General Tripod Do's and Don't's

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dishippy

Member
So I hope this is the right area for this post. If not I do apologize. What I'd like to pose to everyone is all about Tripods. The basic do's and don't's about having a tripod in the park. How often do you bring your tripod in the parks? When do you use it? Are there any unofficial rules of thumb to follow with having a tripod in the parks?

I know I will be doing a lot of photo experimentation on my next trip since it will be my first trip with a DSLR. I will be taking a lot of HDR and I've heard you really should use a tripod when shooting HDR. Can you take HDR shots without a tripod, or is it too difficult. I just don't want to be that guy setting up a tripod in the middle of the day when that's not something that's done. Know what I mean? Now that this post is incredibly hard to follow, I will leave it at that. Thanks in advance. ; ;D
 
I only use a tripod at WDW for night and fireworks photography. ; Rule of thumb for fireworks is to set up early. ; Even then be prepared for people to crowd you. ; If photographing during the day, just use common sense and setup your tripod out of the way. ; You don't want people tripping over it.

You can take bracketed photos for HDR hand held as long as the image with the slowest shutter isn't too bad. Best as they say with a tripod.

If you are at a park all day, consider renting a locker (except for the Magic Kingdom, ask for a large locker) to store the tripod when you won't be using it.
 
I bring a tripod usually 2 days out of 4 on average - sometimes I go late afternoon and bring it for night shooting, sometimes I bring it the whole day. ; I've carried it around the parks, and left it in a locker, depending on my needs. ; I've used them daytime and nighttime, though mostly night.

My basic advice...and this is just me speaking with my own peculiarities, so no judgements on anyone who does differently!!:

I tend to judge setting up the tripod on the traffic flow...it's not a set procedure. ; If the crowds are fairly light, I have no problem setting up in the middle of a walkway area...if the crowds are heavy, I tend to have a general courteousness and set up to the side or behind some object so I am not blocking folks from going about their business. ; Mainly, I like to set up on the backside of some structure - such as behind a statue, behind a tree, behind a sign, behind a cart...let something else be the impediment, and me just hiding in its shadow taking my shot. ; I've even used the Disney photopass guys as a blocker...setting up just behind them when they're shooting, but facing the opposite direction (though that has caused me to be asked several times if I was a Photopass photographer). ; Otherwise, I like to set up out of the main traffic channels. ; That I believe would be the main rule of thumb - just don't make yourself a nuisance to too many others, or you may be asked to fold up and get out of the way. ; The lighter the crowd where you are, the more you can get away with setting up 'in the middle'.

Yes, you generally should use a tripod when taking multiple exposures to use for HDR. ; Even the absolutely smallest changes to your angle, distance, etc will become quite annoying when trying to stack and align those frames for HDR. ; Set up on a tripod, and don't move ANYTHING! ; Lock down good - you don't want the camera to move 3mm left, or the zoom to be pushed out 1/2mm...everything should stay identical between frames. ; Also, try to be cognizant of wind - windy days make for difficult stacking for HDR if there are any trees, flags, banners, etc in the shot...because they'll be moving differently in each frame. ; It won't hurt you for buildings and such...but just keep that in mind. ; And remember, unless your tripod is mondo-huge with a massive head mounted to it, it will likely fit in one of the Disney lockers at the front of the parks. ; So if you are unsure about bringing the tripod because you're only going to use it at night and don't want to lug it around all day, the lockers can solve that issue.
 
I would add "Expect other guests to bump into your tripod, especially for fireworks shows"

Even if you try to guard it. ; And block the legs. ; And use natural features for your advantage (trolley tracks, fences, bushes, etc)

And also expect at least one "Are you a Photopass photographer..." question.
 
dont worry about where is the right place to ask a question here! :)

I shot all of my day hdr handheld. my camera will auto-bracket, then I set it on continous high speed, and use the same technique as a long exposure handheld shot; elbows in, controlled breathing, very steady, put the bags down, and concentrate! its usually over in less than a second :) plus, hdr programs usually auto align. I have one of mine blown up to 20x30 and its perfect even at that size.
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good luck & have fun!
 
The only time that I have used a tripod in the parks has been at night and at Pixelmania!. ; Otherwise, depending on the time of year you are there, the crowds are a little too crazy I think for putting a tripod up.
 
Another thing to try is using one of the GorillaPods. ; I had a knock-off version of one that I loved. ; I could wrap it tight to a fence and shoot the fireworks without having a tripod to be tripped over. ; Being flexible I could also setup on trash cans, benches, etc. and still be somewhat out of the way. ; Other than that, I have a compact tripod that will fit into my back pack and is very light weight. ; I just started using on this past year at PixelMania and used it mainly for night shots. ; Setting up late at fireworks, I had to use it as a monopod as space was tight, but if set up early enough I have had not problems (but keep a tight rein on the camera in case of kicks and trips).
 
Thank you everyone for the great advice. I really just want to be prepared for this upcoming trip so I can focus on shooting rather than whether or not I'm being "that guy" setting up a tripod in the middle of things. I figured of course that the common sense rule applied, I just wanted to see what other with more experience do in these situations. I figure what I will probably end up doing is getting an SLR Gorillapod for any daytime needs because it just logically seems like an easy pod to carry and set up/break down, and I would save some money on the locker. Then I can take my tripod into the parks at night as we usually split off to a different park in the evening.

As far as the HDR goes, I should be (hopefully) getting my camera soon so that I have ample time to get used to shooting HDR. I think gauging my and my new SLR's abilities will help a whole lot. As well as with just shooting with an SLR. We have a road trip planned to Colorado this summer to go camping and the plan is to get it before then so I can get some good SLR self training in before the Disney trip next spring. I want to get in as much shooting in between now and then since we don't make it to the parks nearly as much as I would like (last trip was in 2008). I'm sure that will change when I get my SLR too. ; :)

As for the tripod, I was doing a little shopping around on Adorama and B & H and found one that may be a good fit for me. I honestly don't know what I should or shouldn't be looking for. But here's a link to the page of one I found. Let me know what you think and thanks again.

http://www.adorama.com/Als/ProductPage/VNLUXIMK.html
 
"Roger" said:
And also expect at least one "Are you a Photopass photographer..." question.
Click to expand...

if i had a nickel for every time i have been asked that...

btw, apparently the new photopass costume is board shorts, a mickey t-shirt, and backward phillies hat with a TMIP lanyard. ; :D
 
"Tim" said:
btw, apparently the new photopass costume is board shorts, a mickey t-shirt, and backward phillies hat with a TMIP lanyard. ; :D
Click to expand...

You should sue them for copyright infringement! ; ;D
 
"Tim" said:
dishippy...

check out the "official" tmip tripod setup...
Click to expand...

I know this is probably an easy question but just to clarify, I can get that tripod and use it without the ball head right? I will eventually save up for a ball head but the tripod's the important thing right now. Then saving for my Disney trip of course! ; ;D Also Tim, have you ever had or messed with a Gorillapod. If so, any thoughts. Logically speaking it looks like a great option but I don't want to waste a lot of money on it if it doesn't work like it should.
 
The best advice I learned here was to use natural features in the park instead of a tripod (for many circumstances).
 
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