When you travel to any of the Disney parks your best (and most frugal) souvenirs are your photos (see our Vacation Photo Scavenger Hunt Ideas post too). Disney is filled with wonderful scenery to use as photo backdrops. Make the most of them! Here are some tips and ideas to ensure your photos truly capture the magic of your Disney vacation:
Disney Photo Tips
- Don’t just stand in front of things. Interact with your environment, ham it up, strike a funny pose.
- Kodak Picture Spot signs are there to indicate traditional poses. Great! However, branch out and don’t just pose in the most obvious way.
- There is no charge to use Disney’s Photo Pass. If you register online, you’ll get to see all of the photos the Disney photographers take for you. Disney Photo Pass photos run around $16 for an 8×10, or $14 for two 4x6s. What’s nice is that in doing this, you can get every family member in the shot. BUT… here’s the best tip. If you ask, they will also take photos with YOUR camera. So, you’ve got the photo on your camera and a backup if it doesn’t turn out.
- Night time is one of the best times to take photos at Disney Parks. That’s when the castle is lit up and the fireworks shows go on, among other great shots. Before you leave home, practice in taking shots with low light. If you have a DSLR, you may want to purchase an external flash for the hot shoe in your camera (I wish I had). The built-in flash on your camera is almost always too harsh. Experiment with the TV settings on your camera to get the maximum amount of light in, without being too blurry.
- Don’t have a fancy camera? Use your phone paired with great photo apps like Instagram, Pic Jointer, and Labelbox to create fun, memorable images.
50 Disney Photo Tips and Ideas
- A photo of the moment you tell the kids they’re going to Disney
- The night before
- In the plane or car on the way there
- The lobby of your hotel
- The front of your hotel
- Inside your room
- In front of the Disney Castle (Get the whole family in the shot with the help of a Disney Photo Pass photographer)
- Eating your favorite Disney snack
- Flowers at Magic Kingdom entrance
- The park bench in Magic Kingdom with Roy and Minnie
- With a Disney character (plus your kids’ reactions to the character)
- In front of your favorite ride
- Riding the teacups at Magic Kingdom
- In the stockade in Liberty Square
- By the wooden Indian in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom
- Getting splashed on Splash Mountain (there is a bridge from which you can get a great shot with a zoom lens)
- A parade
- A fireworks show
- Waiting in line
- Wearing 3-D glasses
- A hidden Mickey
- A huge bunch of balloons (from a low perspective looking up)
- Kids looking out from behind a totem pole or pillar
- Near the troll inside the shop in the Norway Pavillion
- Wearing funny hats
- By the Viking in the Norway village at EPCOT
- On the bridge overlooking the Eiffel Tower at EPCOT
- In front of the fountain in the Italy Pavillion at EPCOT
- Spaceship Earth at EPCOT (trying to lift it)
- Ham it up for the cameras on the roller coasters
- Haunted Mansion (in black and white)
- In front of Sorcerer Mickey’s hat at Disney Hollywood Studios
- The Tower of Terror at Disney Hollywood Studios
- With the San Francisco street set in the background at Disney Hollywood
- By the big sniffing dog nose in the “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” Movie Set Adventure
- The storefront windows in Animal Kingdom
- Kilamanjaro Safari animals
- The Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom
- Use Expedition Everest as a backdrop at Animal Kingdom
- The prayer flags at Animal Kingdom
- Street lamps at night
- A candid photo of the kids fighting (nothing is perfect, even at Disney!)
- From the ground looking up
- Your transportation
- The monorail at Epcot with Spaceship Earth in the background
- You and hubby dancing in front of the castle (or him kissing you on the cheek)
- Take the same pose of the kids every time you go
- Recreate your own childhood photo
- If you’re familiar with Photoshop, you can create fun poses like the one above with Tinker Bell in front of the castle in Magic Kingdom
- On the way home
More Disney Photos:
I love the effect with Tinkerbell on the opening photo. Could you instruct me how can I do something like that in my Disney photos?
Hi Stephanie – Come join our forum discussion about Disney Photos. That’s where I give more info on the Tinkerbell photo. 🙂
Also with the characters- child’s face as they realize they are next, child and character hugging, child watching signature. And have the child do something silly with the character (like kiss mickey on the nose, or let Cinderella kiss their cheek). And one more thing- if you ask any Photopass photographer where they recommend a good photo or a unique one most of them will tell you, and they have some awesome ideas. (Trust me- I was a Photopass Photographer ; ) )
Great tips, KD! (Those are my initials too!)
This is a great list of photo ideas. How did you fill the airplane photo with words? Is that an app?
Nevermind – I found it.
How did you fill the airplane photo with words?
It’s an app called WordFoto.
Coming from someone who has teens, I totally recommend the redoing old pictures! I found a picture of my daughter from her first trip to WDW with her best friend and wondered if I could convince them to redo it. They loved the idea and when we went on our recent trip, they tried to pose exactly right, and they did! I still have it in a photo frame, it had been 11 years(they were 5 in the first, and 16 in the second) and they were still BFFs! Now we always redo some older picture on our trips to the happiest place on earth!
Great idea!!
Where is that pic with the small flags taken?
I’m trying to subscribe but your site is not accepting my email below, maybe it will go through here and you can add me?
Thanks!