Your Best Disney Photo Tips

[WillCAD]

I'm going to disagree here. I think it is much more important to try and compose a shot (take an adult ed class if possible) then it is to just take lots of pictures. Walk around where no one is like the Japanese gardens and get a pic of Epcot from there. Learn how to use all of your camera not just the pre programmed stuff. I'd rather have 100 great shots out of 150 then 10 great shots plus 100 good shots out of 500. You need to develop an eye for photography, it's much more than pushing the shutter. Some day check out some of the photo's Ansel Adams took with a Polaroid, truly stunning. Oh yeah get a real flash, on board flash is virtually useless.

There is more than one kind of photography.

Sure, there are times when taking several minutes to compose a "perfect" shot is what is required. Landscapes, nature shot, portrait work, and product photography all benefit from taking one's time to compose the shot, meter the light, pose the subjects, etc.

But there is also action, sports and documentary style photography, all of which shoot spontaneous, momentary, constantly-changing subjects. For these types of photos, one must keep the shutter release pressed almost continuously and click, click, click.

Shooting photos on a Disney vacation requires both the composed and the spontaneous shooting styles.

To get a great pic of the Castle or Spaceship Earth, you should take your time to compose the shot in your viewfinder, and choose your location, your position, and exposure settings carefully. But even shots of this type should be made redundant by exposure bracketing and using 2 or 3 different zooms, and even switching from portrait to landscape frame orientation.

And shooting characters, crowds, shows, parades, rides in progress, or anything else that is moving, requires either split-second timing or using the "shotgun" method of shooting lots of frames with the camera on automatic. The more frames you shoot of a moving subject, the more likely you are to find one in the batch with the perfect composition and subject orientation. This has become much more economical with the advent of digital photography; shoot a lot and delete the bad ones.

I'm not saying that the skills you mention are not nessecary to become a good photographer, because they certainly are nessecary. But photography of that type is not the end-all, be-all of photography; to cover all situations, a wide variety of skills and techniques are needed.

Besides, professional photographers' most common advice to newbies is, "burn up lots of film!", meaning take a lot of pictures to maximize your chance of getting a good one.

The second most common advice is, "learn the basics of exposure", meaning understand how light travels through the air, bounces off stuff, and thavels through a lens to strike a film plane or electronic sensor. This is a dizzyingly complicated subject, but the more you understand, the better you can use the light to make a shot turn out the way you want.

And on-board flash is only useless in stuations it was not designed for; in situations that it was designed for, it's an indispenible tool. Learn what it's for and when it can be used, and you won't think it's useless any more, you'll love it.

 

[jill9072]

I have 2 DS's 27 & 25. We first took them to WDW when they were 8 & 10. I now wish that we would have taken their picture in the same spot every trip we made. Both to see how they had grown and how the area had changed/stayed the same. We have a DGD on the way and you can bet when she goes with Nana and Papa we will take her picture at the same spot or in front of the same park icon every time she goes with.

So I guess that would be my tip. Take a picture of your child/children or your partner in the same spot each time you make the trip. It will be fun to look back and see how they have grown or how the area has changed or stayed the same since last time.

I really loved this idea, this will be our 4th trip with ds8 and the 2nd trip for ds1.5.. they grow sooooo fast. Great tips!!
Jill

 

[willis37862]

Thanks for all the tips.

 

[MissingMickey]

My husband actually looks for groups of people taking a photo so he can offer to take the pic for them. Makes his day.

Our biggest lesson has been using the zoom appropriately and kneeling down for most photos of larger groups or of children. Helps with the wide angle and for getting a head on shot of a child rather than the camera looking down on him/her. Also like to "frame" shots with something just to the upper left or right - like a tree branch, etc.

Watch and "learn" the fireworks shows so you can anticipate the fireworks. Unless you are shooting really really fast which is really really hard to do with most digitals at night and still get anything that doesn't look like a purple blob, you will have to anticipate the firework to keep up with your slower shutter speed. Watch one night and then take pictures on your return trip to the show. If you slow your shutter down, you really need to practice holding steady or brace against a lamp post if you don't have a tripod.

Take pictures of you packing before you leave and of your mode of transportation - car/airplane. Airport pics are kinda fun for us and help pass the time.

Take a few pics DISCREETLY of strange clothes/shoes.

 

[Momof6]

Before taking a few photography classes I thought the best photos would come from bright, sunny days. Not so, I later learn! Early morning light is cool...late day light is warm...and you can really see the difference in your photos!

Also, don't be afraid to take photos from different angles - not just standing. I've gotten much better at thinking for a minute and then releasing the shutter.

Oh, yeah. One other thing that has stood out - READ your camera's manual. I know. Sounds so blah...but I was amazed at what my camera can do. I just sat in my living room a few nights looking at the manual and then at the lcd display and buttons and figuring out what happens when I push what.

Have a great time!
Denise

 

[willis37862]

Ok we leave in 12 days, so if anyone else would like to give me a photo tips I would love it. Thanks for all the great ones so far.

