Great Disney World Photos

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 136 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #14 in Travel, #828 overall

Whether you are a Disney fan, a photography buff or both - grab yourself a refreshing beverage and spend some time hanging out here. I've put together a lens to seriously distract you from anything productive that you had planned to do today!

Everything here is designed to inspire, entertain and even educate you. So just give in to temptation and enjoy yourself. Think of it as a mini vacation - you know you need one!

Note: Except for the section titles, all blue text on this page is a link to somewhere else, even if it isn't underlined. The content on this lens was last updated on 11/17/09.

Welcome! 

Mickey and Minnie Perform at the Magic KingdomHi everyone! Welcome to Great Disney World Photos. I'm so glad you've come to visit!

Digital photography is taking the world by storm - Disney World that is. Seems like everyone has a digital camera these days - me included. Not that long ago, I upgraded from a point and shoot to a DSLR.

In my quest to learn how to use my camera to its fullest potential, I have come across an unbelievable amount of information on the web. Much has been extremely helpful and inspiring, while some has been, well, not. This lens was born out of a desire to share the best of what I've found with other people interested in Disney World photography. I hope you like it.

Resort Areas 

curated content from Flickr

Get Your 2010 WDW Calendar Now! 

This 2010 calendar of images from the Walt Disney World Resort features my photography. Proceeds from the sale of this calendar will benefit Deb Wills' Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Just click on the calendar photo to preview or purchase.

2010 Focus on Disney World Calendar

Picture This! 

AllEars.Net Photoblog

DonaldAllEars has a great photoblog called Picture This!

Check out the photos and tips from Scott, Lisa and none other than yours truly - me that is! Every Sunday I post a new "Where in the World?" contest.

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Photographing Fireworks 

Disney World has absolutely beautiful fireworks shows at Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Probably the most frequently asked question regarding taking photos in WDW is "How do I take good fireworks pictures?" Here are my recommendations.

Illuminations

1. Pick a good location to shoot from. Choose a spot that is upwind from where the fireworks will be set off so that the smoke blows away from you and out of your photograph. Remember that the fireworks will explode high in the sky, so be sure to look up when choosing your spot. Make sure that your view will not be blocked by trees, buildings or giant torches.

2. Use a tripod. It's the only way to be sure you will get a sharp picture. Even better, combine the tripod with a remote shutter release.

3. Turn your flash off. The only thing it's going to light is the back of the head of the person in front of you - not exactly the effect you're going for!

4. Use the right settings. If you have a point and shoot with a fireworks setting on your camera, use that. If not, set your camera to landscape. If you can manually set your camera, the following settings are a good place to start: ISO 100, 2-3 second shutter, aperture f8-f16.

5. Take lots of photos. After the first few, take a look to make sure you're getting what you want. Now enjoy the show!

For more tips check out the links below.
Fireworks and Nightime Long Exposures
These tips for getting good fireworks and nightime shots are written specifically for taking pictures in the Disney parks.
11 Tips for Sparkling Fireworks Photos
Here's Photojojo's recommendations for taking great fireworks shots.
How to Photograph Fireworks
Improve your results with Digital Photography School's tips.
IllumiNations Smoke Direction Forecast
Here's a handy way to predict the wind direction on Showcase Lagoon at Epcot. You can even view it on your mobile device when you're at the park!

Photography and Camera Services at WDW 

PhotoPass Logo
PhotoPass Info
Everything you always wanted to know about Disney's PhotoPass. Once again, the best information to be found comes from Deb Wills!
Disney's PhotoPass Login Page
View and print your PhotoPass photos here and share your photos with friends and family. Now Disney's PhotoPass site has just become even better! Use your own photos or PhotoPass photos to make wonderful Disney themed photo books, movies and cards.
Digital Photo Downloads
Will answers the question of how to download or print pictures from a digital camera while at Disney World.
Internet Access
For those of you that can't wait to upload your photos to the internet, here's info on how to get connected at the World.

