Welcome! 

Hi 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 

Personal Photo Galleries 

I find such inspiration from viewing other people's photos and there are some really gorgeous Disney World photos online. Follow these links to some of my favorite online photo galleries.

When you visit galleries that you like, give them a pat on the back by clicking on the little triangle next to their name.

Please feel free to add links to your favorite Disney World photo galleries.

Add to this list

Grab this list

Get the RSS feed: Keep an eye on this Plexo list. See who wins. And who's left in the dirt.

Get the widget: Add this Plexo list as a widget on your blog, site, forum, whatever. Be an influential. Show off your great find.

Get this on my lens: Attack of the clones! Grab this Plexo module for your own lens. Get YOUR readers to vote for their favorites.

• Add to Bloglines
• Add to My Yahoo
• Add to Google
• Add to Technorati
• Add to NewsGator
• Add to My MSN
• Grab the XML

Please pick your widget size and display. Then click "Make the Widget" to get the code that's just right for you.

Pick your widget size:

Small size: Best for blog sidebars, and areas 250 pixels or less
Standard size: Best for blog posts, and areas greater than 250 pixels wide

How many list items to show? 5 10 15 All

Make the Widget!

Voila: Just copy and paste this code into your own site. Have fun!

Oopsey! Please login to Squidoo in order to add this module to your lens.

Add more links    Submit

Type or paste links below (one per line):
(Ex: http://www.cuteoverload.com) Help me find links

Done Adding

Cancel

Picture This! 

AllEars.Net Photoblog

AllEars has a great new 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.

Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

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.



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 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

Deciding 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 

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.

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 

• Photo Tips #1 - The Basics
• Photo Tips #2 - Better Framing for People Shots
• Photo Tips #3 - Low Light Photos
• Photo Tips #4 - Perspective
• Photo Tips #5 - Photographing Characters
  
  Frank has a site where you can see some of his photographs: MckyFoto's Disney Photography

Disney Photography Communities 

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 

THE books to buy! 

There are lots of books you could buy - believe me, I have plenty! These are my current favorites.

Understanding Exposure: H...

The Photoshop CS2 Book fo...

Scott Kelby's 7-Point Sys...

The Digital Photography B...

The Digital Photography B...

Wallpapers 

Free Disney World Photo Gifts for Your Desktop

There'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!

One Great Idea! 

I just thought this was such a great idea - click on the photo below to see it larger. What a creative way to use character autographs.

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.

Disney Cameras 

These little cameras are so cute!

Camera 35mm disney princess

Price: $14.98

35mm Disney Princess camera. Capture the moment in high style! Camera is dressed up with portraits of 4 royals and a glittery beaded wrist strap. Feat... more »

35mm Disney Princess camera. Capture the moment in high style! Camera is dressed up with portraits of 4 royals and a glittery beaded wrist strap. Features a large viewfinder and shutter button with built-in flash. Plastic, 5x312"H. Uses 1 AA battery (not incl.), but we do include a 24-exposure roll of Kodak Color film. Ages 3 and up.

Disney Pix Micro - Princess

Price: $19.99

This is the perfect camera to hook on your backpack and go! Be ready to take pictures at any time, and photos are easily downloaded into your computer... more »

This is the perfect camera to hook on your backpack and go! Be ready to take pictures at any time, and photos are easily downloaded into your computer with Disney Pix photo-editing software, which helps you get the most out of your photos and graphics. Yo

Tinker Bell Pix-Click Digital Camera

Price: $49.99

The first affordable camera for kids of all ages. Photos are easily downloaded into your computer! Get creative with Disney Pix photo editing software... more »

The first affordable camera for kids of all ages. Photos are easily downloaded into your computer! Get creative with Disney Pix photo editing software, customizing your pictures with Disney characters, stamps, frames and more. Includes camera, strap, soft

Princess Pix-Click Digital Camera

Price: $49.99

The first affordable camera for kids of all ages. Photos are easily downloaded into your computer! Get creative with Disney Pix photo editing software... more »

The first affordable camera for kids of all ages. Photos are easily downloaded into your computer! Get creative with Disney Pix photo editing software, customizing your pictures with Disney characters, stamps, frames and more. Includes camera, strap, soft

Tips and Tutorials 

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

Now 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 

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!

Shutterbug

PCPhoto

Digital Photo Pro

Popular Photography & Ima...

Outdoor Photographer

Website and Group Galleries 

Many 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.

• Focus on Disney World Flickr Group
  This flickr group is the official meeting place for people who enjoy this lens. Please stop by and say hello. We have thousands of photos, with new ones being added everyday. We'd love to see yours!
• AllEarsNet Photo of the Week
• Tagrel Photo Galleries
• Walt Disney World Flickr Group
• The Gallery at Mousetyme Vacations
• Mouse Pal's Photo Page
• The Magic in Pixels
• WDWPhotos
• DIS Community Photos
• DIS Boards Photo Thread List
• Disney World & Orlando Unofficial Online Guide
• SmugMug Disney Community

Gallery Searches 

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.

Adobe Photoshop CS3

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Upgra...

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom...

Adobe Photoshop Elements...

Magic Kingdom 

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!

PioneerMarketer What a fantastic site! I also have a Disney lens, no where as good as this one but I offer some great deals, Check it out... http://www.squidoo.com/disneyworldsavings Posted April 29, 2008

EliteClubs This lens is great, very informative, thank you. Eliteclubs Email Marketing Elite Posted April 17, 2008

Jobanjo Fab lens! :) Posted April 16, 2008

YouCanCallMeDan Lots of useful information... Great job on your lens!!! Thanks for sharing... Posted April 13, 2008

Lin Fabulous lens! Very well done. 5 stars! Posted April 12, 2008

 

Next Page

1 of 22 pages

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...

Although 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!



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.