Need tips for getting this picture in front of the castle

[MickeyMom2Boys]

We are heading to WDW in November and I really want to get a picture of my 3 boys walking up to the castle - the two older holding their baby brother's hand and helping him along. Problem is, I have tried to get this shot in the past and can not seem to get the right angle. Can anyone give me any tips as to the best place/angle to get this? I want the boys to be the main focus in the picture (keep them from blending in with the crowd) but also get a good chunk of the castle. Seems like every time I try this, I only get a small piece of the castle in the background.

 

[10dedfish]

What your asking for is a little on the challenging side, and not nearly as simple as it seems. If you want to view a lot of the castle, you can take multiple shots of the castle to create a panorama, then add in the shot of your boys to be included. The thing to remember there is that the zoom has to match. So, no adjusting the lens!

Or, you can use a wide angle lens and take multiple shots. Then use an editor to stack the exposure and remove the differences. Again not easy to pull off, as the boys would have to be still to not blur.

I would have multiple plans and shot exposures for them all, as you never know what will give you the results you are looking for.

Matt

 

[zackiedawg]

Your best bet will probably be to get as close to them as possible, and a little further from the castle so it fits in the frame. If they are too far, and you zoom in, you cut off much of the castle...and if too far, you get too many people in between you and them. If they're too close to the castle, you can't get enough of it in the frame.

A wide lens would be most helpful - even an ultrawide, in that they allow you to get extremely close to the subject (the boys) while still being capable of fitting a very large, wide scene into the frame from fairly close up (the castle), which has the side-bonus of less people in your shot between the boys and the castle since you can get so close and still have it in the frame. If you don't already have an ultrawide, it might be worth renting one - it really would be an excellent choice for a shot such as that.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

I agree with the statements about getting an ultrawide.

I would also recommend getting an ADR at Crystal Palace for BEFORE the park opens. Say the park opens at 9:00, get yourself an ADR for 8:45. Show up at MK at 8:00 and go in (there's a seperate line on the far right for people with early CP ADRs). The park will be EMPTY and you will have plenty of time to try and set up the shot with little interference.

We did this once and I got the most adorable shot of DD3 skipping in front of the castle. But I didn't have an ultrawide and I didn't get down on the ground, so I have very little of the castle in the shot.

 

[MickeyMom2Boys]

OK, I know nothing about photography, so I'm trying to stay with you without getting lost

I have a Nikon D50 and the only wide angle lens I have is the 18-55 kit lens. I'm assuming I need something better than that. Can anyone recommend one to rent?

And if I'm understanding right, I want them a little ways back from the castle (maybe at the beginning of the ramp leading up to the castle), I need to be as close to them as I can and probably down on the ground. Then the ultra wide angle will get more of the castle in the pic. Am I following correctly?

I realize it's just way too big to get the whole thing in - I just want it to be obvious that it is the castle they are walking up to. One of them walking down main street with the castle ahead of them - making them very prevalent in the shot (very close to the camera) would probably work too. Really hoping to have some success on this trip while the baby is at the right age. Love the idea of them helping him get to the castle for the first time Truly shows their relationship with him - they love to show him new things and help him learn.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[traylorc]

I agree with the recommendation on using an ultra wide lens, but just as important was chisoxkeith's recommendation to get an ADR for Crystal Palace and arrive before the park opens. IMHO once folks start streaming into the park, the chances of getting the shot you want dramatically decreases.

As for a lens, I would recommend the Tokina 11-16mm. Incredibly sharp lens, built like a tank, and one of the cheaper wide angle lens out there.

 

[cpbjgc]

I just wanted to second the idea of making an early morning ADR at Crystal Palace or (as we did in 2008) at CRT. Here is an emotional shot of my son carrying my camera equipment - I had wanted a shot of him and my daughter, but she needed to get to CRT pronto - no time for those silly photos . After seeing the crane, I wasn't too fussed. The spot was at the end of Main Street and I used my 30 mm prime with my camera in a portrait orientation. Is this the kind of shot you were thinking of?

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

You are following things correctly.

When people say Ultra wide, they mean something wider than 18mm - like say 10-22mm. There is a nice focal length comparison chart here. There are many other ones on the web if you just google focal length comparison.

You can rent a wider lens for your camera if you don't want to purchase a new lens. I've used Borrowlenses dot com and lensrentals dot com. But there are others.

 

[MICKEY88]

this shot was taken off to the right side of the castle at 28MM zoom..

early morning, while everyone else was taking pics down mainstreet...

 

[zackiedawg]

As confirmed, yes - the ultrawide lets you get closer to the castle and still fit it all in.

Though as Mickey above showed, if you don't mind going to portrait (vertical) orientation, you can get the whole castle in at 18-24mm or so even from inside the Partners statue. With an ultrawide, even a standard landscape horizontal orientation can actually get the whole castle in the shot even from inside the Partners statue. Ultrawides can be rented at a few spots, and are pretty common - there are at least 4 you can get for almost any camera mount - the native-brand lens, a Sigma option, a Tamron option, and a Tokina option. They're typically from 8-11mm at the widest end.

With an ultrawide lens, you could stand right at the handrail of the entrance ramp in Mickey's shot above, and at 10mm still get the entire castle in the shot plus the foreground entrance ramp going up. If you did it from right at the beginning of the ramp looking up, you could have your kids walking up the entrance ramp and the castle towering over them.

