Photography is known to be a creative art form. The artist evocates their vision in the form of a photograph; it can either be conceptual, with the viewer deriving their own meaning from it or just emphasizing the subject. This is known as fine art photography and is meant to really move audiences.
Combine fine art photography with the concept of Disney, and you will get a fantastical result. This is because Disney epitomizes dreams. So, it’s only natural for artists and subjects to take stunning photos inspired by this magical land.
With fine art techniques, Disney-inspired images can be made all the more mesmerizing. This guide will elaborate on all you need to know about taking Disney-inspired fine art photos.
What Is Fine Art Photography?
Fine art photography creates images that align with the photographer or the artist’s creative vision. These images are taken to express the artist’s emotions, thoughts, or ideas. It’s the opposite of representational photography, where the objective reality of specific events and subjects is visually documented.
What Is Disney Fine Art Photography?
Disney inspired fine art photography combines the magical elements of Disney, the mass media company, and fine art, which results in spectacular, mystical, and emotional photos. These images reflect emotions and allow the artists to use their pictures to reimagine classic Disney stories. With this type of photography, you can use your images to deliver a fresh perspective on renowned ideas.
The best part of Disney’s fine art photography is the photographers’ freedom to turn their vision into reality. By using props, different lighting setups and modifiers, different lenses, costumes, aesthetic backgrounds, and editing, the outcome can be very dreamy and enchanting.
The Disney princess theme, castles, sparkle, and glow are what is needed for this photography type. This is why it is usually used for wedding and engagement photography sessions.
Tips For Disney Inspired Fine Art Photography
Fine art photography empowers photographers to capture images and share their unique points of view. If you want to immerse in Disney fine art photography, you can capture images of landscapes, clients’ portraits, and abstract images. Here are ways how you can capture such images and give them a Disney twist:
01. Landscape Photos
Landscape photos, as the name suggests, refer to those where the background and scenery are important. When it comes to Disney-style fine art images, taking landscape photographs is an excellent idea.
You will have more space to capture a Disney-inspired or related background, emphasizing the fun magical vibe. Here are a few locations to consider for Disney fine art landscape photography:
Sedona, Arizona
Sedona is a desert city known for being scenic. It’s also the inspiration behind Disneyland’s famous Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride. The sky is known to be reddish there, which they beautifully adapted to the ride. It’s a phenomenal backdrop if you want to capture stunning fine art photos with a Disney twist.
Cadillac Ranch
In Amarillo, Texas, you can find a public art installation called Cadillac Ranch, where you’ll find a row of cars all tipped over. Disney California Adventure has paid homage to their Radiator Springs Racers mountain range. This is a great place to select if you’re looking for a truly magnificent and unreal-looking setting for your photography session.
Millennium Biltmore Hotel
In Downtown Los Angeles you will find the Historic-Cultural Monument that becomes the hallmark for the glamor and glitz of Walt Disney World’s The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. It’s the perfect background for landscape shots with Disney fine art styling.
02. Portrait Photos
In fine art, portraits are meant to be intentional and/or conceptual. These wouldn’t encompass, for example, headshots taken for business websites. Moreover, when you combine that with the Disney aesthetic, photographers have the leeway to capture fantastical portraits that seem almost otherworldly.
There are several ways to achieve this, for example:
- Use lots of soft lighting
- Soft textures such as lots of frills and cloth
- Sparkly accessories
- Editing software
03. Abstract Photos
Abstract photos are meant to convey a message subtly or in a way that is open to interpretation. These can also be completely random at the discretion of the photographer, who just wants to create a specific aesthetic. A very famous, classic Disney-inspired, fine art abstract photo type makes use of firecrackers.
You can make shapes or write words with the lit firecracker. Then, capture the image using a slow shutter speed in a dimly lit setting. It seems very natural but is a creative and magical way to convey the message.
The best part about abstract photography is the freedom to experiment and use lots of props, so go wild with it!
Tips To Take Magical Disney Photos
When you first think of Disney, you think of magic and adventure. It’s all about uplifting stories, inspiration, fun, and love. To capture truly magnificent Disney fine art photos, here are some things to keep in mind:
01. Build a Cohesive Portfolio
When pitching to clients, you must prove that you are skilled at that particular style. You need to find opportunities that allow you to create a distinct and cohesive portfolio solely relating to Disney art photography.
Moreover, since props, lots of lights, and magical backgrounds are encouraged, take full advantage and take experimental photos in all settings.
02. Take Inspiration from Popular Photographers
Disney is such a universal phenomenon that it has trickled into pop-culture references in many capacities. Many famous photographers have done Disney-inspired shoots, such as:
Annie Leibovitz: She took photos of famous celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Queen Latifah, and Russell Brand portrayed as Disney characters. They had all the props, settings, costumes, and graphics needed to stay true to the character and accurately represent them.
Tom Bricker: He’s an up-and-coming professional photographer focusing on Disney-related landscapes.
Mark Willard: A published photographer, Willard’s proficient at taking Disney fine art close-ups, landscapes, and portraits.
03. Make Use of Color
The magic of Disney is mostly in all the colors and lights! By adding colored lights in the background, props, or colorful costumes, your photos can instantly exude the essence of Disney and fine art photography. Furthermore, different colors can represent different Disney characters, so you can incorporate them for that purpose.
04. Write Your Artist Statement
When it comes to conceptual art like this, it’s important to note down your inspiration and motive behind each image. To do this, write an artist statement, which is basically an introduction to a specific body of work.
05. Adjust Shutter Speed for a Magical Image
Shutter speed plays a pivotal role when you’re trying to capture finer details and want to experiment with movement in your photos. Having your subject stand still with a light-covered ride moving behind them will lead to them being in focus and the lights being blurry, causing a magical effect.
06. Try Out Different Color Gradients
In the land of magic, everything goes. You can easily make a photo more enchanting by changing color gradients. Try out different kinds till you get the results you are looking for.
07. Use a Single Subject
Though most Disney fine art photos will have lots of colors, lights, and props in the foreground and background, to truly capture stunning images, use just one subject to focus on.
How to Sell Disney Fine Art Photography?
This style of photography is quite popular because not everyone is proficient in it. Moreover, they are in high demand, especially during the holiday season. Here are a few avenues through which you can sell your Disney-inspired fine art photos:
- Sell prints to local businesses
- Hang your work on local coffee shops
- Reach out to galleries
- Sell your images online on stock photo websites such as Shutterstock, Unsplash, etc.
How to Turn Clients’ Into Disney Characters
There are so many filters and software available nowadays that can turn people into animated versions of themselves. For your clients who want to look like a Disney character, you can use PhotoCartoon.net. Here’s how to do this:
Step 1- Take a photo:
Take a spectacular, Disney-inspired photo of your client.
Step 2- Upload photo:
They allow you to upload your image directly from the disk or through a URL.
Step 3- Click On ‘Cartoonize:
Press the ‘Cartoonize Online’ button below the photo upload option.
Step 4- Download:
Click the download button to get a copy!
My Final Words
Disney fine art photography doesn’t just require skill and experience but also lots of creativity! With this style of photography, the capturer has a lot of freedom to play around with different concepts, costumes, lighting styles, locations, and more. The end result will be the epitome of enchanting.