Disney Photography Tips

[OU1247]

I have always be a camera/picture taker freak.

For Christmas I just got a new Cannon EOS Rebel xti.

I am working with the man. setting.

How big or how many flash cards should I bring for a 8 day trip and trust me...I take tons of pictures.

 

[OU1247]

Also my tip. Don't always shoot on eye level.

Look up at a person or an object, or down on it.
It gives a whole different look to a picture.

Here's one I took from our recent and nasty icestorm

 

[mom2disprincesses]

just want to say love all the tips i will be studying them diligently for our trip to wdw in dec! keep 'em comin'!

 

[MassJester]

I have a question in search of a tip -- forgive me if this isn't the place.

I'll be looking to take fireworks pictures this April, and I can foresee shooting things different ways.

WDW offers unique opportunities for engaging foreground (or background for that matter) details along with the actual fireworks burst. (e.g., the castle) I can see wanting to take shots that allow for those details to come through without being washed out.

I can think of two ways. First, a relatively fast shutterspeed capturing the foreground object and the light burst. Second, capturing two images first the foreground properly exposed with an empty sky, and second the longer exposure showing the fireworks trails and then combining them in PS.

Any tips or advice?

 

[Mckymousefn]

Thanks for all the tips.. helps us newbies out!

 

[Groucho]

I have a question in search of a tip -- forgive me if this isn't the place.

I'll be looking to take fireworks pictures this April, and I can foresee shooting things different ways.

WDW offers unique opportunities for engaging foreground (or background for that matter) details along with the actual fireworks burst. (e.g., the castle) I can see wanting to take shots that allow for those details to come through without being washed out.

I can think of two ways. First, a relatively fast shutterspeed capturing the foreground object and the light burst. Second, capturing two images first the foreground properly exposed with an empty sky, and second the longer exposure showing the fireworks trails and then combining them in PS.

Any tips or advice?

I just glanced at this thread again and it looks you didn't get any responses, so I'll throw in... if you want a foreground object that's fairly close and not too bright, you can try using flash to illuminate it momentarily while using a slower shutter speed (or bulb) to give you a longer exposure.

It's an interesting idea but I'm not sure how well it'll work in practice, but it sounds like a nice challenge. Good luck!

 

[Mischa]

Thank you for all the tips. I love taking pictures and always am looking for tips.

Great shots by the way!

 

[MassJester]

I just glanced at this thread again and it looks you didn't get any responses, so I'll throw in... if you want a foreground object that's fairly close and not too bright, you can try using flash to illuminate it momentarily while using a slower shutter speed (or bulb) to give you a longer exposure.

It's an interesting idea but I'm not sure how well it'll work in practice, but it sounds like a nice challenge. Good luck!

I believe my camera allows me to set up one or more pre established exposure settings. I would use one to caputre the scene without the fireworks burst, and the other (longer exposure) to capture it with. This way I could mask over hot spots created in the foreground due to the longer exposure.

Maybe that doesn't make sense...

 

[Groucho]

I believe my camera allows me to set up one or more pre established exposure settings. I would use one to caputre the scene without the fireworks burst, and the other (longer exposure) to capture it with. This way I could mask over hot spots created in the foreground due to the longer exposure.

Maybe that doesn't make sense...

Well, that's one way, but it's kind of "cheating", but you may not have a choice. It's nice to do it "in the camera" if you can, IMHO.

 

[TinksDH]

Well, that's one way, but it's kind of "cheating", but you may not have a choice. It's nice to do it "in the camera" if you can, IMHO.

I don't know how much that would be "cheating". Sounds like the digital equivilent of a film double exposure, which isn't considered "cheating" in the film world as long as you state it as such.

A common technique used to catch multiple fireworks burst images on the same frame involves putting your DSLR in "bulb" mode (tripod is a must here), holding a black card in front of the lens, removing it every time there is a fireworks burst and then putting it back when the burst is through. The end result is a scene with multiple bursts all on the same frame in the same exposure. I have used this technique at my local July 4th fireworks displays with fairly good results. THIS is done "in camera" and I would think that some folks could view this as cheating even more, as the multiple burst scene never *really* existed in real life. However, the image of the fireworks in the background and the subject in the foreground where you combine them in post-processing DID; you were just making up for the dynamic range limitations of the camera.

But this is a philosophical debate that will never get solved, so I guess we should move on!

 

[MassJester]

But this is a philosophical debate that will never get solved, so I guess we should move on!

My first photographic philosophy issue! Do I get some sort of a badge?

Well, I will try to do it without cheating too.

 

[Groucho]

Hey, you can do whatever you want. I just think it's nice to figure out if a certain effect can be done "in camera", and leave the Photoshop layers for a last resort. You're welcome to disagree with me, I won't be offended.

 

[AlphaMale]

Thanks for all the great tips. I am new to the D-SLR scene and am just learning the ropes. Some of these tips would have been helpful last week before our trip to WDW.

I look forward to reading more tips and having enough posts to submit images to show how I have applied them.

 

[ScrapperKimmyD]

Subbing...need to come back after I learn more...

 

[sanilacjack]

Subbing in. Great thread Mark!


Kim

 

[tinkerbelt]

Great thread! Subbing!

 

[Chris and Heidi]

Love this thread. Subbing!

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I sometimes struggle with wanting to shoot wide (zoomed out) so that I can capture a large area vs wanting to zoom in so that I can see more of my subject. I've found a great compromise in shooting close and wide.

First, I zoom my lens out as wide as it will go. Then, I get really close to the person I want to use as my subject. Now, they are big in the picture, but the wide angle still lets me get a lot of the background behind them.

One thing that you have to be careful about is not aiming up or down at them - keep the camera fairly level. If you aim down at them, their head will look large and their feet tiny. If you aim up at them, their body will seem huge and their head will be distant and tiny. That can be fun when you want a weird effect, but it doesn't make for a very natural picture.

If your subject is moving (like the one above), it can be hard to get low and frame your subject. I just run along aiming the picture in their general direction and take lots of pictures. Most are trash, but memory cards are cheap.

 

[lindseywb]

Definitely subscribing - just inherited a nikon d50.
thanks for the great tips for Disney as well as general photography!

 

[zachsmomie]

subbing in too!