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Many of you know (from another thread) that I went to Disneyland Sunday 10/14/07 to do some more photography practice. I tried to take photos in as many different conditions as I could. Some photos came out good, some not so good.
Things I learned from my Sunday at Disneyland.
1. It is possible to get a good photo, even with poor lighting conditions (too dark, too light).
2. It is easier to get a good photo with too little light rather than too much light.
3. If you really want the photo, take more than one. Take at least one with “proper exposure” take another with different settings.
4. Auto bracketing is your friend. For those of you new to the term, Auto Bracketing will take between 3 to 6 images (depending on your camera) of the same subject with one press of the shutter release. My camera takes three. One image is at the “correct exposure” that I set. One image is at one Exposure Value less than the manual setting I chose, one image is at one Exposure Value greater than the manual setting I chose. Sometimes your “best” setting may not be as good as it could be, but with Auto Bracketing, you get other choices.
5. When the lighting conditions are poor, too much or too little light on the subject, try to move around to get a more favorable light condition.
Anyway here are some of the photos I took. I wound up with about 150 images on my memory card. Some were duplicates, many more were the result of Auto Bracketing.
The 16 here are just a sample of what happened when I took photos, tried to get the best exposure I could and then just published it without any enhancement in Photoshop or anything. Later, after I do some image enhancement, and such I will repost some of these and some new ones. For now, her is the first batch.
No flash was used in any photos, I wanted to rely strictly on settings, later I will experiment with flash and fill flash and such.
Remember, you asked for it!
First image. This shot of The Jungle Cruise was taken fairly early in the day, the lighting was terrible. But I compensated for the darkness and I believe it is pretty good.
Splash Mountain, again, low light.
Just experimenting with light and shadow.
More light and shadow.
Minnie’s House. Too bright, I need to adjust this image to get the quality I want.
Goofy’s House. Much, much too much light. I hope I can save this one, it will be a further test of my Photoshop adjustment skills.
Just to the right of Goofy’s House. What a difference just turning a little can make. The light is much more manageable in this image.
The Observertron. I forget the conditions, but the photo cam out fairly good anyway.
Moon Rocket. Too much light in back of the Rocket. I’ll see what I can do by moving a little.
Ah, much better. I just moved about 20 or 30 feet and the light was much better. The Rocket is now illuminated properly, or at least pretty good.
Mickey Jack’o Lantern. As I remember the light was dim here, but I believe the photo came out pretty good.
Bad, bad, bad! This image is the result of the sun being right behind the subject (the Golden Gate Bridge in DCA). I’ll also try to recover something here in Photoshop.
More backlight. I tried to get off to one side but it was still not what I would like. I will have to adjust this one also.
Hollywood Tower Hotel. Too much light behind it. But not too bad. Maybe if I just adjust the sky it will look better.
I think this one is great! Good light, good color, good conditions.
Much better color in this view of the Oglden Gate Bridge, but I can’t see the decorations that are there for Halloweentime on the other side.
Well, I hope you enjoyed these photos and explanation. Maybe it will help somebody to get some better photos.
I’ll try to get more done soon.
[email protected]
Andy
Things I learned from my Sunday at Disneyland.
1. It is possible to get a good photo, even with poor lighting conditions (too dark, too light).
2. It is easier to get a good photo with too little light rather than too much light.
3. If you really want the photo, take more than one. Take at least one with “proper exposure” take another with different settings.
4. Auto bracketing is your friend. For those of you new to the term, Auto Bracketing will take between 3 to 6 images (depending on your camera) of the same subject with one press of the shutter release. My camera takes three. One image is at the “correct exposure” that I set. One image is at one Exposure Value less than the manual setting I chose, one image is at one Exposure Value greater than the manual setting I chose. Sometimes your “best” setting may not be as good as it could be, but with Auto Bracketing, you get other choices.
5. When the lighting conditions are poor, too much or too little light on the subject, try to move around to get a more favorable light condition.
Anyway here are some of the photos I took. I wound up with about 150 images on my memory card. Some were duplicates, many more were the result of Auto Bracketing.
The 16 here are just a sample of what happened when I took photos, tried to get the best exposure I could and then just published it without any enhancement in Photoshop or anything. Later, after I do some image enhancement, and such I will repost some of these and some new ones. For now, her is the first batch.
No flash was used in any photos, I wanted to rely strictly on settings, later I will experiment with flash and fill flash and such.
Remember, you asked for it!
First image. This shot of The Jungle Cruise was taken fairly early in the day, the lighting was terrible. But I compensated for the darkness and I believe it is pretty good.
Splash Mountain, again, low light.
Just experimenting with light and shadow.
More light and shadow.
Minnie’s House. Too bright, I need to adjust this image to get the quality I want.
Goofy’s House. Much, much too much light. I hope I can save this one, it will be a further test of my Photoshop adjustment skills.
Just to the right of Goofy’s House. What a difference just turning a little can make. The light is much more manageable in this image.
The Observertron. I forget the conditions, but the photo cam out fairly good anyway.
Moon Rocket. Too much light in back of the Rocket. I’ll see what I can do by moving a little.
Ah, much better. I just moved about 20 or 30 feet and the light was much better. The Rocket is now illuminated properly, or at least pretty good.
Mickey Jack’o Lantern. As I remember the light was dim here, but I believe the photo came out pretty good.
Bad, bad, bad! This image is the result of the sun being right behind the subject (the Golden Gate Bridge in DCA). I’ll also try to recover something here in Photoshop.
More backlight. I tried to get off to one side but it was still not what I would like. I will have to adjust this one also.
Hollywood Tower Hotel. Too much light behind it. But not too bad. Maybe if I just adjust the sky it will look better.
I think this one is great! Good light, good color, good conditions.
Much better color in this view of the Oglden Gate Bridge, but I can’t see the decorations that are there for Halloweentime on the other side.
Well, I hope you enjoyed these photos and explanation. Maybe it will help somebody to get some better photos.
I’ll try to get more done soon.
[email protected]
Andy
Please don't misinterpret my critique as me thinking you're stupid or anything like that.
St. Elizabeth, Patron Saint of Themed parks. Protect us from break downs, long lines, and used gum. Amen. 
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