Need Guru help!

[ColleenG]

We are leaving in a week for the World and I really want to get some good night shots. I was looking at a bunch of Tom's shots on flickr and checking out the EXIF data. All I can say Tom is, ! So my question is how do you decide what f-stop to use. I get the idea of using a smaller aperature to reduce the bokeh in say an Osbourne Lights pic, but what is the big difference between f/11 and f/14? Or is there a difference?

I would be happy with 1 or 2 decent night shots. I think my biggest problem is going to be dealing witht he family. I really need to find a way to sneak out to a park solo. Any tips on how to ditch the family?

 

[WDWFigment]

Thanks (assuming you're talking to me). I usually just guess at what settings to use!

(Kidding--I will give a more detailed response when I have time tomorrow.)

 

[ColleenG]

Thanks Tom! I did mean you. Your pics on flickr are awesome!

 

[racreel]

I get the idea of using a smaller aperature to reduce the bokeh in say an Osbourne Lights pic, but what is the big difference between f/11 and f/14? Or is there a difference?

The biggest difference will be the shutter speed, the smaller your aperture, the longer you will need the shutter open to get the same image. I doubt you will see a lot of difference in DOF between 11 and 14, where there would be a lot between say 4 and 14.

I don't have any first hand tips for the Osbourne lights, I haven't had a chance to photograph them...

 

[seashoreCM]

You will want to get one of those 6 to 12 inch tripods perhpas with legs you can bend to fit the available supporting surface.

Any tips on how to ditch the family?

Go atyour own pace, pausing as you please to take pictures. When the rest of the family gets bored and the kids get whiny then DH will take the kids and arrange to meet up with you later.

With a small point and shoot you would want to set the aperture no smaller than f/8. But try it first at home, perhaps using a string of Christmas lights hung against the outside of your house. In addition, it is easy to overexpose the lights themselves resultin in loss of color. The smaller the sensor the smaller all of the other proportins including the absolute focal length and absolute size of the aperture in millimeters or micrometers for a given field of view* for a given f/stop. Due to a phenomenon called diffraction, when the absolute size of the aperture gets smaller han a certain value, blurriness starts to increase.

* Often expressed as 35mm film camera equivalent focal length.

 

[WDWFigment]

I don't know if I'm the best person to help. Often, there's no rhyme nor reason to what I do. I just "do". I use an aperture of f/8-f/14 at night unless I have a reason not to because those are the apertures at which the lens is sharpest, and because they allow shutter speeds that will 'ghost' any people out of the shot if they do happen to walk in front of the camera.

My method for getting rid of the relatives would be to outlast them. This will have another benefit: you'll get shots with fewer people in them (hey, if you're outlasting your relatives your outlasting other parks-goers, too.

Good luck!!!

 

[annnewjerz]

I only did a tinnnnnnny bit of night shooting during our weekend trip in October, but I made one very un-tinnnnnnnny mistake. Do not leave your camera on spot metering unless you are trying to meter for one specific object (i.e. a fountain, SSE, etc.) If you are trying to capture a picture of an entire scene, make sure you switch back to your normal metering mode. I was using spot metering on some dark rides and forgot to switch back to matrix metering and the only night pictures I got looked not so hot to say the least.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I only did a tinnnnnnny bit of night shooting during our weekend trip in October, but I made one very un-tinnnnnnnny mistake. Do not leave your camera on spot metering unless you are trying to meter for one specific object (i.e. a fountain, SSE, etc.) If you are trying to capture a picture of an entire scene, make sure you switch back to your normal metering mode. I was using spot metering on some dark rides and forgot to switch back to matrix metering and the only night pictures I got looked not so hot to say the least.

I learn something every day!

 

[ColleenG]

Thanks for all the tips. I'll post some of my shots when I get back. Escaping the family isn't going to be easy. I'm hoping DH and I can get out alone one evening and then I can just drive him nuts! We have our 4 kids, my in-laws and my niece coming with us so it's a bigger crowd than usual. But atleast we have built in babysitters!

 

[ColleenG]

Oh, and DH has already given me the "We are not stopping every 3 seconds for you to take pictures!" warning. Those of you with spouses who also enjoy photography are so lucky. At least DH is ok with my spending habits.

 

[Chikabowa]

When doing night shots, I personally prefer the longest shutter I can possibly get (without going into bulb, so for my camera that is a 30 second exposure). Then I adjust my aperture from there. I do that because if you are in the park and there are still people milling around, it will pretty much allow them to walk through the exposure without them being seen. But that will put me at variable apertures, f8, f11, and f22 are usually my "go-to" apertures in those situations.

That is usually what I'm thinking about - which is slightly backwards in my thinking when I'm normally shooting.

 

[mom2rtk]

Oh, and DH has already given me the "We are not stopping every 3 seconds for you to take pictures!" warning. Those of you with spouses who also enjoy photography are so lucky. At least DH is ok with my spending habits.

Well... at least that makes you 1 for 2 in what it takes!

