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Baby Rabies

pregnancy & parenting

  • Start Here
    • About Baby Rabies
    • Baby Registry Top Picks
    • Favorite Pregnancy Apps
  • The Book
  • Pregnancy
    • Birth Stories
    • Perinatal Mood Disorders
  • Parenthood
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • School Age Kids
    • Parenting LOLZ
  • Photography
    • Photography

      6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were…

      February 11, 2019

      Photography

      Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your…

      December 13, 2018

      Photography

      I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is…

      December 6, 2018

      Photography

      Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great…

      November 27, 2018

      Photography

      Learn How To Take And Edit Photos On…

      November 19, 2018

  • Reviews
    • Reviews

      The Answer To Last Minute Holiday Gifting For…

      December 19, 2018

      Reviews

      I Was Never A Barbie Girl Until Now

      October 1, 2018

      Reviews

      Finally! Jeans For My Jean-Averse Kids!

      August 22, 2018

      Reviews

      If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage…

      August 13, 2018

      Reviews

      Nobody Tell My Kids ABC Mouse Is Part…

      September 4, 2017

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Magic Kingdom

What I Would & Wouldn’t Do Again At Disney World
PhotographyReviewsSchool Age DaysTravel

What I Would & Wouldn’t Do Again At Disney World

by Jill June 1, 2014
written by Jill

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Lessons learned for me going forward because yes, I definitely want to go back. Soon!

Here are some things I would do again:

  • Schedule our nice meal for late in the day- We had dinner reservations at 8:50 at the Crystal Palace where we got to have a relaxing dinner after a lonnnnnng day, and were visited by Winnie The Pooh and friends. We could see the Electric Parade outside our window as we ate, and the Wishes fireworks started up just as we were leaving. I’ve also heard great things about starting with a character breakfast because you can get into the park early, but I don’t know if we would have been able to keep Kendall’s curiosity and excitement levels down long enough to enjoy something like that first thing in the day.

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  • Skip fireworks and parades for extra ride time- I mentioned in my previous post that we didn’t go out of our way to get good seats or even see most of the parades. Our walk from the Crystal Palace to Space Mountain during the Wishes fireworks actually gave us amazing views of the show, putting us nearly right under Tinkerbell as she flew away from the castle. At one point, we stopped in a clearing next to a roped off area where people paid extra money for great views during the show! By the time we got to Space Mountain, Kendall had seen plenty of fireworks and there was zero line to get on the ride.
  • Book another character meal- In general, we were pretty happy with the character meal experience. It’s costly (over $100 for 2 adults, 1 child), but it was a wonderful, relaxing change of pace. We got great pictures, and the food was really wonderful. Next time, I think we’ll go for Cinderella’s Royal Table.
  • Use one Fast Pass for character meeting of choice- We used one Fast Pass to meet Mickey. I really, really wanted to get just one picture with Mickey. It’s not even something Kendall wanted to do, but something I know he’ll look back on in 20 years and be glad we have… I think? The thing is, the lines for character meetings seemed pretty long, and there wasn’t much at the end of that long line that would thrill a 6 year old boy, you know? So I’m glad we were able to just walk up and get pictures with Mickey, then leave 15 minutes later. It was a “Humor me, kid” kind of thing. And bless his heart, he did his best. Mickey asked us to fly like Peter Pan. Kendall gives no craps about Peter Pan. It was a little awkward for all of us.

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  • Rent a stroller- My mom and I kept saying over and over, “Thank God for this stroller.” It was helpful for more than just toting a sometimes cranky 6 year old around in. We used it to keep our drinks and phones handy in the console bar. We kept stuff in the basket below. And we were able to move much quicker through the park to make Fast Pass times with Kendall in it. Renting was such a lovely luxury. Orlando Stroller Rentals dropped it off at our Disney Resort and picked it up there, too. It was clean, it was comfortable, it was easy to fold, and I didn’t have to take it on or off an airplane.
  • Pre-buy souvenirs and Disney Pins to trade– you can read more about all of that in my Inexpensive Souvenirs That Rock post.
  • Use time in line for rides to re-apply sunscreen– This is a benefit to keeping sunscreen in the bag you’ll keep with you at all times. You can read more about how we packed what we packed in this post.
  • Build in time to enjoy our resort- We stayed at Coronado Springs, and they had a fantastic pool and outdoor area. I’m so glad we took some time to enjoy it 2 of the days we were there. It’s entirely possible to have an amazing time without even having tickets to a park for a day.

