Video-taping and Picture-taking Tips

[FatCow]

Just want to start a new thread about pic/vid-taking. I've seen too many people taping/pic-taking with the wrong settings. With the following simple tips, you'll make your pictures better.

1. When taking night-time video, go to your video-cam menu and go to Exposure control. Change it to night-mode (the name vary from brand to brand, sometimes from model to model, but you get my drift). The colours will be more vibrant. I taped Wishes using "Auto" versus "Night-mode" and the picture quality difference will make you think you're using a new-fangled video cam.

2. Use unconventional angles. Sometimes I use kids'-eye-view. Putting the camera no higher than my waist and tape some scenes as if it's being seen from a kid's perspective.

3. Use extreme panning. Don't just use left/right panning, but go up and down as well WHILE you move in.

4. Beyond using unconventional angles, push it further and use extreme angles. Use also extreme close ups.

5. Get a tripod. There is no way you can get nice night-time piccies without using a tripod and set your camera (digicam or 35mm) to "Night-mode". This is a slower shutter mode. This way you can get the picture of you AND the castle at the same time (a question being asked by many when I was at MK with my tripod). Even when you're not doing group picture, use the camera timer so you don't shake the camera at all

6. Using a tripod to take Wishes/Illumination (but NOT Spectromagic) or any other static objects such as lights at Main Street, set your camera setting, if available to "B" or "Bulb" or 1-second shutter time.

7. If possible, get wide-angle lens. Wider IS better. Zoom is less useful in most cases.

anybody can add to this?

 

[GoofysPrincess]

What I finally figured out on the LAST parade of our trip is that it's better to stand across the street from your kids to video tape the parades. You can really catch the expressions on their faces as the floats come into view and the characters interact with them. I stood at an angle so that the floats would pass me first and the kids were looking generally toward me.

 

[DebbieB]

One big mistake I made at character breakfasts when I took my niece is to take pictures with the window behind her. You need to use fill flash in that situation or take it away from the window. Otherwise everyone is dark.

 

[seashoreCM]

Sometimes when using standard print film. if the subject comes out dark becasue the background is too light, or the subject comes out too light and washed out because the background is very dark, you can get a better print by going back to the pyhotofinisher and requesting that. It will cost more namely the cost of reprints.

I have gotten good pictures of Main St. (Magic Kingdom) at night and of the nighttime parade using:

200 film: f/2.8 at 1/30
400 film: f/4 at 1/30
800 film: f/5.6 at 1/30 or f/4 at 1/60

This is for manually adjustable cameras.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm