Camera settings- HELP!

[EMTSupergirl]

I'm going to Disney with my son, the first time either of us going there, and I can't wait to take tons of pictures!
I'm looking for any advice on my camera settings. I will have a tripod, but to the best of my knowledge my camera does not have a remote shutter available to it. I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-HX100V.
I'll be taking palace/fireworks photos from the observation deck at Chef Mickey, and also at the 2nd floor of the train station by the entrance to MK. (Hopefully! LOL)
Any help/ suggestions would be SO appreciated! I really want to come home with a couple awesome shots of the fireworks!
I'm also going to take (several hundred LOL) photos of everything I can find; what's your favorite? Daytime/nighttime... what settings are best for your favorites?
I'm a camera novice, but I can follow directions!
Thank you all!

 

[Markie Mouse]

The welcome to the photography board has great tips for shooting in the parks. Helped me on my very first trip. Some quick tips, ISO = image sensor sensitivity, which translates to, the lower the number the less sensitive the camera is to light, the higher the number the more sensitive it is to light but it allows more noise(snowy pictures). F/ number(ex. F3.0, F5.0) is how open your lens is(more light let in) the lower the better for indoors but it also affects shutter speed, the 1/60, 1/250 number you see on your camera display. The faster the shutter speed the less motion blur you get in your photos, but too high and you get darker pictures. I'm telling you now though, with all this info, the best way learn is to take one day, put the camera in manual mode, and change things till you see what each setting does. That alone made me understand photography science. Now there other things to learn on the creative side, rule of 3rds, using a grid, perspective. There are a lot of great photographer(pro and amateurs) on this board. Check out that stickied thread, there is a lot of work put into it that can help you more.

 

[havoc315]

The quick fix for lack of a remote shutter, is to use the self timer.
I used the 2 second self timer on my camera. This way, you're not shaking the camera by pressing the shutter button. I believe I did ISO 125, f10, 6 seconds...


Epcot Illuminations by Havoc315, on Flickr

 

[Marty Joe]

If your going to take fireworks shots from the train station, you have to stake claim to your spot around three hours before. This is normally where I shoot from, but last two years was a bust because the station was packed by then. That is a long wait and I dont want to waste three or four hours out of my day just for that.

 

[hakepb]

In scene mode, you have a fireworks option. That should give you a 2 second shutter.
Better would be the M or S mode and you can choose from 2-6 seconds if you want to capture a larger fireworks path. You also want to enable your built-in ND filter (Menu - ND Auto -and set it to be "always on"). The ND filter reduces light (so the bright light of the actual fireworks are not overexposed) , so you want it off when you are taking pictures inside.


With a 750mm equivilent zoom, you don't have to even be in the park to get Wishes. I only have a 500mm eq lens on my HX30, and took this Wishes shot from an EPCOT area resort, BWV

But the experience and castle view is much better in the park

If you try dark rides, you want no zoom, wide aperature (low f/) and the camera will have to let the camera try a high ISO.

For daytime landscapes, play around with backlight correction HDR scene, it helps capture cloud detail without darkening the foreground:

But otherwise in daylight, you want to try as much as you can to use ISO 100. You start to loose detail above that. (Turn on the detailed display to see what the camera is selecting) and if possible go to P mode with ISO set to 100.

You also have a great panorama feature, so use that in some landscapes, especially when there are clouds in the sky: (I think clouds make landscapes more interesting)

And the beginner 101 tip, shoot with the sun behind you. Much better colors and detail when the sun is behind you.

Otherwise, in general try the same shot in Auto, P and a scene mode and go with what looks best.

 

[EMTSupergirl]

Thanks for the tips! I'm really hoping to get some good shots of everything (while not having my son run away from me!!)

Is there a *secret* spot in the MK that's great for castle/firework pictures that isn't overcrowded or that I need to sit there for hours? I'd really like some pics of both, but I had heard the train station wasn't that crowded. If that's not the case, can someone advise a good spot?