Photography tips

[snoopygirl79]

Hello,

I wasn't sure where to post this but thought here would be ok.

I was wondering whether people would like to share photography tips as I know I love taking photos and am looking forward to taking a fair few on my upcoming holiday!!

Maybe tips like where the good places are to get great shots of the Castle or places in the other parks. Or how to photograph the fireworks or parades.

I've got a new Canon D-SLR camera and can't wait to use it over there so any tips on that would be gratefully received!!

Just an idea

Vick

 

[KayleeUK]

Hi Vick

I just point and shoot so no tips from me But i wonder if the Photography Board has any tips?

 

[Boss Hogg]

Hi Vick, there is a photography board - DIS photo board, but it can be a scary place at times

Having been attempting to take pics for years, and largely failing, I would say practice, practice, practice is the best thing to do.

I would also recommend that understand the basics of what aperture and shutter speed settings make (assuming you don't already). This will help you no end, especially if you want to start taking fireworks pics.

Also, getting a good spot is important and how you frame the shot - obvious I know! I used to be absolutely shocking at framing because I didn't take enough time before taking the pic to really see what I was taking. Luckily, I just shocking now!

The real benefit of the dSLR over the SLR is that you can review your shots immediately which is very helpful, especiialy when taking something like foreworks, take a few pics at different shutter speeds, and then decide what speed is best and take a load at it and just dump the bad ones later.

As far as things like good spots, for the castle I would take from the bridge into Adventureland as you can get a nice reflection from the moat, or, from the rose garden on the right of the castle (as you come up Main Street) as you can get the castle framed well with some flowers. Another thing I took some of recently was the guitar at Rock'n'Rollercoaster, I liked it as I'd not seen them before - one is posted below.

Lastly, if you are in Animal Kingdom, there is a nice view of the Tree of Life from just the pathway between Africa and Asia, on the right hand side of the path as you go towards Asia, but I would recommend taking a picture from that spot late afternoon, as otherwise you're shooting into the sun. I've taken a couple when we have been about the last people in the park at closing time, and the sky is a much better colour and makes the Tree look a lot better.

Anyway, here's the RnR pic I said about...

 

[dc1964]

I think most areas have a designated photo point which give the best photo opportunity and view of the attraction.

 

[snoopygirl79]

Thanks for the tips, I'll have a look at the Photography board and see what's said there.

I love your photo of RNR coaster - it's fantastic!!

I'm trying to get my head around shutter speed and aperture but the numbers confuse me, as the bigger the number, the smaller the aperture or is it the other way round!! I've got lots to learn before I go in 2 weeks!!

Vick

 

[Rascal1003]

To really get the best photos, I have found that you need to close your mind to all the "Brochure" shots.......we have all seen the Kodak Photo Point images in everyone's holiday snaps.
Try to look at what you see in a more creative light, look at it as it will appear on the photo.
There are some fundamental guidelines that will help you compose your photos as well as you can. Rule of Thirds is very important, look it up on the web, it is a basic principle of where to have your subject in the frame to make it most attractive to the eye.
Consider rotating the camera through unusual angles, 30 degrees to the left or so, to give a different perspective.

With the Canon DSLR's, you have a great opportunity to be creative with the various settings at your disposal. As Boss Hogg says, learn to understand what each adjustment does to the image and then you can move away from using the Full Auto setting (Green Square).

There are 3 main elements - Shutter Speed, ISO Setting and Aperture. When in Manual mode, you can define the setting of any of these but would be worth looking into their relationships n(bit of internet research).

One of the other real key things will be the lens you use. The "kit" lens or that which is supplied with your camera, is usually very average and if you are prepared to spend a bit of money, you can improve the quality of photos immensely. For creativity, look for lenses with wide apertures (f/2.8 is very useful but can be expensive. Canon 50mm f/1.8 is a very high quality lens for very little money, but is fixed - a prime lens so no zoom option, but awesome results). Aperture can be used for better low light photography as the aperture is wider to allow more light in, but also good during the day to eliminate depth of field and only leave your subject in focus - great when you want to loose some of the background).

