Halloween Parade Shots

[MarkBarbieri]

Any advice on shooting the Halloween parade? What aperture/shutter speed/ISO have you used that worked for the headless horseman?

 

[pgowder]

Any advice on shooting the Halloween parade? What aperture/shutter speed/ISO have you used that worked for the headless horseman?

Here is my best shot of it:

The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight [Explore #483] by Paul Gowder, on Flickr

Camera Nikon D700
Exposure 0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture f/4.5
Focal Length 26 mm
ISO Speed 5000

Here are some of my other Boo to You Parade Shots:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96077153@N00/sets/72157625196991804/with/5129052432/

The parade is pretty dark so you'll want a high ISO.

 

[WDWFigment]

You'll get a little more light if you watch the parade on Main Street than if you watch it anywhere else. Paul is daring and lucky with that 1/15th shutter speed (awesome shot, by the way). I wouldn't drop below 1/25th second if panning, and 1/200th of a second if not panning. You're going to drive the ISO way up with that shutter speed, but you should be fine with the 5DmkII.

 

[pgowder]

I wouldn't drop below 1/25th second if panning, and 1/200th of a second if not panning. You're going to drive the ISO way up with that shutter speed, but you should be fine with the 5DmkII.

Yes! I completely agree. I tried several shots of him as he rode by, this was the one that turned out.

Main Street does have more light.

I also found that some floats have their own lighting. Be careful of those. I ended up blowing out the highlights on some.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

The headless guy just goes by once a night, correct? It's basically a one shot situation, isn't it? Is flash appropriate or is it a no flash parade?

If it is, I was thinking about going manual with a 1/200s shutter speed, my widest aperture, and the ISO that gets me to -2/3 stops and then using the flash to get the headless guy. He'll be alone in the foreground, so the flash should set him off nicely.

If it is no flash, I'll do the same as above but with the ISO set to get me to 0 on the meter. Or maybe I'll just set it to autobracket in AV mode and spray and pray.

The 1/15 shot is impressive, but too low probability for my panning skills.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Flashes are going off all the time so no problem there. As a horse rider it freaks me out but that horse is very used to it.

The rider goes by only once and it is before the parade - maybe 5-10 minutes? Just be prepared that it will happen fairly suddenly and be over quick.

 

[MICKEY88]

The headless guy just goes by once a night, correct? It's basically a one shot situation, isn't it? Is flash appropriate or is it a no flash parade?

If it is, I was thinking about going manual with a 1/200s shutter speed, my widest aperture, and the ISO that gets me to -2/3 stops and then using the flash to get the headless guy. He'll be alone in the foreground, so the flash should set him off nicely.

If it is no flash, I'll do the same as above but with the ISO set to get me to 0 on the meter. Or maybe I'll just set it to autobracket in AV mode and spray and pray.

The 1/15 shot is impressive, but too low probability for my panning skills.

my concern would be the flash spooking the horse, granted the horse should be used to it, but it's always a possibility

I shot a western themed wedding a few weeks ago, the bride wanted some shots with her horses in the background, at 3:30 in the afternoon, my flash spooked one of the horses and it ran away

 

[mom2rtk]

Using the flash would only make yours one of hundreds of others going off at the same time.

Do remember the parade shows twice each night. If you're not happy with your first shot, come back for a second shot.

I actually thought Main Street was one of the darker spots to see the parade. I thought there were more spotlights set up over in Frontierland, but could be wrong about that.

I started a thread here last fall to discuss whether to use flash for the MVMCP parade last year. It's the same sort of a deal where many of the parades and characters have no lighting as they come by. I was surprised there was no clear consensus, with just as many in favor of it as against it.

I ended up using my flash, but dialing it way down. When the occasional float came by with lighting of its own (like Cinderella's carriage), I turned off the flash. I was really happy with the results.

 

[pgowder]

I started a thread here last fall to discuss whether to use flash for the MVMCP parade last year. It's the same sort of a deal where many of the parades and characters have no lighting as they come by. I was surprised there was no clear consensus, with just as many in favor of it as against it.

My first time at that parade I shot flash. The next without. The results without it are much much better. You get a better feeling of the mood of the parade seeing the lighting WDW intended for the parade.

Here's an example:

With Flash

Mickey's Boo To You Parade by Paul Gowder, on Flickr

Without:

Intense! by Paul Gowder, on Flickr

 

[mom2rtk]

My first time at that parade I shot flash. The next without. The results without it are much much better. You get a better feeling of the mood of the parade seeing the lighting WDW intended for the parade.

Paul, I absolutely agree the shot without flash is much better.

I do think though that there are some circumstances that are better with just a touch. I shot this with a -1 FEC and was happy with the results. No way to know how it would compare with no flash. But I don't think there were any spotlights on the float illuminating Mickey/ Minnie.



mk2partyparademickey by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[pgowder]

Paul, I absolutely agree the shot without flash is much better.

I do think though that there are some circumstances that are better with just a touch. I shot this with a -1 FEC and was happy with the results. No way to know how it would compare with no flash. But I don't think there were any spotlights on the float illuminating Mickey/ Minnie.



mk2partyparademickey by mom2rtk, on Flickr

Great shot!

What flash did you use?

 

[mom2rtk]

Great shot!

What flash did you use?

Thanks Paul. I used my 270EX. I bought it for Disney becuase it's fairly small and easier to carry around than my larger 430EX. It doesn't maneuver around quite as much for creative bouncing, but I found I really didn't even try that at Disney anyway.

 

[WDWFigment]

Mark - with that full frame sensor, there's no reason to use the flash, even as fill.

I'm one of those who is vehemently opposed to flash for these parades. Not just because catching the flashes of others mess up my shots, or because the parades are better viewed without all those flashes firing (no, I'm not just talking about Spectro or MSEP), but also because the photos taken without a flash are almost always better than with the flash. As that thread demonstrated, though, everyone has their own preferences, so what do I know.

I don't have a side-by-side comparison for mom2rtk's shot, but here are a couple similar shots:

 

[mom2rtk]

Those are awesome Tom! I'm in love with the close-up reindeer shot! I was wondering how I would approach it in a different way this year. I think you've inspired me to try zooming in more.

 

[WDWFigment]

^Thanks! I had a BLAST shooting the parade with the 70-200!

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Mark - with that full frame sensor, there's no reason to use the flash, even as fill.

Done right, a flash (or flashes) can really improve the look of some shots. It is pretty questionable for a parade, though. It would be hard to get it off camera or to use any meaningful modifiers. I do sometimes like to drop the ambient exposure just a bit (-2/3) and then use a flash to help isolate my subject. If you get the right gel on the flash to add a bit of color to your subject, it can be a very pleasant look. I'll probably keep my options open right up until I start shooting and maybe even mix it up while I shoot.

 

[WDWFigment]

Done right, a flash (or flashes) can really improve the look of some shots. It is pretty questionable for a parade, though. It would be hard to get it off camera or to use any meaningful modifiers. I do sometimes like to drop the ambient exposure just a bit (-2/3) and then use a flash to help isolate my subject. If you get the right gel on the flash to add a bit of color to your subject, it can be a very pleasant look. I'll probably keep my options open right up until I start shooting and maybe even mix it up while I shoot.

I'm not universally disparaging flash (I have one, gels, etc. and I like using it). My statements regarding flash are constrained strictly to night parades at Disney.

 

[MomToPirate&Princess]

Any tips on taking parade pictures with a point and shoot?