On-site Photo Tips

[MarkBarbieri]

I was thinking about putting together an application/document and I was curious as to whether you think it would be useful enough to justify the effort.

Imagine that, as you stand in line for an attraction at a Disney Park, you could easily reference a page that gave you photo tips. The tips would include things like composition ideas and suggested camera settings. Now, as you enter the attraction, you can leverage advice from the broader photo community to improve your shots. If you had something like that available, would you use it?

Some problems that need to be solved:

1. Making it as device independent as possible. Ideally, it should be useable by anyone with an iPhone, Blackberry, iPod Touch, Android, Windows Mobile device, or any other handheld device.
2. It should be very easy to find the information that you want. Disney theme parks are hectic enough without having to spend a lot of extra time looking stuff up. If you can find and absorb all of the information you need for an attraction in a minute or two, I don't think you'll bother with it.
3. It should be a community effort. Lots of people of lots of good advice, so it would be best if this could be done collaboratively.

Some thoughts on how it could be done:

1. We could build a wiki and periodically translate that wiki into a PDF file with a hyperlinked table of contents for quickly getting to the info you want.
2. Instead of a PDF file, we could read the advice and translate it into lots of little MP3 files. That way, anyone with an MP3 player could access the information. I think that would be a broader audience, but it seems (to me) like a more awkward way of delivering information, especially in a noisy theme park.

 

[ssanders79]

A mobile website seems in order.

 

[Golf4food]

I'd use it. And help in the creation if I have anything useful to offer...

 

[WDWFigment]

I was thinking about putting together an application/document and I was curious as to whether you think it would be useful enough to justify the effort.

Imagine that, as you stand in line for an attraction at a Disney Park, you could easily reference a page that gave you photo tips. The tips would include things like composition ideas and suggested camera settings. Now, as you enter the attraction, you can leverage advice from the broader photo community to improve your shots. If you had something like that available, would you use it?

Some problems that need to be solved:

1. Making it as device independent as possible. Ideally, it should be useable by anyone with an iPhone, Blackberry, iPod Touch, Android, Windows Mobile device, or any other handheld device.
2. It should be very easy to find the information that you want. Disney theme parks are hectic enough without having to spend a lot of extra time looking stuff up. If you can find and absorb all of the information you need for an attraction in a minute or two, I don't think you'll bother with it.
3. It should be a community effort. Lots of people of lots of good advice, so it would be best if this could be done collaboratively.

Some thoughts on how it could be done:

1. We could build a wiki and periodically translate that wiki into a PDF file with a hyperlinked table of contents for quickly getting to the info you want.
2. Instead of a PDF file, we could read the advice and translate it into lots of little MP3 files. That way, anyone with an MP3 player could access the information. I think that would be a broader audience, but it seems (to me) like a more awkward way of delivering information, especially in a noisy theme park.

I think it's a great idea.

The first trip I took with my DSLR I put something like this together based on EXIF data of others' that I studied on Flickr. I didn't/don't have a smart phone, so I just printed it out and referenced it as necessary.

I still take a shot list each trip, but that is mostly in case I end up in a shooting lull and need to break the funk. On the average trip, I reference it maybe 2-3 times (although I plan to make a conscious effort to use it more!).

 

[Chikabowa]

That sounds like an awesome idea! I'm not technical (in the fact that I can't write an app or anything), but I'd love to contribute anyway possible! How fun!!

 

[photo_chick]

I'd go with a PDF and also output it as a text file since that shouldn't be too much of a hassle once you've assembled the information. While you will loose some formatting when you output as a text file, you open up the door for a lot more devices.

I've already got a PDF to put on my DD's Kindle (it never leaves her these days and will be in my pack) of places I don't want to miss, as well as our itinerary.

 

[SrisonS]

I love the idea. In fact, just the other day, I was thinking of making a gallery of shots on Flickr; so I could have a one stop reference when encountering certain situations. The EXIF data from other people's pics is a great starting point, but it would also help to know what other equipment was used (filters, tripod, etc..). I'm sure you wouldn't have a problem finding people who are willing to help...... me included.

 

[disneyboy2003]

This sounds like a GREAT idea! I think creating simple Wiki Web pages is probably the easiest way to go, with 1 Wiki page for each ride.

There are other folks, however, who don't have smartphones (ex. iPhones, Blackberrys, Android, etc), so maybe an option to consolidate all the Web pages into a PDF file would be useful. Wikipedia, for example, allows users to create "books", where you save several individual Wikipedia pages into a virtual "book", and then download the entire "book" as a PDF file.

