Insta-Worthy Epcot Food & Wine Festival Photo Tips

If you'll be traveling to the 2019 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival to make some memories, you're going to need pictures of something more than just the landmarks. I'm talking about food of course! Sips and bites of international cuisine make an excellent subject, but great food photography takes more than just shooting what's on your plate. I've got tips to tell your story in pictures for memories that will last a lifetime.


Insta-Worthy Epcot Food & Wine Festival Photo Tips


Don't limit your festival photos to food. You're there to make memories, so capture the experience and tell the story of your trip. Capture the charming marketplace buildings and vignettes that are a hallmark of Epcot's Food & Wine Festival. Capture the people you are touring with in your photos both candidly and posed. Yes, you may be taking pictures of seemingly random things, but when followed up with images of the surrounding landscape and delicious food it tells a fuller story.

What's in the background? While it is great to show off what you are eating, table tops are boring, so grab ahold of that little paper boat and make it less boring. Adding clues to where you are eating the delicious dish not only makes the picture even better but creates a story for you to look back on with fond memories. Try and capture the marketplace booths, pavilion identifiers, lush greenery, or even your friends as part of your food photos too.


Marketplace Booths Help Tell Your Story
Moments With Your Friends Are The Best Memories Of All


Clear out the trash! Nothing ruins a nice food photo more than straw wrappers, crumpled napkins, and assorted clutter. No one wants to see the trash. Think about what's in the entire frame, not just the main subject. On a personal note, I include what my manicure looks like in this category. Never show off gross nails in your food photos.

Compose your shot. The fact is, what you are served in a paper dish during a festival never is as pretty as a picture. Take a good look at what's on and around your plate and think of how it can be made better. Which side is the least sloppy? From which side can you get all of the ingredients in your shot? Can you get in your beverage as well? You may very well have to move around a few "peas and carrots" so to speak for your plate to look just right. I am forever rebuilding dishes on my plate so that they look the best in photographs.


Compose Your Shot To Tell A Story


Focus people. If your shot is all about your food, then make sure your camera is focused in the right place. No one wants to look at fuzzy, shaky pictures. Pick a point towards the center of the dish or of its most interesting feature, steady your hand, focus your phone, and shoot.

Natural light beats a flash. Your photos will never be more beautiful than when shot in natural light, ditch your flash. Even inside I prefer to shoot without flash and fix the brightness in post editing. That being said. I have been known to have my husband put a white paper napkin or handkerchief over his phone's flashlight to give me some extra soft lighting after dark. The two photos below were taken at dusk, moments apart.


Sushi With Flash
Sushi Without Flash


Shoot, shoot, and shoot again. One of the most surprising secrets to great photos, it to shoot more than you show. My aunt raised me with an 80/20 frame of mind. For every two photos I show off there are at least eight that never left the camera. Shoot early and shoot often my friends, be sure to keep taking photos throughout the day so don't end up with time gaps when browsing them in the future.

Use a post-production app. No, it's not cheating, even the professionals work with post-production these days. You can crop, tweak your lighting, re-focus, and some programs can even ride superfluous people. Then of course, there is the question of filters. I prefer food photos without filters, however if your Insta has a specific style you go right ahead.


Tasted Fantastic, Photographed Meh


What should you be following on Instagram for great Disney food shots? Here are just a couple of our favorites people and hashtags for you to enjoy this festival season.

• @DisneyFoodBlog
• @AllEarsNet
• #disneyfood
• #disneyeats
• #epcotfoodandwine
• #epcotfoodandwinefestival

Go forth and take pictures my friends! I'll be watching for you on Instagram.