{"id":3013,"date":"2010-11-29T20:56:35","date_gmt":"2010-11-30T03:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bspcn.com\/?p=3013"},"modified":"2010-12-02T19:08:43","modified_gmt":"2010-12-03T02:08:43","slug":"5-tips-for-taking-great-vacation-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/2010\/11\/29\/5-tips-for-taking-great-vacation-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips for Taking Great Vacation Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by mostlylisa<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Mostly<\/a><\/p>\n

I just finished processing my snaps from my fabulous Disneyland birthday weekend and I thought I\u2019d share some tips and tricks for getting great vacation photos.<\/p>\n

As a die-hard photographer, I understand the tendency to want to capture every single moment of life,<\/em> rather than experience it. While this will result in more photos<\/em> of your trip, it may not result in the best photos.<\/em> After a day of continuous snapping and being asked to smile and pose, even the most enthusiastic subjects will look like annoyed-looking grumps in your photos.<\/p>\n

\"Fireworks<\/a><\/p>\n

Instead of continuously shooting throughout the day, pick three or four times for posed family photos in front of main landmarks, and casually snap candids the rest of the time. Know when to put away your dSLR and just enjoy the day.<\/p>\n

\"Disneyland<\/a><\/p>\n

Taken while Pete was distracted by brightly coloured sweets. \ud83d\ude42<\/em><\/p>\n

All this goes out the window if there is amazing light. In that case, give your kids $10, point to the nearest ice cream store, and say, \u201cYay!! Ice cream!!\u201d I find I can capture a lot of great shots when people are distracted with food or shiny things. I call it the \u201cdistract and snap\u201d method.<\/p>\n

\"PeteOh look! A Mickey pretzel!<\/em><\/p>\n

2. Pack the right gear<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Oh<\/p>\n

5DMKII + 16-35mm + 430EX with an Omnibounce<\/em><\/p>\n

On this trip to Disneyland, I brought minimal gear with me to the park because I knew that I would be trekking around a lot and going on bumpy, wet and generally gear-unfriendly rides. I brought my 5DMKII with the 16-35mm f\/2.8, 430EX flash, Canon SD 1300 point & shoot, and my iPhone 4.<\/p>\n

\"Pete<\/a><\/p>\n

Pete waiting for the Monorail in Tomorrowland.<\/em><\/p>\n

I only brought one lens because I find that I can capture great scene shots at 16mm and great people pictures at 35mm. Plus, it\u2019s relatively small and unobtrusive. A 35mm, 24-70mm or a 18-55mm kit lens would work as well.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a><\/p>\n

View from my hotel room at the Grand Californian.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you are missing a zoom lens or wide angle, use a point and shoot or phone to grab these shots. Remember it\u2019s all about about capturing moments, not perfect photographs.<\/p>\n

2. Bring extra memory cards & batteries<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Esmerelda,<\/a><\/p>\n

Esmerelda, Main Street, Disneyland<\/em><\/p>\n

I usually have 4 X 8GB cards and an extra battery for my dSLR on me at all times. I tore through all of these on this trip, especially when I was taking video. So depending on what you are shooting, I would recommend having at least 4 cards with you, if not more. Always pack an extra battery and make sure you charge your phone the night before.<\/p>\n

\"Woody<\/a><\/p>\n

Toy Story\u2019s \u201cWoody\u201d in Vinylmation store<\/em>.<\/p>\n

3. Capture the story<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s great to capture the big breathtaking scenic moments of your vacation, try to capture all the seemingly mundane moments in between to connect all your images into a story of your trip.<\/p>\n

\"Mickey<\/a><\/p>\n

Snap a picture of your breakfast, the view from your hotel window, your family getting ready to go out, your boyfriend checking his feeds during dinner :-|, or any little candid moment you\u2019d like to remember.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I find that these shots are the ones I really cherish, because they remind me of my experience, rather than the place itself. I love this shot of my epic R2D2 \u201cMostly Lisa\u201d Mouse Ears getting made.<\/p>\n

\"My<\/a><\/p>\n

\"MostlyLisa's<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Capture the entire scene<\/p>\n

\"Paradise<\/a><\/p>\n

Paradise Pier, California Adventureland<\/em><\/p>\n

Always take a step back and capture the full scene. It\u2019s a good opportunity to actually focus on your photography for a moment. I usually try to grab a few good shots when I\u2019m waiting in lines for food, transport or Space Mountain \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"Space<\/a><\/p>\n

Space Mountain!<\/em><\/p>\n

To maximize your photo taking, set your camera to burst mode, so you can fire off a bunch of shots really quickly. Another way you can increase your chances of getting a great shot is by bracketing the exposure to +2 and -2 EV. This way when you fire off three shots in burst mode, you get three shots of varied exposure: 1. Over-exposed; 2. Normally exposed; & 3. Under-exposed.<\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/a><\/p>\n

Mark Twain Riverboat, Disneyland<\/em><\/p>\n

5. Don\u2019t forget to get in the picture too!<\/p>\n

\"Lisa's<\/a><\/p>\n

Cotton candy & magic hour in California Adventureland.<\/em><\/p>\n

There are so many times when I come back from a trip and realize there are no pictures of me, almost as if I wasn\u2019t there. I know most photographers hate being photographed, but your loved ones and demanding Facebook friends will appreciate a few pictures with you in them \ud83d\ude1b Before you pass of your camera, make sure it\u2019s set up correctly so that anyone can just click the shutter. I usually set up the frame and settings on someone and then swap with that person, so all my settings are correct.<\/p>\n

\"Pete<\/a><\/p>\n

Point and shoot shot of Pete & I after a ride on Indiana Jones.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not keen on strangers handling my dSLR, so if I want a shot with me and someone, I\u2019ll either set up my point and shoot on a little gorilla pod and use a timer or just hand hold it. NB. Hand holding a dSLR is not recommended unless you\u2019ve got the guns to support it \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n

\"Mickey<\/a><\/p>\n

I look forward to seeing all of your shots of the upcoming holiday season!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by mostlylisa I just finished processing my snaps from my fabulous Disneyland birthday weekend and I thought I\u2019d share some tips and tricks for getting great vacation photos. As a die-hard photographer, I understand the tendency to want to capture every single moment of life, rather than experience it. While this will result in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3013"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3013"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3043,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3013\/revisions\/3043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}