Must Have photos

[littlesparkler]

I feel like there should be a post on this, but I can't find one. What would be on your list of "must have" photo shots?

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Haunted Mansion.

 

[littlesparkler]

Absolutely beautiful! HM has always been my fave. Last time we were there, I had such a hard time photo'ing it (I'm new), so those give me hope!

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Well, I did that with a standard point-and-click, so if you have something nicer, I suspect you'll be fine. Just the secret with the mansion, from what I've seen, is that it does best up-close, with the shot pointing up, to kind of make it seem larger and more ominous.

I like trying to get a common item from an uncommon angle. Also like getting things in a way where you can't see people, the line, the signs, etc, so it looks like, if you didn't know better, you just happened upon it.

Or Main Street:

Again, both done with a point-and-shoot. Sorry for the off colors on post-processing. I'm colorblind.

 

[wbeem]

I feel like there should be a post on this, but I can't find one. What would be on your list of "must have" photo shots?

It depends upon which park. I suspect the centerpiece of the park (Cinderella's Castle, Spaceship Earth, etc.) would be on the "must have" list. I'd want a classic shot and then something a bit unconventional.

There are very few on-ride shots that I think are good. One exception is dragging the shutter on the launch of Space Mountain.

I'm not into character photos, but if I were, I'd try to get something other than the standard pose & smile. For example, Tinkerbell is supposed to be feisty. Why doesn't anyone ever try to capture that in a photo of her character? It could be just as much fun to play against character, too. Who wouldn't like to see a tender moment between Captain Hook & Smee?

 

[littlesparkler]

I love the suggestions!!! That Main Street pic is so beautiful. As for Character pic, I have a 3-yr-old son, so those types of pics make up a lot of what I take. I love the suggestions for different types of pics. I'm totally not creative in thinking of things.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

It may just be me, but some of my favorites are...

Monorails

Trains

Boats

and Buses

 

[littlesparkler]

I saw some of those pics on another thread and LOVE them! My favorite is with the hand sticking out of the train and the steam. So cool.

Any advice on shots on the teacups? I took a bajillion on our last trip and one came out good at all

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Any advice on shots on the teacups? I took a bajillion on our last trip and one came out good at all

I'm not great at photography, I'm still learning, but I can say as a scrapbooker... If it's about the memories, there's no such thing as a "bad picture." Most of the time, if you really want to, there's something that can be done to salvage the picture just enough to keep the memory. Change the color to black-and-white if the color is off, or apply various artistic filters to the photo... Pencil sketch, watercolor, oil paint... A filter where detail is blurred or muted, so if something is slightly blurry our out-of-focus, you'd never know.

A lot of my pictures I was able to "save" for scrapbooking by reducing the print size (in some cases to wallet size even) and applying an artistic filter. I've got whole pages made up pictures that aren't perfect, but have been changed enough so that you can't easily tell, and still capture the moment.

Example:

Here's the original of one I took of my son... The color is off, the focus is way off, but his smile (as you can see) is so precious... It'd be a shame to chuck the picture.

But I ran it through the first filter I found, pencil sketch, and did no further adjustments and that picture became this:

And that was with no other adjustments (I did this in such a rush that I didn't even flip the picture! LoL!), I just clicked a filter and the picture is, for memory and personal use purposes, just fine. I'm sure it'd be better if I took a moment to tweak it a little more. Resize it and print it as a smaller picture, you'd never know the original was so bad.

So don't despair if a picture is a little off. You can probably still salvage it.

 

[photo_chick]

Any advice on shots on the teacups? I took a bajillion on our last trip and one came out good at all

Teacups can be a challenge. I use shutter priority on my camera and set that to what I want (usually fast enough to freeze the people in my cup, but slow enough to blur the outside world a bit) and then bump up the ISO until I have a good exposure. It's pretty dark in there all things considered, so the ISO tends to end up higher than I'd think initially.