It seems like a million things to take in, but you will get the hang of it once you start to understand how you can influence the camera. Without taking advantage of these options, it would be pointless owning an SLR, when you can get adequate on a fully automatic prosumer or point-and-shoot, so go for it, get out there and experiment.

As you will see from my signature, I work with cameras quite regularly, so if you want any help, please feel free to drop me a line via PM or something.

All the best.
Russ

 

[Boss Hogg]

I'm trying to get my head around shutter speed and aperture but the numbers confuse me, as the bigger the number, the smaller the aperture or is it the other way round!!

Spot on Vick. Bigger the f value the smaller the aperture and vice versa. For example, if you want a portrait picture of someone, you want large aperture, so the small f setting possible, f3, 4 or 5 ish depending on lens and camera etc. For landscapes you want a small aperture, so big f number 22 or so.

If you find yourself getting confused, put the camera into one of its pre-set modes, and you will see what values the camera sets.

Likewise, if taking portrait pic, I think it is adviseable to have the lens at maximum zoom (where possible).

ISO settings are something I rarely play around with, but if you're taking a night-time shot, set a higher ISO setting, as this will let in more light effectively and mean you can take a slower shutter speed, which may help with camera shake. But beware as this will increase "noise" (graininess - sp?) on the pic.

 

[Rascal1003]

PS - Fireworks - Get a tripod !!! (Slow shutter speeds yield great results, but the cam needs to be steady as a rock to avoid blur)

 

[jjpenguin]

And if you're having problems with steadiness, use the self timer at 2 sec.

It is really hard to get your head round all the stuff, but my top tip would be framing, even if all the techie stuff is fine if you have poles out of peoples heads etc. it is still a crappy photo. There's a couple of good threads on the photography board - one is how to - fireworks. One is general tips and I like the one show me photo's the average tourist wouldn't take. Some great idea's & viewpoints.

 

[Dimplenose]

There was an interesting series of articles on Mouseplanet last year on taking better photos. Just reading the first article improved my photos on my last trip.

http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm050504fa

Libby

 

[UKDEB]

I really need to start paying attention to all this stuff, Vick. I really don't make the most of our 300D. The beauty of digital photography is that you can play around with shots until you get something you're happy with. And then of course there's post-editing software! I Photoshop quite a few, even if it's just a bit of cropping - it can make a huge difference. I find, even when I think I've framed properly, I often get a bit more in the shot than I'd intended.

 

[UKDEB]

As you will see from my signature, I work with cameras quite regularly, so if you want any help, please feel free to drop me a line via PM or something

You've captured some fantastic shots, Russ. Wish I was getting married again? Anyone? (I could always dump the current model). We've got an Evo, so I especially like Poppy & Nick's unusual choice of Wedding Car.

 

[Rascal1003]

You've captured some fantastic shots, Russ. Wish I was getting married again? Anyone? (I could always dump the current model). We've got an Evo, so I especially like Poppy & Nick's unusual choice of Wedding Car.

Thanks Deb....Yes, the Evo was quite cool, the Bride is Sports Car mad so a friend offered the Evo to them.

LOL@ ditching Hubbie....dont do it, what about a WDW vow renewal? We got married there last year and it was really awesome! I would shoot it for you for free if you pay the flight...LOL

I just wish there were more hours in the day to do more. I currently have 2 weddings sitting on my hard-drive that need to pass through Photoshop and be delivered, but there really are not enough hours in the day ! (Full time job outside of photography too).

 

[snoopygirl79]

Thanks for posting the link to the article on MousePlanet as it does have some useful tips as I'm always losing my husband in the crowds when I try and take a photo of him in front of something!!

Vick

 

[Dimplenose]

I'm glad you enjoyed the Mouseplanet article too. There were 4 other pages he also wrote.
http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm050607fa
http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm050810fa
http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm051102fa
http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm051206fa

Libby