Any new/different ideas for photography in the parks etc.

[Doodles]

This will be our 4th trip to WDW. Photography is somewhat of a hobby for me and I take lots of pictures on vacation! I would like to take different shots this time, not just the typical character shots. Does anyone have any ideas/tips for some creative photography.........maybe some overlooked sights/shots?

 

[DaveH]

I would imagine you name it it has been done by now. There is one DISer whole takes photos of bad shoes besides the normal stuff. That is so funny women in high heels at WDW. Walking several miles a day? ouch!!!

Anyway, is there something of interest to you in general? Like flowers trees or such? You could do things like people standing in line or kids playing in fountains. Make a kid of theme. Try to take pics of all the hidden mickeys you find. If you have kids take pics of them doing things like standing in line for a ride or food or something. Some folks take pics of the topiearies(sp?). CM's during there jobs. Have fun and a great trip.

 

[Carl]

and then make panoramic shots of different scenes. Of course, this is for digital camera use. Some people just use the panoramic cameras to take those pictures. The difference with the digital cameras and the software is that you can vary the size of the panoramas (even up to 360 degrees.)

 

[Kermit]

I love taking pictures of gardens and close-ups of flowers. I have a wonderful picture of the sun setting behind a fountain framed by trees at PO-FQ. You can't really see the sunset because of the trees, but the colors are reflected on the leaves, and it's just beautiful.

 

[Bennet]

It isn't just women in Bad Shoes. There are some men ther too!

Vist http://BadShoe.com and see!

Critters are fun.

So are signs

How about your food?

Just stuff a different way

 

[Bennet]

Ofcourse BadShoes are the challange:

 

[jmminarik]

Take candids of the members of your group. They're much more interesting than your typical posed 'I was there' shots.

Hope this helps,
Joe
(who just dropped off 16 rolls at the lab).

 

[DisTwix]

I have a picture of a man who took, I am not joking, 87 pictures in "Small World." It was clearly the first time that family had been there (I can't imagine the card on that camera!!) and his wife would point at something and he would shoot it. He didn't see an inch of that ride through anything but the lense of his camera. My girlfriend and I laughed so hard through the entire ride - it's a great memory.

"Small World Paparazzi"

 

[KaraJade]

This is going to sound really dumb, but one of the things I wished I had taken more shots of was our hotel. I know there are tons online all over the place, but when I got home and wanted to show my photo book to friends and my parents who have no internet, I realized I didn't have anything to show what our "home" for the week looked like! duh!

and, we didn't get very many shots of the two of us together :/

 

[lisapooh]

Besides the normal stuff I take pictures of the interpreters. Best ones are when they are actually signing. Only 2 I haven't gotten that I have seen are Theresa (I was too busy lsitening to Scoop which Theresa was signing for me) and Angela. The rest I have photos of.

 

[ebhurleys]

Last time we were there we had PS at Crystal Palace before the park opened. I wished I had my camera. Main street was dead. You could have got the best pictures without any crowds. Next time I will definately plan better.

 

[Bete]

I've done it every which way in the last couple of years and I'm never tired of doing more and more pictures. First, I like doing somewhat of a travelogue by pictures. I make sure every place we hit including resorts, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. are included. I've even done pics of menus. Two of my favorite shops on the inside are the Disney store in Downtown Disney and the shop for China in Epcot. I love taking pictures of signs throughout the parks along the route we take. Animal Kingdom is probably the best for signs but Epcot is pretty good, too. Every trip I come back with at least 500 pictures and I've topped 1000 pics on a trip. Digital camera is my favorite new toy.

I love doing the entertainers at the parks. This includes the informal and formal shows. Waiting areas for rides can be very amusing. Test Track and Buzz Lightyear are among my favorites in this category. I get views of the parades that have wonderful backdrops like MK with the castle in it or the Tree of Life with the AK parade floats. For the parade floats, I usually take three pics per float. One is far away and then a little closer and then on top of you. Don't forget ceilings in certain attractions like the Temple in China at Epcot is gorgeous. At Epcot's WS I love getting there just as they open. It's pretty deserted and you can get some empty street pics if you move fast. My thing with WS is to get a big picture of the country overall. Then before I get in a country I zoom in to particular buildings. Once, I'm in a country then I'll do each place there including the shops.

I love different, weird angles of all the building attractions at all the parks. Take pics on a slant upwards rather then straight on. I've been known to lie on the floor or ground and take a picture. Take train and boat rides to get pictures that way. Make sure you take night pictures, too. Spectromagic is my favorite for night.

Finally, as mentioned previously don't forget yourself and family. I agree the candid shots are best. There are many CMs that will take a group shot for you. I do live through my lens on some trips but there are plenty of trips I don't even take a camera. Enjoy the memories.

 

[Humpbacks1962]

I've always been facinated by the pictures of those moments when nobody is suspecting a thing. You know, during parades or as simple as children becoming distracted for a second and completely focused on their pop corn, mini toy, etc.

I also L O V E pictures of kids playing in the jumping fountains at Epcot!

I'd say, try to skip the traditional sites and focus on capturing the emotions. There's a challenge National Geographic's photographers excel at!

Wanda

 

[nicknamy1996]

I recently bought an old camera off Ebay (fully manual) and had little time to practice and learn how to get good shots(there are some great sites out there to help with this (kodak is a good one to start with), we just got back on friday and I could not have been happier with my photos, some of my favorite pics were...

The top of the castle poking through the trees taken from the top of The Swiss Family Robinson tree with some of the branches from the tree framing the castle.

The view of the park from the top of the Contemporary (Will go back next time in the daylight to get some day shots of this view)

I've got a nice shot of illuminations taken from behind a palm tree, the tree is a perfect sillouette agains red fireworks and smoke behind it.

My 2 1/2 y/o trying to catch the water in the fountians at epcot.

Some animal shots from AK (close ups)

If you've got little ones, be sure to get a shot or 2 of them sleeping in the stroller(there so cute... and quiet, when they're sleeping)

A good tip is to shoot the characters from behind as they are meeting your children so you can get you childrens smiles and expressions as they are meeting them, you can always snap pics of the characters faces later(and they don't change), This one I just learned as I was looking through my pics while typing this. But I think it is a GREAT tip. I will make sure to get more of these next time

***My favorite shot is the castle from the waiting area outside The Crystal Palace, From there you can get (starting from the top) A good sky background, the castle top to bottom with some trees on either side, a nice grassy knoll leading to a lake with the reflection of the castle in it. (with my wide angle lens I also included the flower bush that was right if front of me) There were also a couple of ducks on the knoll. This is my favorite pic by far, but i left too much sky in it.

Have fun and take lots of pictures, film and developing are generally inexpensive. And if you take 3 pics to get one good shot its worth it.

 

[BostonTigger]

I found a great spot on my last trip in August. This spot is on a walking path from TomorrowLand to the back of Cindi's Castle(on the right hand side of the Castle if you are standing in front of it). There is a small fountain/birdbath on this path. I was able to position myself behind this fountain and take a nice picture of the Castle looking up at it the...great shot if I do say so myself. I was using 200 speed film and I shot it at 1/1000 of a second. Nice clear blue sky and a crystal clear shot of the Castle with no one in front of me. This spot also offeres a nice shot towards Main Street with the grass and flowers in the picture. Give it a try....I'm heading back to that spot in May.



Steven