Disney Parks and Beyond - A Disney podcast for all things Disney

Photography in the Florida Theme Parks

Hello again, that Florida guy here!

In my years trawling Florida/Orlando related forums, and also the main Facebook group I'm involved with (Orlando Uncovered) the same topic comes up time & time again...

Photography...

In this blog i talk about different camera's, in park photography, and park photographers. 


Now I don't proclaim to be an expert or professional by any means, but I do have a little bit knowledge I'd like to pass on to you guys in case you'd like to take some awesome photos at the parks, or just general photos of your holiday.

Like you, I also started off not knowing how to get the best out of my holiday snaps. For most people going to Florida is a once in a lifetime event, and you don't want to come back with bad photo's now do you?

The first camera we took on holiday was a typical £60 Argos bargain. The Photos looked fine on the tiny view finder, but when I got home, I plugged the memory card into the laptop and they didn't look so great when bigger. Oh well no point crying about it now, but I decided I'd do something about it for next years holiday.

I set out to find an affordable camera which was still good in quality. I found a Samsung WB110F Bridge camera. It was fantastic compared to my old one. it had a 30x zoom, great viewfinder, and also had wifi so I could send photos to my iPhone or send an email direct from the camera. WOW!

(Samsung WB110F Bridge camera)






That year we took it to Florida and the quality was so much different. I could zoom so far into things as the photos were great. we paid £120 for the camera and is an older model now so should be slightly cheaper. this is great even if your a beginner as its a point and shoot camera.





GoPro 

That same year we were sitting waiting for our flight home looking around the shops. I spotted a GoPro camera. I'd seen people walking around the parks with them and wondered what they were.
I had a quick look and thought how could something so small have such good quality. Anyway I arrived back in the UK and began researching them. Some of the videos i saw on youtube shot from a GoPro were amazing. I decided i needed one!

The best thing about a GoPro is its waterproof.

The newest model at the time was the GoPro hero 3+, and I opted for the silver edition, Black edition being the top end model which is more pricey.

It Was ages before I could take it away again so began learning the in's and out's of the camera so id be ready for it when i returned to florida.

I'd also bought a lot of accsesories to take with me which I'll show you below. 


LCD add on screen
 GoPro wifi remote to control the camera with 
 spare batteries & charging dock 



As well as these I also have a extendable stick which can be known as a selfie stick. I have a chest mount & head mount, both which I use when on rides in the theme park for some great action footage, or mainly use the head strap when I'm shooting under water at discovery cove or a water park. I also do have a floaty hand grip which if you happen to leave go will make your GoPro float to the top of the water instead of it sinking.

Here are some under water shots I got on holiday.



Some From above the water








My Present Camera 


Now that I have  started a YouTube channel, the GoPro just was not going to do. I found the most popular camera for videoing or Vlogging was a canon power shot G7X. (pictured below)






This camera is great for vlogging as it has a flip screen so you can see yourself in the shot. This is also a great feature for getting photos of yourself at the parks!

I am still learning the camera as its more advanced with loads of manual settings etc. At the moment I have it on auto until I learn how to use it properly. It's more pricey at just shy of £400 but the quality of the photos is amazing as well as the quality of the videos.


If you don't want take your own photos


If you don't want to take your own photos in the parks that's fine. There is plenty of photographers around the parks who will be willing to take your photo. They will even take it on your camera or phone as well as a professional shot on their camera. 

At Walt Disney world There are photographers all over at the best photo locations. They can also add a bit of magic to your shots with digital characters placed in the photo

The photo package at WDW is called Memory Makers. It now comes free with the UK ticket so make sure you get the most out of it. You like it to your magic band or park tickets. Once your photo has been taken they simply scan your band or card and you can view your photo on the my disney experience app or online or one of the Photo pass kiosks.


Universal studios have the same sort of Photo package but I found there is not as many locations for photos and not many photographers around. you pay for the universal photo package. below I will show you some photos from both packages so you can see the quality of shots you get.





Above are the Disney Memory Maker Photo's

Below are Universal Studio's photo Connect 










So that's it for this blog. If you have any more questions on park photography or anything else Florida related, you can find me on twitter @thatfloridaguy1

Please check my youtube channel at:


My spreadshirt shop










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