I took about 30 shots of my DD on one trip, and this was the only one I liked. So you may have a lot of misses. Don't get discouraged, use it as an excuse to ride again!

 

[Experiment_626]

It is often said that if you want to write, you should read. Voraciously. I'd say the same applies here — if you want to be a photographer, look at others' photos — both of Disney and of other subjects. There's no shortage of WDW photos on Flickr, some of it quite good. Don't just look at them — study them, especially those that appeal to you. Read the descriptions if provided, but see if you can tell why the photographer shot what he shot, why he shot it the way he did, and where he might have been at the time. Pay attention to lens choice (if given), exposure, time of day, quality of light, weather — all the variables that come into play. Immerse yourself in it as much as you can, and see if inspiration takes hold. And if you're just starting out, or trying to take your work to a higher level, there's nothing wrong with attempting to recreate someone else's shot for your own enjoyment and to learn how they did it. Then you can apply that to your own new ideas going forward.

Not sure all that applies perfectly to the question that was asked. It all just kind of poured out of me. Take from it whatever you find useful, if any.

SSB

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I don't have any "must have" Disney shots. What I "must have" are shots showing my children's response to the parks. Those reactions vary each trip.

The traditional "must have" shots, like the Castle, the Tree, the Ball, kind of bore me. In fact, I have very few of them because they all seem so generic.

There are very few on-ride shots that I think are good. One exception is dragging the shutter on the launch of Space Mountain.

My experience is just the opposite. My favorite Disney shots are on-ride shots of my kids. In fact, the only Disney shot hanging in my office is the boys on Everest.

 

[wbeem]

My experience is just the opposite. My favorite Disney shots are on-ride shots of my kids. In fact, the only Disney shot hanging in my office is the boys on Everest.

I think that's cool, but because you're taking family portraits. The shots I had in mind are when people are going through the ride taking pictures of the animatronics, etc. I've tried it, too. Those things are kinda creepy when you get them in a still photo.

 

[littlesparkler]

It is often said that if you want to write, you should read. Voraciously. I'd say the same applies here — if you want to be a photographer, look at others' photos — both of Disney and of other subjects. There's no shortage of WDW photos on Flickr, some of it quite good. Don't just look at them — study them, especially those that appeal to you. Read the descriptions if provided, but see if you can tell why the photographer shot what he shot, why he shot it the way he did, and where he might have been at the time. Pay attention to lens choice (if given), exposure, time of day, quality of light, weather — all the variables that come into play. Immerse yourself in it as much as you can, and see if inspiration takes hold. And if you're just starting out, or trying to take your work to a higher level, there's nothing wrong with attempting to recreate someone else's shot for your own enjoyment and to learn how they did it. Then you can apply that to your own new ideas going forward.

SSB

That really is such great advice, thanks! I do spend a LOT of time looking at pictures, especially Disney ones since that's what I'm getting ready to take, but I haven't STUDIED them. I like that.

I am really loving and appreciating the advice everyone is giving me. We leave next week for DW. We were there in January and I just focused on the "snapshot" type of pictures - and, I did get some great ones! - but, this trip I want to take a morning to go without the family just to take pictures. I have a Canon Rebel Xsi and no "special lenses". The only thing I'm thinking about buying to go with it at this point is an external flash.

I would LOVE to take pictures inside HM, particularly of the head in the ball. Any thoughts on that?

 

[mom2rtk]

That really is such great advice, thanks! I do spend a LOT of time looking at pictures, especially Disney ones since that's what I'm getting ready to take, but I haven't STUDIED them. I like that.

I am really loving and appreciating the advice everyone is giving me. We leave next week for DW. We were there in January and I just focused on the "snapshot" type of pictures - and, I did get some great ones! - but, this trip I want to take a morning to go without the family just to take pictures. I have a Canon Rebel Xsi and no "special lenses". The only thing I'm thinking about buying to go with it at this point is an external flash.

