Professional Disney Photography

[iceicebritney]

I'd like to know, from those with experience, what a Professional Disney Photographer's session is like... I'm looking for about an hour at a Resort with my Fiancee for an "engagement photo session." I've been on Disney's Wedding site and found some prices about engagement photo sessions, but i'd like to know from the experts here on intercot what you really think of the Disney Photography Sessions. Whether you've had an engagment photo session, a wedding photo session, or any other professional disney photography session I'd like to know what your experiences were like.

Did you have any problems booking your photo session? How are the photographers to work with? Do they pose you, or Do they allow you to be creative with your own poses? Were you happy with the outcome of your photos? Did you end up with photos that you were happy with, or did you feel rushed during your session? In your opinion, were the pictures all "disney" pictures, with noticable disney buildings, etc. in the background... or was there a mix of photo styles? What is an estimated range of prices for re-prints then after your session?

Any advice from anyone with experience is greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!! :mickey:

[Buttercup]

:mickey: I don't know about the Disney sessions. But I'm a pro photographer... I'd LOVE to have an excuse to come down again in the fall and shoot your e-pics, any way you'd like them done! :D lol

[Big Disney Fan]

You can get a free private portrait session at the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, or Saratoga Springs, if you buy a Photopass CD there ($125). The CD will also have all of your park photos on it. Congratulations.:mickey:

[Bean Bunny]

We booked a session with a Disney Photographer for our honeymoon in the Magic Kingdom. If I remember correctly, we were with him for about an hour. We had a really good photographer that was very nice; he arranged all of the shots for us, so we basically just followed him around the park and posed where he told us to! I imagine if we had expressed any ideas to him, he would have been more than happy to oblige. We did the standard castle shots, by the wishing well, on the Carousel, the Rose Garden, etc. The book that the photos came in (with 24 shots) is beautiful, but overall, I'd have to say that for the $295 (in 2004), I wasn't that impressed. Looking at them now, I'd say I absolutely love 3-4 of them. The rest look like pictures anyone else could have taken in my opinion. My own honeymoon album with pictures taken ourselves or by castmembers/passersby had pictures that were just as good, and now four years later, we actually look at our personal album way more than the one we paid for when we want to reminisce! I'd almost forgotten having it done until reading your post!

As far as reprints, it was a pretty steep price, and we never got any. For a 4x6, the paper that came with the album said $13 - it only goes up from there, and that doesn't include shipping.

Overall, we had a very positive experience with the photographer, but looking back now, it seems like a lot of money for a few standout shots. I personally wouldn't do it again as, like I said before, our own shots came out just as good or better, but I can understand you wanting to document such a wonderful and special time in your life, as we did the same. Hope that helped a little. Good luck! :D

[DizneyRox]

For our wedding, we went back and forth on photography, but opted for Disney for a few reasons.

1. Disney HAD to show up. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that Disney was going to be there. Not being locals, we didn't have the same comfort level as we would of had with Disney.
2. Access. A non Disney photographer doesn't have the same access to the park and other areas that a Disney employee does. They can get you in places that are normally off limits. Like on Cinderella's Castle, etc.
3. Quality. We have been very happy with the quality and QUANTITY of pictures they have taken. Yes, they are fairly expensinve, but worth every penny in my mind.

We did three "packages" with Disney. Our wedding package, a Honeymoon package and the Magic Kingdom Portrait Session. All three provided some exclusive access that wouldn't have been possible to an outsider. We got about 500 proofs from our wedding package, which made picture selection extremely difficult (in a good way though). The others were great as well, being in MK before park opening, in Cinderella's Castle and the Caroussel we great. Fantastic opportunities that made the price unimportant.

Hope that helps...

[Kairi_7378]

What a fantastic place to have engagement pictures taken! I'd definitely check out Stan's Web page and give him a call. The feedbag from Stan has been very positive on the boards and his demo photos are wonderful. Check out his resort web site... he's found some really neat architectural elements at each of the resorts for focal points.

Congratulations on your engagement. I see that you're at Penn State Main. Are you by any chance graduating this year? I will be there in May (with a bazillion other people!) for my brother's graduation.

[iceicebritney]

Thank you so much everyone for all of your advice. I really appreciate you all taking the time to share your thoughts with me! :mickey:

Kairi - in response to your Q about Penn State, I actually just graduated in August of 2007 and haven't had the chance to update my info yet. But i'm a true Penn Stater, and I will always bleed blue and white, so if you have any Q's... don't hesitate to ask!

[DDuck66]

I just made ressies for this at the Poly on May 12th. No problems..all they do is ask which package you will be purchasing and take your name and a cell number. According to the girl from Photopass, the entire process should only take about 45 minutes. They had plenty of openings and we had no problem scheduling even though it is less than 2 weeks away.