 

[DisneyChristmas]

How about a wide angle lens - the boys fairly close to you - you sitting on the ground shooting upwards toward the boys and capturing a front fascade view of the castle behind them? This would make them the focal point of the shot and give you the ability to avoid a crane, other guests, whatever in your shot.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Many of us here have ultra-wide lenses and many of us will be there in November and December. Maybe that would be an option if we knew your travel dates. I'm sure if someone that was going to be there at the same time as you with an ultrawide, they would be happy to PM you and help you with the shot. I know I would, but I'm going the first week in December, unfortunately.

 

[MickeyMom2Boys]

Thank you all so much for the tips. This is a shot I have wanted to get for many years - just waiting for our family to be complete, so this is definitely the year to do it! I am definietly going to try the Crystal Palace ADR and I think I will do this on our second MK day so that I can spend a little time playing with positions/angles etc on our first day. The sample shots some of you posted with the lens information has really helped. We are going Nov 12-19th and I am looking into renting the ultra wide lens. I had no idea you could rent the lenses! If I can pull it off, this shot will be treasured for years to come!

 

[Lecard]

If you want a suggestion for a way to help your angles then perhaps try the shot with the boys standing on top of the bench that surrounds the Partner's Statue in the Castle Hub so you can be positive to get low enough for the shot.

 

[Experiment_626]

Is this the sort of view you seek?


Blue and Magenta Castle Path April 2009 Flickr by Scott S. Baxter, on Flickr

I shot this in 2009 very late at night (obviously), with a 10-20 ultra wide. Can't recall the exact settings, but I was sitting low to the ground near the bottom of the ramp/path to the castle. Presumably, you'd want this view in the morning, with your children walking up the ramp away from you. If so, then that aforementioned earliest-possible ADR is by far your best bet. Even with that, I'd suggest getting in early as the cast members at the turnstiles will allow and making your way up to the castle without delay, and then working as quickly as you comfortably can. There won't be many others in the park at that hour, but many of those who are there will be drawn to the castle.

Another alternative would be to get your children ahead of you on Main Street moving toward the castle -- you could shoot that view with a standard kit lens pretty easily. If you would visit the Magic Kingdom on a different day before your ADR, you could do a "test zoom" with your camera to determine where you'd need to be on the street to get the view you want, and just make a mental note of where on the street you'd get that view. Then you could come back later and know where you'd want to be. If you find the right spot from which to shoot for the lens you have, you might even have your children walk around the Partners statue and shoot as they are moving away from you -- that would give you more than one chance to get the shot while still keeping their movements as natural as possible.

Just some thoughts. YMMV.

Scott

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

Great shot Experiment 626

 

[zackiedawg]

Scott - that's exactly the view, and the shot, I was describing for the OP - I don't have that shot myself, but have shot the castle with a UWA and am familiar with the focal - this helps show visually exactly what I was talking about - getting the kids on that path walking up, and still fitting the whole castle in the shot. Folks who've never shot with a UWA are quite shocked to find out just how close you can get to a subject, and how much of the foreground it captures, while still getting a huge subject entirely in frame from extremely close positions. When shooting with a UWA, the worry isn't about not getting the boys in the shot...the worry is making sure your own feet don't get in the shot - the lens can see practically straight down when held vertically like that!

 

[MickeyMom2Boys]

This is EXACTLY the angle I'm looking for! Thank you so much! What a beautiful shot It will also help to show this to DH so he knows what I'm going for. I'm trying to make sure he understands how determined I am to get this shot before we go. He likes to give me a hard time about my pictures but it shows that he appreciates them when we go back to look through them.

I can see I'm going to have to play with some shots at home too to get used to getting them close to the camera with a large subject in the background. They'll probably dread seeing me pull the camera out by the time I'm done! I want to take the baby down to the beach soon to get some 6 month shots. I'll test out your tips with my current lens and see how I do.

Is this the sort of view you seek?


Blue and Magenta Castle Path April 2009 Flickr by Scott S. Baxter, on Flickr

I shot this in 2009 very late at night (obviously), with a 10-20 ultra wide. Can't recall the exact settings, but I was sitting low to the ground near the bottom of the ramp/path to the castle. Presumably, you'd want this view in the morning, with your children walking up the ramp away from you. If so, then that aforementioned earliest-possible ADR is by far your best bet. Even with that, I'd suggest getting in early as the cast members at the turnstiles will allow and making your way up to the castle without delay, and then working as quickly as you comfortably can. There won't be many others in the park at that hour, but many of those who are there will be drawn to the castle.

Another alternative would be to get your children ahead of you on Main Street moving toward the castle -- you could shoot that view with a standard kit lens pretty easily. If you would visit the Magic Kingdom on a different day before your ADR, you could do a "test zoom" with your camera to determine where you'd need to be on the street to get the view you want, and just make a mental note of where on the street you'd get that view. Then you could come back later and know where you'd want to be. If you find the right spot from which to shoot for the lens you have, you might even have your children walk around the Partners statue and shoot as they are moving away from you -- that would give you more than one chance to get the shot while still keeping their movements as natural as possible.

Just some thoughts. YMMV.

Scott

 

[MickeyMom2Boys]

Can anyone recommend a good beginners digital photography book? I would like to read up and learn more about my camera before we go - I'm sure that will help me get the right shot.

 

[Lecard]

Can anyone recommend a good beginners digital photography book? I would like to read up and learn more about my camera before we go - I'm sure that will help me get the right shot.

I've recommended this before and apparently it is extremely cheap now also. It's called The New Manual of Photography by John Hedgecoe. It's a text book for photography classes and it covers everything from how to hold a camera to how lighting differs throughout the day to effect your photos and a whole lot more.

It's a great learning tool for sure and covers many different types of subjects from children, landscapes, pets, nature, and even nude photography (I like to throw that in there as a heads up but it is tasteful haha). I highly recommend to check it out.