Character pics and my DSLR

[BigGreen73]

I have had my Sony A55 for about a month now. I have 5 lenses and have been shooting quite a bit in my free time trying out the different lenses, different settings, different scenarios (IE indoor, landscape, action) etc. So far I am very impressed with the camera and love it.

Anyway, I do have opportunities to shoot many different scenarios but got thinking of one scenario that I lwould be shooting at WDW that I cannot really duplicate and that is character meet N greet pics.

This pics can be indoors low light (IE character meals) to outside shaded or outside sunlight. I was just looking for tips from those DSLR experts that maybe take tons of character pics on settings, flash use, preferred lenses, settings when you let a CM take a pic (auto only?) etc. All input would be appreciated.

I have always used my Sony and or Panasonic in the past and they have done pretty good in all situations w/ character pics. They are higher end Point and shoots but I am hoping to get to that next level w/ the DSLR.

 

[ukcatfan]

Because those are often dark situations, I suggest an external flash with a Gary Fong diffuser (or similar). Fast lenses with wide apertures often will not give you enough DOF.

 

[mom2rtk]

I take tons of character pics, and am always looking for more tips, so I'm sure I'll enjoy hearing what others have to say here. Some of my random thoughts:

1) I almost always use a flash for character meet & greets. Even out in bright sunlight, I find that just a little fill flash takes some of the shadows off everyone's faces, making for a better shot. I frequently dial down the flash EC a little to avoid the chance of washing out faces, but a little fill flash is my personal preference.

2) When choosing your lens, keep in mind that you probably won't have a ton of room to maneuver around at a character meal. I wouldn't recommend an ultra wide lens (you don't want facial distortion), but having a fairly wide lens will be a plus here, unless the people next to you don't mind you standing in the middle of THEIR table to get your shot.

3) Don't take your character meal shots sitting down. Many do, and it's not the best perspective. Stand up, ask the character to turn a little or step out into the aisle farther if needed.

4) Watch your composition at character meals. Nothing worse than shots with half eaten plates of food and drinks with straws sticking up in the foreground.

 

[BigGreen73]

I take tons of character pics, and am always looking for more tips, so I'm sure I'll enjoy hearing what others have to say here. Some of my random thoughts:

1) I almost always use a flash for character meet & greets. Even out in bright sunlight, I find that just a little fill flash takes some of the shadows off everyone's faces, making for a better shot. I frequently dial down the flash EC a little to avoid the chance of washing out faces, but a little fill flash is my personal preference.

2) When choosing your lens, keep in mind that you probably won't have a ton of room to maneuver around at a character meal. I wouldn't recommend an ultra wide lens (you don't want facial distortion), but having a fairly wide lens will be a plus here, unless the people next to you don't mind you standing in the middle of THEIR table to get your shot.

3) Don't take your character meal shots sitting down. Many do, and it's not the best perspective. Stand up, ask the character to turn a little or step out into the aisle farther if needed.

4) Watch your composition at character meals. Nothing worse than shots with half eaten plates of food and drinks with straws sticking up in the foreground.

Hi mom2rtk, thanks for the post. I have seen you post in other threads and really like your avatar and sig pics. I was hoping that you would chime in on this.

1. With the flash, are you more towards using the one built in on the camera or an external flash unit? How much do you dial down the EC and do you do it for both indoor and outdoor shots?

2. LOL..I wouldn't think that folks would mind be sitting with them and taking my pics..Anyway, We would probably travel w/ zoom lenses mostly w/ maybe one or 2 primes. I have been looking at a 18-250mm wide/telephoto that I think would work great for a WDW trip to cover most shooting scenarios.

3. We definitely try to stand up and take shots in the isle when we can. We're with you on that one for sure. But it can't always be done.

4. Unfortunately, I've probably caught worse in the background of my charater pics.

How do you set your camera if you have CM's take pictures of you and your family?

Thanks!

 

[zackiedawg]

Generally if you are going to do a lot of character pics, or portraits of family, an external flash would be recommended. The little built in one isn't good for a lot more than just a little fill in emergencies. Better to have the stronger flash for distances, better flash metering, ability to bounce, etc. And it will work better with different lenses, like an 18-250, because the built-in flash isn't high enough and often gets lens shadows in the shots with lenses longer than the basic kit lens.

 

[mom2rtk]

Hi mom2rtk, thanks for the post. I have seen you post in other threads and really like your avatar and sig pics. I was hoping that you would chime in on this.

1. With the flash, are you more towards using the one built in on the camera or an external flash unit? How much do you dial down the EC and do you do it for both indoor and outdoor shots?

2. LOL..I wouldn't think that folks would mind be sitting with them and taking my pics..Anyway, We would probably travel w/ zoom lenses mostly w/ maybe one or 2 primes. I have been looking at a 18-250mm wide/telephoto that I think would work great for a WDW trip to cover most shooting scenarios.

3. We definitely try to stand up and take shots in the isle when we can. We're with you on that one for sure. But it can't always be done.

4. Unfortunately, I've probably caught worse in the background of my charater pics.

How do you set your camera if you have CM's take pictures of you and your family?

Thanks!

Many thanks! We love character hunting and love to bring home lots of nice photos with them to scrapbook as we dream about our next trip to Disney.

I use an external flash. You can add a diffuser and get a more even light. Also, I had trouble on a prior camera body with the onboard flash not recycling fast enough. You only get a very brief time to get your shots with the characters, so I love that I never get caught with the external flash recycling when I want to take another shot.

I feel like I've gotten fairly good at knowing the best settings for a given situation, but still fumble around with flash. I dial the Flash EC down about 2/3 depending on the situation. Some of that is trial and error for me. I'm not real comfortable with my settings yet when I use the flash. I dislike photos where the subject is well lit but the background is dark, so I try and go shutter priority with the slowest speed my camera allows with flash (1/60). This allows in the greatest amount of background light. And it generally works for character shots because there's no fast movement involved.

As Zackiedawg mentioned..... most onboard flashes will not fire over the length of one of the superzooms.