5 Tips For Great Disney Pictures!

April 8, 2008

Sitting in our hotel room at the Old Key West Resort at Disney World, I thought I’d compile some useful tips for getting great pictures at Disney (plus two secret ones!)

Any Disney trip is a wonderful occasion, and our first trip with the two boys was even more so. And with the constant rush of park hopping, eating, and having fun, it’s easy to quickly snap pictures and then wonder later why they didn’t turn out too great. Here are some Disney baby photography tips I came up with over the last few days. You can click each image to see a larger version.

1. Follow The Park Photographers

Each park has a legion of park photographers running around with Nikon or Canon gear to take your portrait and sell it to you (at a nice markup, I might add). One trick I learned is to watch them and see what locations they shoot at - you will get some ideas that you might not have thought of (like this shot of my wife in a shadowed area near Cinderella’s Castle.)

2. Keep The Flash On

Any time that you are shooting outside in strong sun, it’s a good idea to keep the flash for your camera set to On (rather than Auto). This helps get rid of the strong shadows produced by the sun, and also helps fill in areas darkened by equipment/etc.

For example, without the flash the entire right side of the face in this shot would be dark. Just enough flash was added to give a little fill to the face. By setting the flash to On, I told the camera to use the flash rather than hoping it made the right decision.

3. Use Every Available Camera

During a stroll through the Italy section of Epcot, I found this nice little alley, but our camera was back in the room. Luckily, I had the iPhone with me and was able to take this picture. It’s by no means perfect, but I would rather have it then nothing at all!

Be aware of every piece of gear you have that can take a picture, and be sure to check your video camera - many offer a still photo mode that takes decent pictures. It’s much better than trying to grab a still image from a movie you recorded.

4. Find Shots Without Disney Clutter

Try to find shots that don’t have the visual clutter (people, signs, etc) that you expect to see at Disney. This shot at Animal Kingdom is a great example. I tried to frame the image to avoid nearby signs, and except for that lamp on the right middle side, I am pretty happy with it! I can easily fix that lamp in Photoshop later, but by taking the time to frame the shot this way, I’ve saved time down the road.

5. Get Guaranteed Face Time

If you want guaranteed face time with Disney characters, nothing beats the character breakfast at The Contemporary Resort. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto visit each table and will pose for pictures with each person there if requested. It’s much better than running around the park trying to find them.

Reservations are required, so look into it when you book your trip.

* Super Secret Bonus Tip *

It’s the Year of a Million Dreams at Disney which means that they are giving away stuff every day. Want to increase your odds on some great Disney swag? Keep a look out for employees walking through the park with clipboards. They are actively looking for people to give things to. Maybe you could try walking by them while saying ‘I sure would love to stay in Cinderella’s Castle for the night!’. Let me know if it works!

* Super Secret Bonus Tip 2 *

If it’s your child’s first visit, be sure to grab a ‘First Visit’ pin for them from your hotel. Have them wear it around the park, and this may increase the chances of them being noticed even more!

I hope these baby photography tips have been helpful! Have you discovered any great Disney photo tips that you would like to share? Leave them in the comments below!