that I used it much anyway), etc. I knew it was a trade off, but one I was willing to make for a more relaxing time, especially since I had shot so much in more of a serious way on so many trips prior.
With today’s smartphones I think it’s gotten even better in that you can still get many excellent quality photos if you know how to use it fully. I doubt I’ll ever go back to carrying a bag of equipment around the parks, but never say never, it’s possible when I retire or something that I’ll have more time for that. And it’s also not to say that people shouldn’t if that’s what they enjoy doing on vacation. My poor husband wound up (willingly) carrying my bag around a lot of the time and, though he didn’t mind helping me out, I think it was freeing for him, also, when we began leaving it at home for shorter excursions.
I would
love to go to Disney World without my camera, but I know I would regret every minute of it the moment I left the house. Every time I've gone to the parks, be it
Disneyland or Disney World, I've had my camera and didn't regret one bit of it. However, that doesn't mean that I wish there times I wish I wasn't carry it. I've gotten pretty good at carrying only what I need, camera body, one telephoto and a 50 mm f1.8 for low light, but there were times I wish I didn't have it. I'll take it because this is my first trip down in 22 years, and another one not likely to happen anytime soon, but I'll carry as little as possible.
As for post-processing? It can be both fun and a chore. I love post-processing because you get to finally see on the computer screen what you took, and even tweak to make it better, but having to go through all those photos can be quite the chore. I've gotten quicker at it with presets, which I then will alter as needed with each picture, but it can still can be chore. Now with the cameras on phones these days
There is no right answer. However you decide, look for balance. Even when I brought a fair amount of camera gear on trips with the family, I tried to not let my photography interrupt the flow of the trip. If you looked through my photos, you'd see a lot of candid shots of us doing the things we enjoy and very few shots of us posing for the camera.
Depending on your situation, you may also want to schedule a little "me" time to go out and take some pics on your own while the rest of the crew does their thing. I also like to spend down time shooting random stuff near me.
When you do take pictures, focus on taking pictures of your tribe rather than the park itself. I'm not saying that you shouldn't get any pictures of the park, but those will be less personal and add less value to your life than pictures of the people you love experiencing the park.
You want fewer of these:
And more of these:
These are great pictures, especially the picture of your son's face. Precious.
All good points you make, especially the candid shots. My DW tends to be a bit more picky about those, but my DD doesn't mind so much. As for the balance, there is a balance that needs to be met, I have had that balance during other vacations. Being our first trip down to Disney World as a family that balance might get skewed a bit, but I'm hoping to maintain it in some form. My family's also been pretty good about me and my photography. As long as I can be quick about it, and don't stop them every five minutes, they're pretty good about it.
Got pulled away yesterday so I didn't get to finish this post until this morning, so I hope reads well. I'll probably look back on it later today and think to myself, "What was I thinking when I wrote that?"