I'm laughing at this post..... that is SO what it's like for me! I usually end up walking WAY behind everyone in my group because I'm catching up from stopping for photos. It's why I have so many pictures of my family (minus me of course) from behind walking through the parks!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Oh, and DH has already given me the "We are not stopping every 3 seconds for you to take pictures!" warning. Those of you with spouses who also enjoy photography are so lucky. At least DH is ok with my spending habits.

Well... at least that makes you 1 for 2 in what it takes!

I'm laughing at this post..... that is SO what it's like for me! I usually end up walking WAY behind everyone in my group because I'm catching up from stopping for photos. It's why I have so many pictures of my family (minus me of course) from behind walking through the parks!

I am LOL with both of you as I encounter the same issues! My DH has even been known to fall asleep on a park bench as he waits for me to finish taking photos! It's that or he'll nag me to death to hurry up, so I say let him sleep! My DS said he had to "look for the freak with the photography gear" in exasperation one year when he was looking for me and I was buried in the throngs of people waiting for fireworks photos. It's a lot harder to take the photos we want to take with family in tow...

 

[boBQuincy]

We are leaving in a week for the World and I really want to get some good night shots. I was looking at a bunch of Tom's shots on flickr and checking out the EXIF data. All I can say Tom is, !

The obvious and easy way out is to pay Tom to go with you! This will also require Sarah's approval and possibly bribes for their cat & dog but think of what you will save in photo equipment!
Tom has proven he has what it takes to stay up for hours past park closing although you may wish to include Sarah to sweet-talk the CMs into letting Tom get "just one more photo"!

I am going to try Tom's late night strategy in December, if I just can't hang that late then next time I am taking the easy way out and calling Tom! Of course he will have to use my Canon...

 

[ColleenG]

I would love to stay in the parks past closing, but that would really require ditching the clan. I need to get DH hooked on photography and then we could do a photo trip with out the kids.

Ah one can only dream!!

 

[ILuvCrush]

I would love to stay in the parks past closing, but that would really require ditching the clan. I need to get DH hooked on photography and then we could do a photo trip with out the kids.

Ah one can only dream!!

hehehe you could always try to get him to let you take a solo trip! I love my annual solo trip...plus it does keep me from being such a 'snapper' when everyone is in tow...I can just 'go with the flow' then

Paula

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I would love to stay in the parks past closing, but that would really require ditching the clan. I need to get DH hooked on photography and then we could do a photo trip with out the kids.

Ah one can only dream!!

Take it in small baby steps. My DH often wants to take photos with clients in our business. It's dark and indoors and his P&S just doesn't cut the mustard. So I lent him my D90, preset to auto ISO and on ISO 400, on Auto mode so the flash automatically pops up if needed. His photos have been coming out great...except for the ones he tried to take through the glass dividers. (We have a recording studio.) So I showed him how to switch it to P mode and explained that the flash will only pop up in P mode if he pushes the button to make it pop up. So Auto for everything else, and P for shooting through the glass. We'll see if he can remember to switch to P mode and go from there. I'm hopeful! In the meantime now, he always asks if he can borrow my camera! Next will be M perhaps?

 

[ColleenG]

When I first got my DSLR DH looked at it for about 4 seconds. He does love the pictures I take with it. I would love to do a solo-ish trip. I don't think I could to totally by myself. I would love to go with some other shutterbugs.

 

[boBQuincy]

hehehe you could always try to get him to let you take a solo trip! I love my annual solo trip...plus it does keep me from being such a 'snapper' when everyone is in tow...I can just 'go with the flow' then

Paula

I try to get away for a solo/photo trip most years. It is a completely different experience from a family trip or even a couples trip. Fewer rides and lots more photography, where I can wait 10 minutes for a monorail to go by. On a family trip I might make a note of a special photo I want and plan to get it on a later trip.

Most of my photo trips are in late January, early February, or September, when the parks are not crowded at all. It's a great time to carry a tripod and to take plenty of time to set up a photo. Airfare is usually low at those times and room availability is good.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

When I first got my DSLR DH looked at it for about 4 seconds. He does love the pictures I take with it. I would love to do a solo-ish trip. I don't think I could to totally by myself. I would love to go with some other shutterbugs.

Well you never know...My DH was the same way. In fact when I first started with my DSLR he insulted my lack of photographic skills by asking why I wanted to get a DSLR when my P&S pictures came out so much better straight out of the camera! Now he loves the photos I take and is beginning to understand why a DSLR is so much better than a P&S even in auto mode. As a side note, he was right. My P&S shots were better but that was because I had so much to learn about photography that the P&S was 'smarter' than I was 90% of the time. Once I started getting over the hump he realized that there was a greater potential for great photos w/ the DSLR as opposed to ok or good enough photos from the P&S.
I had a couple of days at DL by myself in September, and I honestly didn't think I would like it. I got so caught up in taking photos, I felt like I didn't have enough time and wanted to extend my stay. When I'm with my family I feel like I end up taking more point and shoot type shots as opposed to being able to work the angles and work on better composition. It's like you don't have any time to stop and just think aout what you're shooting...It does suck when you have to worry about your family waiting for you, so I feel your pain...