Photos of Walt Disney World Dining

Ah...the Walt Disney World vacation photo album. Here's Johnny meeting Mickey for the first time. Here's Susie's first sighting of the castle. Here's the firework show bursting over the lagoon at Epcot. Here's that delicious pasta dish Mom ordered for dinner.

Wait a second...pasta? In a photo album?

With the universal popularity of digital cameras, there is no more "wasting film" on all the extra memories of a vacation. And as the web offers more and more information for vacation planning, travelers are "hungry" for details. This includes menus, prices and even photos of food items found on Disney property. Message boards like www.disboards.com and www.passporter.com feature threads with photos of everything from kiosk snacks to five diamond meals. It may seem crazy, but food photos are becoming more and more popular. So if you're looking to join the foodie bandwagon and get your own culinary memories, how do you get the best shots? Read on...

Using flash. Try this: get five inches away from a friend's hand. Now take a photo using the flash. Chances are very good you'll end up with a washed out slightly hand shaped object. The same holds true for dining photos, particularly when the dishes are white or light colored. How to avoid the "blow out" look? Make use of the zoon feature and stay back a good 18 inches or more. The flash will light up a larger area and you'll end up with a good shot of the food and not of the flash.

Positioning. If the object is on a plate, make sure you rotate the plate to the most appealing angle. If the item is in a glass or cup (think milkshakes or adult beverages) try to get a shot from the side and again from a slight elevation on the side so you get not only the glass, but also the drink from the top. If you're trying for a hand held treat (ice cream bars, lollipops, churros) have a friend hold the object out from their body and focus on the item from there. Get some background in the shot or focus primarily on the food, your choice.

Background. While the trend for food shots is to get the details of the edibles, scrapbookers may be more interested in the memory and less on the food. Have fun experimenting with backgrounds to show the restaurant, park, and friends and family when you take the shot. This can make it more about the experience and less about the food itself. And the opposite holds true. If you're focusing primarily on the food, set your center to really showcase the details.

Close ups. Some foods are made for a close up shot. Using your zoom to its closest setting works really well with cartons of popcorn or handmade fudge or candies. Dessert samplers with a lot of detail work look great when you take a photo of the whole thing and then zoom on each individual mini dessert. When do close-ups not work? When you cut out a large part of the item and therefore miss some details. When your goal is to showcase the food item and not to take an artsy photo, this super close up may turn up lacking.

Buffets. Shots of the food on the buffet? Looks good. Shots of the food mushed up on a plate? Not so much.

Food photos may be an unusual way to preserve vacation memories, but if you enjoy sharing detailed trip planning information online or creating interesting and unique scrapbook pages, taking a few shots of your Disney dining may be in order. And make sure to check out the disboards and passporter for ideas to enhance your own planning and get you started on some ideas.