SLRs, point and shoots, cell phones: Pick your poison! Don’t we all have a camera? Or two or three? We parents sure seem to take lots of pictures. This week we asked the Parenting Panel: How do you capture those photographic memories? Do you use PhotoPass? Do you take candid pictures? Do you pose your family?
Chris, also known as GusMan, is always planning his next family trip to the Walt Disney World Resort and loves to help others plan their trips, as well sharing his experiences. Chris writes:
When it comes to photography in the parks, I want to capture what I am experiencing at that very moment. It could be something funny, serious, or just one of those “awwww…” moments, but I want to walk away knowing that others can sense what I experienced in a single photograph. I cherish my family vacations and I know that my kids are growing up way quickly for me to not capture the essence of our time together.
For me, I try to use every resource at my disposal:
Chris's son has fun driving on the Tomorrowland Speedway. Photo by Chris Salata.
- Candid photography – I like to stand back and let my family walk in front of me several yards so that I can get candid shots of what they are experiencing. I love to see their genuine reaction to the magic that happens all around them. Sometimes it is them enjoying a show or even interacting with characters in their own special way. The key here is to try to be somewhat unnoticeable even through you might be in plain sight. I say this because my kids tend to act it up for the camera quite a bit.
The children do not even see their father capturing this moment. Photo by Chris Salata
- Posed Photography – Using the term “posed” loosely, these are the traditional shots of the kids in front of an attraction, meeting with a character, or pretty much any time I yell out “hey, let me get a picture of you with / in front of (fill-in-the-blank).” When I take these shots, I think about how they would look in a frame, sitting on my desk or on the wall.
Chris's daughter has fun with an indirect pose. Photo by Chris Salata
- PhotoPass Pictures – While I would like to think that I get great shots all the time, the truth is, I am never in those shots. This is where PhotoPass comes into play. We consistently order the CD and get as many pictures taken as possible. This allows me to be a part of the action, as well as get someone else's perspective on what is going on or what is behind us. Also, with some of the “special” shots that the photographers have, you can easily have some great keepsakes or conversation pieces. A great tip: Not only will the PhotoPass photographers use your camera to take shots, but if you tell them that you pre-ordered the CD, some of them will go the extra mile to take a lot of extra shots using some of their own creativity.
- Video recording – Yes, this is a staple of our vacation, as well. And for me, I love to play writer, producer, director, and editor to come up with some real interesting movies of our vacation. The key is to get many different shots and be creative. Interview your kids and get their perspective of whats going on. Zoom in on the action. Get many shots of the characters and the parks. Use the video as a timeline of your trip. Don’t worry about getting every shot, but make every shot count. The zoom can be your friend when it comes to getting some great candid video of your kids interacting with characters as well. Extra bonus: My video camera also takes 6 MP Photos and does great night shots and I can take photos while video recording. Needless to say, I have my share of photographic moments.
When we get home, my wife starts her project: creating a photo book which uses a large number of the shots we took. This is her form of digital scrapbooking and she loves to get creative with it. One book for a single trip was more than 300 pages long and had 1,100 pictures. It was awesome. At the same time, I load all the videos into my computer and take the next month or so looking through all the material and thinking about how I can make this something my friends and family would want to watch.
I will be the first to admit – I am obsessed with taking pictures while on vacation. In fact, I consider the purchase of my first digital camera many years ago one of the best decisions I ever made. I went from being very careful about my photography choices to taking more pictures per hour than any other person I know. Though, over the years, I started to replace quality of pictures over sheer quantity. After all, one of these days I want to use some of these shots to embarrass them on their wedding day!
Parenting in the Parks columnist Adrienne Krock’s three boys are now 12, 10, and 7. They’ve been visiting Disneyland since they were each just weeks old and Annual Passholders since their 3rd birthdays. Adrienne writes:
In my other life, I am a Creative Memories Consultant: Photos are really, really important to me. Really.
When we visited Walt Disney World, I loved using PhotoPass. Before the trip, I knew I would want to purchase the PhotoPass CD and with that in mind, we stopped for PhotoPass photographers right and left, We have wonderful photos from those opportunities! We stopped for family portraits with photographers at the “Big Weenies” in every park. (Weenie refers to the visual icons in the parks, such as the castles, Spaceship Earth, the Tree of Life, the Sorcerer’s Hat, and Grizzly Peak.) Most of the character meet and greets had PhotoPass photographers available, as well. This allowed me to focus on the moment and the joy of my children, instead of staying trapped behind the camera.
“The Krock Pots” pose for a family portrait at Disney's Hollywood Studios, one of Adrienne's favorite pictures. Photo Pass photographers can capture wonderful shots with your personal camera as well as the photos they take. Photo by Adrienne KrockMy very favorite Photo Pass spot was at Test Track, where we captured our ride photo on our PhotoPass card. When we came home, I edited some of the photos to add frames and such. Now I have all of those photos on my computer and have used them over and over again on digital layouts, which I have framed, holiday cards, and even message board avatars.
That said, I rarely use PhotoPass at my home park, Disneyland. For as frequently as we visit, we rarely stop for PhotoPass photos and it takes too long to accumulate enough to make a CD a good value for our family.
I try to mix up the photos with candids and posed pictures. Over Labor Day weekend, my husband and I completed the Disneyland Half-Marathon. I love the picture of my family in front of the castle with our medals. We can remember the pride of our accomplishment and the family time we spent together that weekend. Getting posed pictures at the parks chronicles our growing family. Over the years we can compare the photos. We see the children grow and how their personalities evolve through their expressions and poses. Will our youngest be looking at the camera this time or will he be annoyed by the camera and burying his head in his hands? (That one can be temperamental about the camera.) Will the middle one smile this time or pout and look annoyed? Did the eldest grow out of that habit of sticking his thumbs up in every picture?
