So, you want to plan a photography trip to a Disney park. Awesome! Whether this is a family vacation and you want to make sure you are prepared for any photography that comes up or maybe you are taking a trip just for photography. We have compiled a full page of resources that should help you plan your trip, what to take and tips for when you are there.

Equipment you don’t want to forget!

• DSLR or Point and Shoot Camera (you guys figured that one out on your own, didn’t ya?)
• Extra Camera Batteries (14 hour days of shooting can wear batteries down, trust us)
• Lenses for DSLR shooters
• Filters (Neutral Density, Polarizer, Graduated Filters)
• Tripod
• Remote Shutter Release (shouldn’t shoot fireworks without one)
• Memory Cards (notice how it is plural, always have more than one spare)
• Lens Cloth (especially during the humid summer months when your lens will fog up just from walking out of your hotel room!)
• Camera Bag
• Laptop
• External Hard Drive (bringing one of these gives you two places to put photos in case one hard drive blows up on you)
• Card Reader
• USB Cables

Few suggestions that will help you during your lovely 14 hour days of shooting

• Comfy Shoes and Socks (these will save your life out there in the wild)
• Baseball Hat (good protection from the sun, and can be used for the Country Shutter technique during fireworks)

Be prepared by doing your research before leaving

When getting ready for a Disney Photography Trip, there are a few other things to consider. Check park hours so you know when all the parades and fireworks are. Also check to see when Extra Magic Hours are. If a park has early or late hours, chances are it will be more crowded than the other parks that day, so it might be wise as a photographer to use the shorter operating hours of the other parks to your advantage. You can still get those great shots at closing with no people in them, but also get to bed a few hours earlier before the next day of shooting!

Where you stay really doesn’t effect your photography if you stay at Walt Disney World. You can either rent a car, or you can use the Disney Transportation System. Even if you leave a park two to three hours after closing, Disney will have a bus there that can take you back to your resort. If you aren’t staying at a WDW resort, renting a car will definitely be necessary. At Disneyland, if you stay close enough to the resort, whether you are on or off property, the location of your hotel will not effect your photography. If you stay at a Disney resort or one of the nearby hotels on South Harbor Blvd., you will be in walking distance from both Disneyland and California Adventure, so no worries there. If you stay a few miles away, it might be best to rent a car instead of dealing with the Anaheim Resort Transit system, which we’ve heard nightmares about.

You don’t need to shoot alone when at Disney

One last thing to do before heading out on your Disney Photography Trip is to go online and find out if anyone else from the Disney Photo Community will be there! We’ve all made great friendships and had lots of fun in the parks with people we hadn’t ever met before. So before you go, let people know by posting in our discussion forums, on your Flickr posts, or your Twitter feed. You’ll be happy you did!

That’s about it from a planning standpoint.

Here are some past articles that will help you

Good photography tips that will work for your trip

Getting Ready – Photography can start from the minute you book your trip

Lighten Up! Traveling to Disney with just one lens – Larry makes the point of forgetting all your gear and traveling with one lens on your next Disney trip

Flash in the Park: Part One

Flash in the Park: Part Two

You don’t need to be a professional photographer at Disney World

Composition

Having people in the shot is not always a bad thing

Through the eyes of a child – Having a child with you should not stop you from shooting, in fact you should be shooting more!

A Matter Of Inches… – Take a minute to look at your surroundings and make sure you have the best composition, a few inches can make a difference!

Photography 101 Teaching Articles

Photographing Disney Night Parades – Great tips to capture Main Street Electrical Parade

10 Rules for WDW Family Photography – Traveling with your family? Tom Bricker offers some excellent tips for great family photography at Walt Disney World and Disneyland

Shooting Disney Dark Rides – 3 Part Series – They are not easy and usually require specific gear, but Todd gives an incredible three part tutorial on how to capture photos in your favorite dark rides. Once you are done reading this you will be ready to photograph Haunted Mansion, Pirates and Spaceship Earth. Not sure if anything will actually help you photograph Peter Pan besides the ride stopping!

Disney World Fireworks Photography 101 – How to Photograph Fireworks – Matt Pasant wrote a great introduction to photographing fireworks and the settings you should know in order to get started. If you enjoy this article, then check out out eBook, Fireworks Photography, as we go into great details on photographing fireworks.