Photography tips for a novice....

[DizBelle]

I have a little Kodak M1073 camera - one of those snazzy little mostly automatic dealies.

Aside from reading the manual from cover to cover and learning everything there is to know about photography, what tips can you give me to help me take better pictures?

Thanks!

 

[ukcatfan]

That is a little too vague. Give us some more information like what you will be shooting and the problems you are having.

 

[DizBelle]

That is a little too vague. Give us some more information like what you will be shooting and the problems you are having.

I haven't shot anything yet. I've got a trip to WDW in a couple of weeks so I could be taking pictures of just about anything there - character interactions, parades, fireworks, castle pictures.

I haven't had any particular problems per se that I need to solve...

 

[annnewjerz]

If you are just looking for some general tips for shooting, here are some I can think of...but I'm not so sure this is what you are trying to find out:

1. Don't "amputate" characters, CMs or family members in your pictures. Pay close attention to making sure you don't chop off someone's feet or hands in a picture.

2. If you are going to try to shoot fireworks, either set it to "fireworks" mode if you have it, or bump up the ISO just a little. Also make sure you set the camera on something (either a tripod or a trashcan) for stability to keep the pictures from coming out blurry.

3. If you are going to take close-up shots to capture detail, try switching to one of the modes your camera offers (probably macro mode - in my experience most p&s camera have this).

4. Don't have all of your pictures of family/kids posed. Not only will it make for a more interesting album or scrapbook if you have some candids and some more interesting shots, it will also be less annoying for your family to stop every 2 minutes to post in front of a ride, or smile with their dole whips.

5. Don't have unrealistic expectations. I see that your point and shoot can go up to ISO 1000, but you will more than likely not get great pictures of indoor dark rides, night-time parades, etc. That being said, I have always managed to get a couple that I was satisfied with...not horrible, but not spectacular either.

6. One of the most important that is often overlooked, no matter how tempted you are...do NOT take pictures with a flash on indoor dark rides where it is prohibited, like POTC, HM, etc. Not only will the pictures not look good...it is also distracting to other people you are riding with. More a matter of courtesty than anything.

Good luck!

 

[Tuffcookie]

Try to get as close to the main object of your picture, as possible. I hate seeing pictures of people where the photographer stood a mile away!

Always be aware of what's going on in the background. If there are other people in the background, wait for them to move.

TC

 

[maccagerl]

I haven't shot anything yet. I've got a trip to WDW in a couple of weeks so I could be taking pictures of just about anything there - character interactions, parades, fireworks, castle pictures.

If you haven't shot anything yet, my best advice to you is to start shooting now- don't wait until you get to disney to find out what your problems are!

Go out and practice in your yard, in your town, in bright light, in low light, inside and outside.

If you are not happy with your shots , then come back here and show us the photos that need work and people here will be able to help you.

 

[DizBelle]

If you are just looking for some general tips for shooting, here are some I can think of...but I'm not so sure this is what you are trying to find out:

1. Don't "amputate" characters, CMs or family members in your pictures. Pay close attention to making sure you don't chop off someone's feet or hands in a picture.

2. If you are going to try to shoot fireworks, either set it to "fireworks" mode if you have it, or bump up the ISO just a little. Also make sure you set the camera on something (either a tripod or a trashcan) for stability to keep the pictures from coming out blurry.

3. If you are going to take close-up shots to capture detail, try switching to one of the modes your camera offers (probably macro mode - in my experience most p&s camera have this).

4. Don't have all of your pictures of family/kids posed. Not only will it make for a more interesting album or scrapbook if you have some candids and some more interesting shots, it will also be less annoying for your family to stop every 2 minutes to post in front of a ride, or smile with their dole whips.

5. Don't have unrealistic expectations. I see that your point and shoot can go up to ISO 1000, but you will more than likely not get great pictures of indoor dark rides, night-time parades, etc. That being said, I have always managed to get a couple that I was satisfied with...not horrible, but not spectacular either.

6. One of the most important that is often overlooked, no matter how tempted you are...do NOT take pictures with a flash on indoor dark rides where it is prohibited, like POTC, HM, etc. Not only will the pictures not look good...it is also distracting to other people you are riding with. More a matter of courtesty than anything.

Good luck!

This is exactly the type of stuff I'm looking for.

What does ISO mean anyway?

 

[MarkBarbieri]

My advice:

1) Ditch your family and hire models. Models almost always look better and they know how to pose. Nothing will improve your pictures more than shooting professional models.

2) Upgrade your camera. I have no idea what a "Kodak M1073" is, but I'm sure that there are better, more expensive cameras that take better pictures. Anyone can point a camera and press a button. What separates us from the pros is the gear.

3) Bring some muscle. I got really sick of waiting people to get out of the way for me to take a shot. Now, I have my "crew" block off areas and I take my time getting just the right shot. This is critical for getting good parade shots, unless you've got so much time on your hands that you can waste time waiting for the parade.

4) Learn photoshop. With good computer skills, you can fix anything you screw up in your pictures. Heck, you don't actually need the picture. You can just create the entire thing in Photoshop.

5) Right Click. Most of my best pictures don't come from clicking the shutter button. They come from finding really good pictures online line, right clicking on them, and saving them. I use most of them "as is" but sometimes I photoshop my models into them so that it looks like my "family" was there. The contest threads here are a great source for pictures.

6) If saving someone else's picture bothers you, just bring it up on your computer and take a picture of your screen. Now it really is your picture. I sometimes do this because my camera has a higher resolution than the camera originally used to take the picture. More megapixels are always better.