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Here are some things I might not do again:

  • Not study the maps enough- We wandered around way more than we should have. I made the mistake of not studying the park map much before we got there. I wish I would have come up with a basic plan of attack, even just planning our Fast Passes in a way that made sense and didn’t have us criss-crossing all over. I wanted to be flexible and follow my son’s lead, but we spend a lot of time looking for things.
  • Purchase Memory Maker for a trip shorter than 3 or 4 days- I give a full review of Memory Maker in my Disney Photography Tips post. The short of it is it wasn’t worth it for only 2 days, especially since I had my DSLR with me, and the cast member photographers will take pictures with your camera if you ask them.
  • Pass up the dining plan- After looking at how much we spent on food at the parks, and how much the Disney Dining Plan costs, I think we’d be wise to take advantage of it next time.
  • Forget my external phone charger-  I burned through battery on my iPhone super fast, but I had a plan for that. I bought an external, portable iPhone charger… which I left in the hotel. AGH! On one hand, it helped me stay present in the moment, but on the other it made getting separated from my mom a little scary.
  • Ride rides like It’s A Small World or Peter Pan’s Flight instead of thrill rides- We began the day with low-key rides like these because I wasn’t sure how well my 6 year old would handle roller coasters. I think he yawned his way through Peter Pan’s Flight, and It’s A Small World bored him as much as it creeped me out. Then I took him on Splash Mountain and everything changed. One little taste of the thrill and he was hooked. It was all coasters, all day from that point. I wish we would have done more.

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That does it for my Disney Tips Series! Here are the other 4 posts in the series, in case you missed them (or forgot to pin them).

PackingForDisneyWorld

Tips For Packing For Disney World 

InexpensiveDisneySovenirs

Inexpensive Disney Souvenirs That Rock

BeyondThePrincessesDisneyTips
Tips For A Disney Experience Beyond Princesses

ComeHomeWithGreatDisneyPics

How To Get Great Pictures At Disney World 

 

June 1, 2014 10 comments
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How To Get Great Pictures At Disney World
PhotographyPopular PostsReviewsSchool Age DaysTravel

How To Get Great Pictures At Disney World

by Jill May 30, 2014
written by Jill

ComeHomeWithGreatDisneyPics

I took my 6 year old son and my mom on a short trip to Disney World last week, and came home with a notebook full of tips and tricks I wrote down on the flight back. Mostly, I wanted to remind myself of these things because I definitely want to go back soon, but also because I wanted to share them with y’all.

I’m breaking it up into a series of posts, starting with one of my favorite topics- photography. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you get the best pictures you can while visiting. (Most of these pics were taken at the Magic Kingdom, but these tips can be applied throughout the parks.)

Getting The Perfect Castle Shot
(Or Epcot Ball, or any other kind of popular landmark)

Unless you get to the park super early before most of the crowd gets there (like Extra Magic Hours), there are going to be a lot of people on Main Street. At Magic Kingdom (MK), there are photographers lined up and down Main Street, taking pictures with their cameras and yours if you ask. Don’t wait in a long line for the first photographer you see. Walk a little further and you’ll find more.

The problem with these pics is you’re going to end up with a lot of random people in the background. And then you get to choose if you want the man’s crotch behind your smiling kid, or the girl in the short shorts.

wd014wdw201413976371660This pic was taken by the park photog with their camera, but I edited the digital download. 