A couple ideas about the format of each page. Perhaps the top of each page / ride should include a bullet-point list of info, like "Level of Difficulty", "Recommended Lens(es)", "Flash: Yes/No", etc.

Also, the Photo Tips don't have to be limited to just rides. There can be photo tips for parades, shows, character greetings, fireworks, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Of course, there will always be folks who view the info for the first time while waiting in line, they'll see the recommended lens and say "Oops, I don't have that lens. I guess I should have bought that lens before this vacation."

If this project gets large enough, I wonder if it could turn into an actual book! You know how popular those "Hidden Mickey" books are all over Disney World? With the popularity of dSLRs at Disney World, can you imagine how HOT a "How to Photograph Disney Rides" book would be at all the Disney souvenir stands?

 

[ukcatfan]

A mobile website seems in order.

I agree with this. It would make it available to many more people with "dumb" phones that have mobile web.

 

[mom2rtk]

This sounds awesome! I would love to be able to check this while in line for an attraction.

You guys might get me to turn in my 2007 flip phone yet......

 

[LilMommyBug]

I would love this.

 

[handicap18]

sounds like a great iPhone app to me.

 

[MICKEY88]

maybe someone could track down Disney Don and get him to contribute tips on the proper way to deal with Disney Security, while taking photos on Disney property.

 

[GrillMouster]

Last week I found an app for Android smartphones that was supposed to be similar to what you describe. It was supposed to give tips and guidelines for various types of photography, subjects, and general locations (potraits, landscapes, wildlife, kids, pets, etc.). Unfortunately the app sucked. Some of the advice it gave was just bad, and a lot of the pages were "under construction", a big no-no in my book (if you have nothing on a page, just remove the link). Additionally, the font was too small to read and didn't have enough contrast to stand out from the background, especially on a bright day where it's often difficult to read a screen.

This would be awesome if you could make it work. A web app or just a mobile-friendly web site that could be accessed on a variety of mobile browsers would be awesome. Each tip could be accompanied by an image demonstrating the techniques described. I'm sure folks on this board would contribute their images. Wordpress has a decent mobile view of its posts.

 

[lov2b@disney]

As a dslr newbie, I think this would be great!

 

[scoot241]

I love this idea! I think it should be a wiki with mobile capabilities. That way, we could have an easily searchable site that everyone can update with their tips without having to submit the tips, then someone add them in. Wikipedia's mobile site is quite good; Wikipedia uses MediaWiki, but I'm not sure how the mobile stuff is done.

My blog uses Wordpress; there may be some sort of plugin for it that could make it a wiki. It has some excellent mobile site plugins. This could be another option.

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I would love this! I don't have an iphone or a phone that has apps, but I'd definitely put something on my ipod nano or print it off. This would be a great help for me.

 

[scoot241]

Are we still interested in doing this? I wouldn't mind putting it on my web server; I have lots of space available.

 

[rtphokie]

The more I think about this, the more I think that the best way to get it started is to collect tips here. What do you folks think about coming up with a couple categories and posting 1 per week for people to comment on with their best tips and tricks?

1. Magic Kingdom/Disneyland (CA,France,HK, etc.)
2. Epcot
3. Animal Kingdom
4. Disney Studios (FL & France)
5. Downtown Disney and Resorts
6. Parades
7. Live performances
8. Disney Cruise Line
9. Miscellaneous tips

Tips could then be collected up, PDF files produced for those who prefer that format and also hosted online somewhere where commentary can continue.

What do you folks think?

 

[scoot241]

The more I think about this, the more I think that the best way to get it started is to collect tips here. What do you folks think about coming up with a couple categories and posting 1 per week for people to comment on with their best tips and tricks?

1. Magic Kingdom/Disneyland (CA,France,HK, etc.)
2. Epcot
3. Animal Kingdom
4. Disney Studios (FL & France)
5. Downtown Disney and Resorts
6. Parades
7. Live performances
8. Disney Cruise Line
9. Miscellaneous tips

Tips could then be collected up, PDF files produced for those who prefer that format and also hosted online somewhere where commentary can continue.

What do you folks think?

I like the idea, but if we are looking to do a wiki, perhaps we could post a link or set of links to wiki pages every week to fill in with tips to reduce transposing text from here to there.

We could have many ways to get at the same data. We could start with a category for each park. Some of these would link to the same pages (like Disneyland & WDW's it's a small world) and perhaps would have a section for park-specific tips (things to look for specific to the park's version).