When a child feels less than cooperative about smiling or posing for a photo opportunity, one strategy is to turn the children around and take the picture from behind them. Can you tell which one of these precious pumpkins is the middle of a crab fest? Photo by Adrienne KrockAnd because the boys can run hot and cold with posed pictures, I also love seeing candid shots, but I find myself less skilled at taking those. My poor children are so conditioned that whenever they see the camera, they automatically pose. So with that said, my goal is to improve as a candid photographer. Wish me luck.
MousePlanet columnist Chris Barry, his wife Diane, 11-year-old Samantha, and twin 8-year-olds, Casey and Alex, live on Long Island and are all major Disney and Walt Disney World fans. Chris writes:
First of all, we have tons of pictures of our Walt Disney World trips. So many pictures that we’ve lost track of lots of them. That’s the trouble with the digital age. They’re on the main computer in the house. They’re on the laptop as well. But are they printed? Most of the time, that answer is, “No.” And I hate that. So, it’s something that I vow to change. I need to get us some more photo albums, print the pictures from each trip, and create a new album for each journey. Once again, it’s the curse of the digital age. But I intend to do so…one of these days.
Video is another story. I used to bring the video camera down to Disney with us and I used to shoot lots of video. When the kids were younger, it was a must. I had to have those early interactions with their favorite characters, when you could still get that gleam in their eyes. Every so often, we’ll go back and look at them, but not so much anymore. Still, they’re great to have. Nowadays with most cameras and our iPhone capable of taking decent videos, there’s not such a need to bring along a video camera. As a matter of fact, I think it’s been several years, since I trucked one along.
This could be anywhere, but it screams The Polynesian to me. Photo by Chris Barry.As far as type of photo, my wife pointed out the following to me after returning from a Walt Disney World vacation, “OK, I’d like you to take more than just pictures of the kids with characters.” As we were looking through the memories of that last trip, we realized that 905 of the photos had the kids and some character in them. We had to swear to the grandparents that there was a whole lot more to the trip than just meeting characters. You wouldn’t think so if you looked at that lot of photos though. So, on subsequent trips, I’ve started making a conscious effort to take lots of different pictures both of the kids and my wife and our surroundings, really capturing everything there is to see at Walt Disney World. I have to admit, I’ve enjoyed doing so, and have really enjoyed the results. Lately, the emphasis has been more candids…less poses and we’ve got some great shots of our family really experiencing the place.
A picture of Samantha taking pictures at Epcot's La Hacienda de San Angel. Photo by Chris Barry.The other thing that has been so nice over the last few years is my daughter taking her own pictures. She has a decent small Nikon point-and-shoot camera that she received from the grandparents as a Christmas present several years back. It’s been a pleasure to see things from her perspective and what things she thinks are worthy of stopping and photographing. She’s developed quite an eye and I love the details that she’s been observing and capturing. Inevitably, if we turn around and realize she has lagged behind, it’s because she is off on the side taking a picture of some great Disney detail. I’m quite proud of her photos and have started using many of them in my MousePlanet articles. My suggestion is to make a small investment, even a throwaway camera for your child, and see what they come up with.
As far as PhotoPass goes, we have definitely used it over the years. Not so much really. We have had many photos taken and let many of them lapse. I think the cost of a simple 4-by-6 is a little prohibitive most of the time. The few ones that I have actually purchased over the years have been a few family shots that I otherwise never would have gotten and a wonderful one of my wife and myself alone on our “grown-ups only” trip. I always get a PhotoPass card. They’re free. I let them take all the pictures they want. That’s free also. I just haven’t found myself purchasing many of them. But, it’s certainly worth the time to let a good Disney photographer have their crack at capturing a moment. There’s a great set of shots from our most recent trip on the bridge to Tomorrowland from The Hub with the daytime show’s fireworks going off above our heads that I really love. If my boys were only smiling…I might actually purchase that one. Oh well, there’s always next trip.
Jenny is a former theme park employee, avid Disney fan(atic), and an at-home mom to two Disney vets (5- and 4-years-old.) Jenny writes:
I love taking pictures at Disneyland. Photography is a mini-hobby of mine, and I often bring my DSLR camera with me to Disneyland. I love the backdrop that it provides for capturing many memories of my kids; so many colors, characters, and kids's expressions. I seem to have the ever-growing collection of photos of the kids at Disneyland. But I really enjoy looking back at all of the pictures, seeing them “grow up” through the magic of Disney. The first memories usually include my son or daughter clapping along to the music at It's a Small World. We have also eaten at Ariel's Grotto more times than I should count, so I have an impressive collection of Disney Princess pictures (not sure my son likes this as much as his sister and I do.)
I love the idea of the PhotoPass, and often I try to start a card. But somehow, I haven't completely grasped the idea of going mostly with the PhotoPass photographers. The kids don't really like posing for pictures and I have to sneak candid shots of them, and there usually isn't a PhotoPass photographer nearby when I would want one. I was impressed with the PhotoPass photographers at Walt Disney World's Blizzard Beach. They seemed to be in great spots (at the end of the zip line for example), and secured a pass with a rubber band to each of my kids' wrists. Very convenient, though I still haven't gone online to look at them. It is definitely convenient to have the PhotoPass service, but I will admit that I don't really purchase any prints due to the cost.
I have so many photos taken of Disneyland, that I really need to figure out a nice way to print or display them. This is my problem with all things related to photography. I have many images, and no prints. I would love to put together a collage of pictures showing how the kids are changing and growing. I am sure I have enough photos of my kids on the carousel to show a nice age progression. I would also love to look through my parents' photos to find pictures of me at Disneyland as a child, and recreate some using my kids. Now all I need is some time to do it.
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