I would LOVE to take pictures inside HM, particularly of the head in the ball. Any thoughts on that?

I agree! I learned an awful lot just studying the EXIF data on photos on flickr.

 

[wbeem]

I agree! I learned an awful lot just studying the EXIF data on photos on flickr.

It can be useful to study the technical details, but that's not the biggest part of the photo. Study the composition. Study the lighting. Study the crappy photos and ask yourself why you dislike them, too!

When you look at photos of the same subject - one good & one bad - compare them and ask why you like one and dislike the other. Was the composition the same or different? Did the photo you like include or exclude something you disliked about the other photo? Was there something about the post processing that made you like or dislike a photo? Was it because of the light during the time of day or night?

Get into the purpose of the photo. What is the story? What is it telling you? If you don't like the photo, do you find yourself wondering what you're supposed to get out of it?

Didn't mean to pick on you for that little tirade, but you just gave a perfect setup for it.

 

[mom2rtk]

It can be useful to study the technical details, but that's not the biggest part of the photo. Study the composition. Study the lighting. Study the crappy photos and ask yourself why you dislike them, too!

When you look at photos of the same subject - one good & one bad - compare them and ask why you like one and dislike the other. Was the composition the same or different? Did the photo you like include or exclude something you disliked about the other photo? Was there something about the post processing that made you like or dislike a photo? Was it because of the light during the time of day or night?

Get into the purpose of the photo. What is the story? What is it telling you? If you don't like the photo, do you find yourself wondering what you're supposed to get out of it?

Didn't mean to pick on you for that little tirade, but you just gave a perfect setup for it.

No problem. I see your point. But I personally wasn't interested in studying the creative composition of it. I felt like I had been doing that for years. What I was interested in was bringing my technical expertise up to speed.

 

[crz4mm2]

It depends upon which park. I suspect the centerpiece of the park (Cinderella's Castle, Spaceship Earth, etc.) would be on the "must have" list. I'd want a classic shot and then something a bit unconventional.

There are very few on-ride shots that I think are good. One exception is dragging the shutter on the launch of Space Mountain.

I'm not into character photos, but if I were, I'd try to get something other than the standard pose & smile. For example, Tinkerbell is supposed to be feisty. Why doesn't anyone ever try to capture that in a photo of her character? It could be just as much fun to play against character, too. Who wouldn't like to see a tender moment between Captain Hook & Smee?

I agree with the character suggestions.
Here is a pic of our trip last oct. Of course, some people didn't share what they were going to do with the rest of the people.....

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Aside from the typical castle, Spaceship Earth, Tree of Life, and Sorcerer's Hat photos, we have two pictures we take every single trip. The first is a picture sitting on the edge of the pool of water in front of the Ellen's Energy Adventure sign. I have a picture of myself sitting in the exact spot with my grandparents when I was young, and like to take a picture there just because it makes me remember the wonderful times for those trips back in the 80s.

The other picture we take every trip is a fun one. It's always taken on the last day of our trip, and usually in the hotel lobby as we're heading to the Magical Express bus. It's me grabbing onto to something, and someone trying to pull me away. It's our "let... go... we... have... to... leave... Disney... World" photo.

Another popular picture in our albums... whenever you take someone new to WDW for the first time, you must get a "first taste of Beverly" photo.

A funny thing that I see in my Disney albums when I look back through them are the pictures I've taken as reminders. For example, we take a picture of the room number when we check in, just in case we get lost on the way back to the room that first night. I also use my camera to help us remember where we've parked. So I now have a world-class collection of room number and parking lot row pictures. This is just a sampling of the dozens I have...

I'm sure you're familiar with the Florida state law that requires WDW tourists to take photographs of everything you eat while on vacation. Yep, I've got lots and lots of pictures of plates of food.

 

[wbeem]

Let's see the food pics! That's something I do when I travel and urge others to do, also. It's part of the experience, so you gotta do it.