7) Another good technique is the old "memory card switch." When you find someone that looks like a good photographer, offer to take a picture of them with their camera. While you are setting up the shot, switch out their memory card with a blank new one. Now you have all the shots they took earlier in the day. Be polite, however, and do the switch before you take the picture of them. You don't want to leave them with no pictures.

8) Make sure that you use a flash on the dark rides. It's just too hard to get a decent shot without extra light. Besides, the other passengers like it because it helps them see better. You'd think that as expensive as the parks are, they could afford decent lighting.

9) Don't be worried about using your camera on the wet rides like Kali River Rapids and Splash Mountain. If it gets wet, just go to lost and found and tell them that you lost your camera. They've always got bunches of cameras to choose from.

10) Above all, have fun. Don't worry about your photography getting in other people's way. You paid for your ticket and you have a right to enjoy yourself.

You can find even more useful tips in the Equipment Recommendations / Photo Techniques thread and the The Learning Curve thread. OK, the first thread doesn't have useful tips, but it does have links to threads that have useful tips. That's sort of like a useful tip. It's certainly more useful than the tips I mentioned about.

 

[RBennett]

My advice: .......

OMG!!!! I couldn't quit laughing!!!!

 

[MarkBarbieri]

This is exactly the type of stuff I'm looking for.

What does ISO mean anyway?

ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization. In particular, it is a reference to standard 5800:1987. It's related to standards 6:1993 (B&W film) and 2240:2003 (color slide film). While the standard encompasses both a logarithmic and an arithmetic scale, you really want to just stick with the arithmetic scale. No one uses the logarthmic scale, which was based on the old DIN numbers. the Arithmetic scale is based on the old ASA scale, which is much more commonly used.

Oh wait, your camera is digital. You'll want ISO 12232:2006 for that.

Basically, the "ISO" is the sensitivity of the sensor and it is based on the "standard output sensitivity". That, in turn, is derived from the saturation based speed, which is 78 divided by the maximum luminous exposure that does not result in clipping. You can determine the luminous exposure by multiplying the luminance of the scene (in candela per square meter) by the exposure time (in metric seconds) and dividing by the square of the aperture f-number (which is simply the size ratio between the iris diameter and the focal length). You'll also want to factor in the transmittance of the lens, the vignetting factor, and the angle relative to the axis of the lens, but that's pretty obvious. You can read more about it on Wikipedia here.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

OK, my answers probably haven't been too helpful. I'll try again.

ISO is a measure for how sensitive a camera is. When a camera is very sensitive (high ISO), it doesn't take much light to make a picture. The trade-off is that when you increase the ISO, you increase other problems. You picture will be "noisier" (it'll have lots of little colored splotches) and lower dynamic range (more stuff will be too dark or too light for the picture).

Most cameras have an ISO range from about 100 to 1600. Every time that you double the ISO, you make the camera twice as sensitive. So a picture that required 1 second to take a picture at ISO 100 will only need 1/2 a second to take the same picture at ISO 200.

As a general rule, you want the ISO to be the lowest possible value that still lets you use a shutter speed fast enough to keep from getting a blurry picture. Most cameras can handle that automatically, so you needn't worry about it (unless you want to control it yourself).


As for the broad question about taking better pictures, well, that's a REALLY broad question. That's akin to asking someone how to use a computer better or saying that I just got my first car and I want advice on how to drive it across the country.

The forum topics I linked to above are attempts to give advice on the subject. They are a good starting point. My advice is to read the tips and practice with you camera. It also helps to look at pictures that other people post and think about what you like and don't like. Just keep in mind that some pictures are easy to take and others require special equipment and knowledge. For example, you should be able to get a wonderful shot of Cinderella's Castle from Main Street with just about any camera. Getting a really good shot on The Haunted Mansion ride is just not possible with most cameras.

 

[wdwfan101]

It depends upon the time of day and action/landscape/portrait.

Daytime static shots are not going to require many, if any setting changes on your camera. Most cameras have a mode setting (portrait, landscape, macro, action).

If you're going to be taking pictures of SpectroMagic or other nighttime parades,

- Find a spot where you can get a long look at the oncoming action. If you are perpendicular to the action, the lights on the floats are going to blur.
- Keep the camera as steady as you can; consider a mini tripod. I've usually placed the camera on the ground on a mini tripod or on top of a garbage can.
- Flash pictures during Spectromagic are allowed but your results may not be that great. Your flash may not throw very far and the lights on the floats may turn out dim.
- Fireworks mode on a camera may be of best use for these.
- Practice at home before you leave. Find out how well your camera performs in low-light. Find out how it autofocuses.

 

[YesDear]

Ok.... Someone call Mark's wife and tell her Mark is off his meds again!

Great posts Mark!

 

[RBennett]

Ok.... Someone call Mark's wife and tell her Mark is off his meds again!

Great posts Mark!

Yeah, the only problem is that I'm sure some people will actually DO some of the things in his first recommendations.

 

[bob100]

Yeah, the only problem is that I'm sure some people will actually DO some of the things in his first recommendations.

if I could only do some of the recommendations .. hire good looking models, upgrade the camera, photoshop skills .....

 

[tripodjw]

I have a little Kodak M1073 camera - one of those snazzy little mostly automatic dealies.

Aside from reading the manual from cover to cover and learning everything there is to know about photography, what tips can you give me to help me take better pictures?

Thanks!

My tip is that you never stop learning.

And on that basis, practice practice practice. Take your camera everywhere and try different settings in different situations and see what it does.