You can head to the right of the castle and you’ll find another photographer set up. There’s a garden immediately behind this spot, so there won’t be any random people right behind you. You’ll see the crowds in the background, though. Again, this photographer will take a picture with your camera if you ask them.

wd024wdw201413976386490Taken by park photog with their camera, edited by me.

Now that is worlds better than the Main Street pic, if you ask me, but I found my favorite spot was just a little farther past that one in the Rose Garden.

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There are no official photographers set up here (or there weren’t when I was there, and they aren’t marked as such on the map), so you need to have your own camera. As you can see, though, you are far enough from the castle to easily fit your subject in the foreground and the castle in the background with no random people behind you. Bonus points for pretty flowers.

Keep this same line of thinking in mind for other landmarks/attractions. Oftentimes the most popular, iconic spot to take the picture is going to be the hardest place to get the shot you want. Try to find quiet spots far enough away, but with a clear view of it.

Remove Random People From Your Photos

Say you happen to get the almost perfect shot with the exception of those few people you don’t know in the background.

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My friend Megan told me about Retouchup.com, and I was able to get them to do a little Photoshop magic to this pic, leaving me with this.

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Because I opened a professional photography account with them, I got a credit for one free retouch, but even if I had to pay the $10 regular fee for this, that would have been well worth it! Anyone can utilize their services, pro or not.

Beyond “Smile for the camera!”

Kendall quickly grew tired of standing still for pics and smiling. His energy levels were off the charts. There were things to do!

You probably saw in the pictures above that he’s posing gleefully with a $12 bubble gun we bought (cash only) from a street cart at MK. It was the best $12 we spent.

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I got some of my favorite shots of him while he thought he was simply playing around. Plus, BUBBLES! They make for fun pictures.

When I wanted a picture of him and me, I asked him to hold up his Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom cards (these are free and part of a fun game!).

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A giant lollipop can also make a great prop. What kid isn’t smiling with this thing in their hands?

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Keep Your Equipment Simple

The following few tips won’t really pertain to those of you working with a point & shoot or camera phone, but be sure to check out my review of the park photogs and Memory Maker at the bottom of the post.

Those of you planning to bring your SLRs, the first bit of advice I’d offer is to not feel like you need to lug your very best (and heaviest and most expensive) lenses with you around the park. I got all of these shots with only my 40mm pancake lens on my Canon 6D. You can read more about my love for my pancake lens here. Maybe consider bringing wide-angle, fisheye, and macro lenses for your phone (like these) to get a few fun shots.

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Custom White Balance or Kelvin Makes a Big Difference

I’ve been teaching myself Kelvin white balance lately, and it’s amazing how great the colors are in my pictures SOOC when I get it right. When you’re in a place where the lighting won’t change much, try to set a custom WB (using a grey card) or set it according to Kelvin.

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Simplify Your Settings

One of my favorite ways to shoot in manual when I know the lighting conditions won’t change too drastically, especially when outside, is to set my ISO and a good aperture for the number of people I plan on shooting (200 and 3.2 for the picture below), then just use my shutter wheel to achieve proper exposure (1/200). Just be mindful not to drop your shutter speed too low. I rarely go below 1/160. If you find you need to go lower for proper exposure, up your ISO.

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This way I’m not missing out on the action by switching my settings too much.

Also, don’t be afraid to utilize this technique in low light settings by bumping your ISO way up and opening your aperture up if you need to, and if your camera/lens can handle it.

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About Memory Maker and The Park Photogs

Before our trip,  I paid $150 for an advance purchase of Memory Maker. It allows me to have access to a hi-res digital file of every pic the park photographers took of us, including park rides. After watching the sales video, I was under the impression there would be many roaming photographers throughout the park who we could stop and have take our picture in addition to those stationed at the usual places. I also thought they’d be at the character dinner we booked.

It’s very possible I did not read all the fine print and my assumptions were just that- assumptions and not fact. That said, I was pretty disappointed that we didn’t run across any roaming photographers, there was no official photographer accompanying the characters at our dinner at the Crystal Palace, and there were only a few rides that offered ride photos (Thunder Mountain- Kendall’s first roller coaster- being one that doesn’t).