Choosing the Right Equipment 

By Tom in Poughkeepsie

DSC_0050Deciding which camera is right for you can be an overwhelming task. It often helps to read reviews and be able to compare camera features. There are several web sites which not only provide reviews and side-by-side comparisons, but also provide glossaries, tutorials, and other information that can be very helpful for someone new to digital photography. Here are some of my favorites.
Steve's DigiCams
Steve's site has an extensive set of reviews that are in layman's terms and easy to read.
Digital Photography Review
The reviews on this site tend to be much more technically detailed, but I prefer its side-by-side comparison capabilities over Steve's.
Digital Camera Resource Page
In addition to useful camera reviews, the Buyer's Guide on this site includes the author's own camera recommendations within various price ranges, as well as shopping tips when looking for a new camera.

Epcot 

curated content from Flickr

WDW Photo Cards and Prints 

Customize these cards with your own message

I just opened a shop on Zazzle and have been busy creating cards and prints with some of my favorite scenes from the Disney World resort area. Here are just a couple of the 80 or so cards and postcards you will find there - and more are being added all the time. You can even customize your card with your own personalized greeting before ordering. Visit the Focus on Disney World Store to see all the latest cards and prints for sale.
Beautiful Bird from Animal Kingdom Flower Baskets in Germany, Epcot
2/20/07 Update: Today I received an order of cards from my Zazzle store. I wanted to check out the quality of the printing and I am very pleased. They are quite nice, much better than cards from another online seller that I have used. I got samples of the postcards and both sizes of note cards and they all look great.

Tips for Better Disney Park Photos 

I recently came across these tips from Frank Anzalone. Frank is a Staff Writer on MousePlanet and a past official photographer for Disney Magazine. Although most of his photos are from Disneyland, not Disney World, he has some great tips for taking better photos no matter what resort you are vacationing at.

Disney Photography Communities 

Lighthouse

Connect with other Disney World fans interested in photography.
Tagrel's Photography Around the World Board
Without a doubt, Tagrel is THE friendliest, and funniest, Disney online community there is! This is my favorite photography board. Come on over and say hello.
DIS Photography Board
Just try to keep up with all the posts on this bustling forum! A great place to hang out and talk photography at WDW. These folks are very helpful.
The Magic in Pixels Discussion Forums
This popular board was launched by Tim Devine. It's loaded with photos and chatter about Disney photography.
WDWMagic's Digital Media Forums
Photo albums, contests, tips and techniques to discuss with other Disney photography enthusiasts. These forums are listed as private so you will need to log in to view them.

Animal Kingdom 

curated content from Flickr

THE books to buy! 

Wallpapers 

Free Disney World Photo Gifts for Your Desktop

Buzz LightyearThere's nothing like a beautiful Disney World photo on your computer screen to take your mind off your work and whisk you away to the most magical place on earth.

Disney World wallpapers may not be good productivity tools but they sure are nice to look at when we're stuck at the computer.

Here are some sites I have found to jazz up your desktop. If you know of others, please email me and I will link to them here.
Desktops@Rocket9.net
Bernie offers up some beautiful shots from Disney Parks in Florida and California. Be sure to take a look, you won't be disappointed. These high quality photos are available in four sizes.
Downloads for Your Desktop
More free wallpaper photos from the folks at Mouse for Less. This page includes instructions for installing the photos as your wallpaper. You can even send them one of your own photos to share.
WDWLIVE
This new site posts a new wallpaper/photo every day. There are some real beauties here.
Started by a Mouse
Tons of great wallpapers here!

Photo Storage & Sharing Sites 

People are always asking for the best place to share photos online. The truth is it really depends on what you are looking for. There are all kinds of places to upload your photos to share, each with a little different twist. Some are free and others collect fees. Some are built on the community concept with ways for viewers to add comments and rate photos. Some offer a way to purchase products with photos on them, like t-shirts or cards. Depending on how you want to use or show your photos, you may even decide to have galleries or albums on more than one site.

If you want to see MANY of the possibilities available check out this lens. It has links to more than 100 different sites where you can upload, store and share your photos.

Right now, my favorite site is flickr. I love the community aspect of it and you can't beat the price - free! A pro account is only $25 per year for unlimited storage.

The other sites that I most often see recommended are PBase and smugmug. They are both fee-based.

