This is another entry in Carmi Levy’s Thematic Photographic: Orange. Here’s how it works.

But, what about the pictures.

Sure there are the mandatory shots of your kids and Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Shrek.  The ones of the little one throwing up after that Woody Woodpecker roller coaster she just had to go on.  But, what about the cool ones.  That one great shot you know is hiding somewhere behind the castle at Magic Kingdom, or on Animal Kingdom’s safari.

My family and I went to Florida a couple of weeks ago and, in addition to the mandatory snapshots, I wanted to try for something a little different.  Something out of the ordinary. I’m not quite sure whether I succeeded, but here are some tips you can try to get the most out of your trip.

• Pick a theme. I had been thinking about this for a while, but it was only after a few days that it struck me.  What’s the one thing you can find in abundance at Disney World?  People taking pictures.  So why not take pictures of people taking pictures.  That was my theme.  You could try that, or pick something else: birds, souvenirs, people with funny hats, people drinking water, Disney characters, anything green, roller coasters, feet.  The possibilities are endless.
• Treat the scenery as real.  There’s lots of wonderful scenery at Disney World and Universal Studios, but a lot of it is “fake.”  The Expedition Everest roller coaster for example, or the Lost Continent at Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure.  When framing your shot, try to capture it as if you were really at Everest, or that you really were in some lost land where they carved a waterfall out of some guy’s mouth.
• Lines, Curves & Patterns.  There are plenty of lines and curves on the roads, monorail tracks, roller coasters etc.  Try to highlight the curves and lines themselves, rather than the shooting the big picture of the ride itself.  The many gift shops are a treasure trove of repeating patterns: Mickey Mouse pencils, spiderman statues, princesses with pretty dresses.  Use your imagination.  Use your flash.  Open your aperture wide wide for nice bokeh or small for razor sharpness through and through.
• Wildlife.There are so many animals around Orlando, from the seagulls and other birds you find just about everywhere, to the tigers, elephants and pink flamingos at Animal Kingdom.  Get group shots.  Use your longest lens to zoom in on an elephants eye, or a tigers stripe.  No one has to know you’re not out in the jungle, if you frame your shot right.  Also, look for animals doing unusual things.  I got some pictures of a hungry bird going after the french fries a young family left on top of a child’s stroller. They weren’t great shots, but they were fun.
• Angles and closeups. Take pictures of parts of things.  Get close in to the design of a building.  Find out what makes it interesting and then shoot away, getting it from different angles.  Zoom right in on the window and then pull back to see if you get anything interesting.

• Street photography.  If you’re kind of shy about taking pictures of people walking down the street, then you needn’t worry at Disney.  Everyone and their mother has a camera there.  Everyone is taking pictures of someone.  You’ll fit right in.  Just position yourself somewhere you think might be interesting –  at the exit of a roller coaster, for example — and start shooting.  Please use common sense when taking these kinds of pictures.  Not everyone likes having pictures taken of themselves or their children.

While you’re looking for all the great shots, don’t forget to take plenty of shots of the family having fun and posing. Don’t be shy to ask someone else to take a picture of your whole family in front of some attraction or exhibit or event, just offer to do the same thing for them, in return.  When trying to find the right person to ask, I first looked for someone with a Nikon dSLR.  If there were none around, I looked next for a Canon shooter, then any other dSLR user and lastly a point and shooter.  If the person you ask doesn’t have the same kind of camera as you do, just quickly and pleasantly point out what you expect them to do (wide shot, closeup etc.) and let them know how to zoom.

Also, get the whole family into taking pictures.  My son seems to enjoy photography, so I’ve been teaching him and my daughter the ropes.  They both jump at the chance to take a picture of the mom and dad or mom, dad and the other sibling.