 

[lpizzuro123]

Not sure if this is your first time there or not but we have been going about twice a year since 1997 and besides all the other pictures we take, we always make sure to take a family picture in Norway in front of the giant troll (he is about 7 feet tall) he is inside one of the shops. This is great because you can really see how you and your family change each time. When we started by boyfriends son was 9 he is now 17 and we still take a picture in front of the troll. It is great to see how much he has grown. When we went last year with my parents (and no kids) we took the same picture. If the troll doesn't interest you, find another great spot where you can take your picture year after year.

Linda

 

[bear74]

just subscribing so I can come read all of these later. Gotta go watch the Texas Longhorns now.

 

[willis37862]

Does anyone have a tip for shots of SE? Or the fireworks?
Thanks! We leave in 5 days

 

[barrie]

Remember to look up!

I have posted some photos on different threads on this board and the ones I seem to get the most comments on are ones I've taken of architectural elements. The detail on the buildings in Disney makes for very interesting shots.

Another trick I use is to set my camera to take 5 consecutive shots then delete all but the best one.

 

[willis37862]

Remember to look up!

I have posted some photos on different threads on this board and the ones I seem to get the most comments on are ones I've taken of architectural elements. The detail on the buildings in Disney makes for very interesting shots.

Another trick I use is to set my camera to take 5 consecutive shots then delete all but the best one.

Good tip. THANKS

 

[stschaefer]

Does anyone have a tip for shots of SE? Or the fireworks?
Thanks! We leave in 5 days

Spaceship earth - wait in front where the monorail passes and take a quick picture. Take a shot from the back with fountains in front. Take a picture when it is dark and the different colors accenting.

Fireworks - Get in Mainstreet and hope for the best. When you hear "when you wish - get ready to take a picture of the Star!. I got a great picture of DD riding Dumbo during wishes with the backside of the car and the fireworks up above.

 

[goodferry]

Here's my 2 cents;

1. I have gotten some great shots of Fantasyland and the castle from Dumbo.
2. Don't forget to take pictures around your resort, we have some amazing ones from our stay at the Polynesian
3. Every trip we sit the kids on the bench with the Lego guy in Downtown Disney and take their picture. It's fun to see how they grow from year to year.
4. Keep your camera out when you are with the characters, even after you have taken your group shot. I got a picture of DD with Chip and Dale and they were holding her pigtails up and jumping up and down, it's adorable.
5. Don't forget to get pictures of the adults too. Our first two trips we only had pictures of the kids!
6. Disney offers a session with a professional photographer. Not the ones who do the photopass stuff, the ones who do weddings and other events. We did this last trip and got some amazing pictures, particularly from the bridge to Liberty Square that WillCAD mentioned.

 

[Marypoppinsiam]

Thanks for the tips Goodferry. I like the idea of taking the picture at a certain spot everytime you go to see how the kids grow. I will have to think of a place that will be memorable year after year. Did you go to the Disney Institute for the photography lessons?

 

[lpizzuro123]

We do a picture every year infront of the giant troll in Norway (he is in one of the stores). He is over 6 ft tall and take a picture in front of him every time we visit.

Linda

 

[jmminarik]

Epcot:
I enjoyed some success photographic Illuminations from the balcony at the restaurant in Japan. The Japanese arch often provided a fantastic, pre-made framing for the fireworks.

MGM:
When in MGM on a clear day, a late afternoon/early evening shot of the Tower of Terror can be nice. Do it when the sun is low on the horizon and the facade for the attraction develops a warm orangey glow that's nicely accented by the Tower lighting. Works even better when a storm is blowing out but you still have swirly clouds behind the Tower, and if you have to take 'I was there' photos, putting people in front of the tower close to the camera can work nicely.

AK:
It's usually all about the Tree of Life, but if you have a digicam or scanner, try desaturating the photos you've taken to see them in black and white. Thanks to growing up with old National Geopgraphics, many of us old folk just think of Africa or Asia in black and white.

MK:
Go early morning to get the "I was there photo" of yourself/family with Walt and Mickey at the Castle end of Main Street. This is a shot best taken lower to the ground to get you, Walt, Mickey and the castle in the photo without too much other "stuff" distracting from the main subject.

General Tip:
Since most people's cameras don't have aperature/shutter controls so you an control what is in focus (aka depth of field), try to keep the photo's as simple as possible...hard to do with 35,000 of your closest friends wandering around the parks, but by focusing on your subject (usually your family or a large object) and keeping everything else possible out of the photo, you'll generally get a better photograph...that's the 'learning composition' mentioned a few pages back.

Happy Hunting.
-Joe

 

[barrie]

Joe - I agree on the balcony at Japan. I've gotten great fireworks shots there just using the railing as a tripod. It's also my favorite place to see them from - always easy to get a spot to stand. It's one of the best kept secrets I think.

 

[lpizzuro123]

Well, this is no longer a secret. We have watched IllumiNations from all over and never from the balcony in Japan. This is a great tip and one I will need to try on our next trip.
Thanks,
Linda

 

[barrie]

Well, just don't tell anyone else, ok?!

 

[lpizzuro123]

Don't tell anyone else what?

Linda