IMG_3125Thank goodness I had my own camera for this. The lighting wouldn’t have been good in the Crystal Palace for an iPhone pic, and the characters didn’t have cast member photographers with them.

As a photographer myself, and having my own camera with me at the time, the photos I did get through them weren’t anything better than what I could have got myself, or had the photographers take with my camera.

wd048wdw201414076667441I mean….  (Taken by park photog with their camera.)

And since we were only there for 2 days, and digital downloads are $15 each, I barely justified the cost because there were barely 10 pictures that were good enough to save and print.

THAT SAID…

I do still think it can be a good thing to have, and I’ll likely buy it again if/when we visit for a week or more. At that point, I think we’ll at least have 10 ride photos we’d want to download, and it will be nice as a backup in case I decide I don’t want to or suddenly can’t bring my fancy camera to a park.

The cool thing about the digital downloads versus buying the physical prints is if you have a little photo-editing knowledge, you can enhance them so you highlight the people you actually know riding the rides and sharpen them up a bit.

wd032wdw201413976446450Before editing

wd031wdw201413976446450After editing (Also? OUR FACES.)

wd033wdw201414076549362Before edit (notice my death grip)

wd034wdw201414076549362After (death grip still there, background mess is gone)

That was all mostly achieved with burn and dodge brushes in Lightroom, some sharpening, some clarity, a little contrast, and some vignetting.

Remember To Experience It Without A Lens

Maybe one of the best things to happen to me that day was my iPhone died. I wasn’t able to take a billion iPhone pics and stop to Instagram them. I was mindful about when I took pics with my DSLR and put it away when Kendall became visibly irritated.

There will be so many moments you’ll want to burn into your memory forever that you’ll never be able to capture them all with a camera. Come to terms with that before you even get there. Have a priority list of a few things you definitely want to highlight, and be on the lookout for fun moments (like the bubble gun in the rose garden!) that you can easily capture without stopping the fun.

Then put it away. Enjoy. Take it in with your eyes, not your lens.

Stay tuned for more Disney tips, coming soon!

May 30, 2014 27 comments
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Photography

It’s A Small, Terrifying World

by Jill May 28, 2014
written by Jill

I’ve been MIA because last week was bananas. The short story is I spent the first half of the week at Disney World (!!!111) and the second half of the week at my mom’s wedding (!1111!!1).

So yeah. Someone pass the coffee. And some crack? Just kidding, prescription pills will do.

I have a gift for you! And by “gift” I mean something that will haunt you forever. Because it’s not a trip to Disney without a ride on It’s A Small World, you know. So of course I documented it, and am here to share it, but this time in black and white.

If you think the full-color version of this ride is freaky, these black & white photos are post-apocalyptic. Just imagine, if you will, a world where we’re all running from zombies, and some of us are forced to take cover inside the It’s A Small World ride. The water is stagnant, and you never know if that noise you just heard, or those eyes you see peering at you are animatronic or the walking-dead.

God help us if the music is still playing.

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It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears… and also a world burned to the ground from the rage beams shooting from this sun. Run, hula girls, run.

Except don’t. Please don’t.

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It’s a world of hopes… like I hope you’re not shooting tranquilizer darts with that.

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IT’S A WORLD OF FEARS.

That is the only lyric that needs to be sung. The entire ride should just be to the sound of a million tiny dolls and clowns that swoop down over the top of you (so don’t look up!) singing…

It’s a world of fears
It’s a world of fears
It’s a world of fears
IT’S A WORLD OF FEARS
Fear, fear, fear
Fear, fear, fear
Fear us all
Fear, fear, fear
We will kill you
Fear, fear, fearrrrrrr

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There’s so much that we share…. like heads attached to bodies and what would happen if these were actually blades. Is this the Small World decapitation station?

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And it’s time we’re aware…. that even the clock on this ride is terrifying.

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It’s a small world after all!

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Good bye forever.

It'sASmallWorldFear

May 28, 2014 22 comments
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