Tips and Tutorials 

Daylight Tomorrowland

There's always something new to learn about photography and editing. These tutorials are great, free references for increasing your knowledge.
Digital Photography School
This is a great place to learn about digital photography. It's a wonderful blog with new lessons added each week. The articles are well written and easy to follow and the photos are beautiful. They've also have a discussion forum.
Cambridge in Colour
Excellent photography and Photoshop tutorials. Be sure to check out his gallery of Cambridge photos as well - they're beautiful.
good-tutorials
A link list of tutorials from lots of different sources. They are rated by viewers to easily identify the best of the bunch.
Learn Photography
Kelly Grannell's popular tutorial. Her no-nonsense approach to teaching is both refreshing and entertaining.
Lifehacker
Often tech-related, Lifehacker is full of tips to make life easier - from building your own solar-powered generator to quitting a nail-biting habit. This link goes directly to their digital photography articles .
Photojojo
PhotojojoNow that we all have digital cameras we also have more photos than we know what to do with! Check out this site for some great tips on all kinds of fun photo projects.
Everything Photography
Photography lenses on Squidoo are a great place to gain new information, shop for equipment and see some fabulous photographers' work showcased. The Everything Photography group headquarters is a perfect starting place with more than 60 lenses amongst its ranks.

3/1/07 Update: Great Disney World Photos was voted February Lens of the Month on Everything Photography and there's a short interview with yours truly!
Disney Photography Tips
Mark Barbieri started this thread on the DIS with tips, requests for tips, and questions about the tips - all related to taking great shots in the Disney Parks.

Disney's Hollywood Studios 

curated content from Flickr

Photography Magazines 

Need some inspiration? Want to learn a new technique? Looking for some new equipment? These magazines will give you plenty to drool over!

Website and Group Galleries 

Village BeatnikMany Disney fan websites now have photo galleries built into their sites. Some sites are totally devoted to WDW photos. Here is a link list to some of the best that I have discovered.

Gallery Searches 

Polynesian Resort Lobby

I've done a few searches to find Disney World photos on different photo sharing sites. Here are the results - happy viewing!

ps - try your own searches with more specific words like EPCOT, Mickey Mouse or Tower of Terror.
smugmug
keyword: Disney World
photobucket
keyword: Disney World
flickr
keyword: Disney World
PBase
keyword: Disney

Photoshop Editing Software 

Once you get hooked on digital photography it won't take but a minute before you find that you just can't live without some good editing software. There are lots of companies with products out there but my recommendation is Adobe. They have set the industry standard for editing and graphic design software and have software designed for amatuers and professionals alike.

Magic Kingdom 

curated content from Flickr

Please Sign My Guestbook 

Do you have ideas for what I should include on this lens? Want to leave a comment? Just click on the "submit your own blurb" button below.

I do appreciate comments of all kinds and love when people add links to their Disney and/or photography lenses and websites. However, I will no longer approve posts that advertise unrelated sites and pages.

Readers - click on any commenter's name to see a list of all their lenses. I always do - there are some great lenses out there!

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Pass the Word! 

PhotographyVoter
If you like this lens, please take a moment to vote for it on PhotographyVoter so that more people will find it. Thanks!

A Collaborative Project 

I'll get by with a little help from my friends...

Totem PolesAlthough I have a big interest in photography, I'm definately no expert on the subject. In fact, I'm just beginning to cut my teeth really! I've decided that rather than make stuff up (which I have no problem doing by the way!) that I'd like to invite members of the community to help fashion the content for this lens.

I learn so much from you all every day and I'd like to share it here. If you'd like to contribute some tips, a "how to" article or some recommendations that you have please send me an email. It can be anything you think others would find useful and it can be as short or as long as you want.

Tom in Poughkeepsie contributed some great information on Choosing the Right Equipment.

Some Parting Notes... 

All the photos featured on this lens were taken by me at Disney World (unless otherwise noted) and most were taken with a Nikon D50. I just recently upgraded to a D300 and can't wait to go back to Disney World to try it out there!

Main Street at Night

Thanks for visiting! The next time you need a little distraction in your day come on back to see what's new. And in the meantime, check out my other Disney World lenses at Focus on Disney World.

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by Barrie

Hi there! My name is Barrie and I live in Portland, Oregon. I'm a big Disney World fan. I try to make the long trek from the Pacific Northwest at leas...

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