The Shooting Gallery: Tips for Great Carnival Shots

Step right up and see all of the tips and tricks you need to capture the grand prize: awesome carnival shots!

Carnivals are a great time for everyone. They’re a magical place filled with delicious, deep-fried junk food, crazy, dangerous rides, impossible to win games, and entertainment designed to take your whole family’s money. It’s also a fantastic time to take some amazing Lomo shots! Here are some tips to make sure you get your shots straight to the handpicked section!

First off some warnings.

• Keep a good grip on your valuable camera equipment; especially if you take them on the rides. Getting a hand strap or neck strap could be a good purchase.
• Also, stay hydrated and wear plenty of sunscreen. It can get hot out there during the day waiting for that perfect shot!
• Avoid creeper carney status and don’t linger too long around any single ride.

Start your carnival adventures bright and early. This will allow you to get some colorful shots with beautiful blue skies as the background. Walk around the carnival and get to know the rides. Find out what the best angles for photographing each attraction. There’s always a lot of misc stuff in the way like trash cans, telephone poles, and fences around that could mess up that perfect shot. So, feel free to walk around and scout out that perfect spot. 

Bad examples …good luck getting these ones handpicked!

It’s generally very sunny during these hot summer carnival days, so use 100 iso film. That way, you can capture all the details and colors around the fair. But, don’t limit yourself to the rides. Be sure to take advantage of all the colors and action at the carney booths and get a shot of all the games and prizes too.

Now, the real magic happens at night when the sun goes down and the lights turn on! Start off with a distant shot to really capture the whole carnival. 

Then go in for the grand prize! Having a tripod really helps for shooting long exposure night shots at the carnival, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry, just take a deep breath and hold still for your shots. 100 iso is still your friend for these long exposure night shots. Pick your target and choose the bulb stetting on your camera. Try holding the shutter down for few different lengths. These shots were between 1 and 4 seconds long. The longer you hold it down and steady, the crazier the shot will be for sure!

Another great film for these night shot is the Lomo Redscale 50-100. This film gives an amazing burning look when shot at iso 50 and works great for long exposure night shots. Definitely pack a roll or 2 of this film with you.

Black and white film also gives fun results too, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Finally, some other things to try.

• Take shots while you’re on the rides! The ferris wheel is a great opportunity to get that birds eye view.
• Try using some cotton candy as a filter for some “sweet” shots.
• And, if you’re feeling really lucky you could try to win a prize at a carney booth!

작성자 sixsixty 작성일 2012-08-02 카테고리 #gear #튜토리얼 #night #carnival #fair #rides #slide #long-exposure #tips #lights #camera #neon #roller #games #ferris-wheel #coaster #tipster #prizes #swings #the-shooting-gallery-series