Do you use photopass?

[NYEmomma]

Just wondering how photographers with nice equipment and a love for the art approach the use of the Photopass??

Do you use it on your vacations? If you do, what compels you to do so, given the fact that you are carrying a quality camera and enjoy taking pictures... and from everything I've seen posted on here, are quite adept at taking really gorgeous pictures as well?

I am nowhere NEAR a good photographer. I have a nicer camera (well, it's not a P&S) with very minimal skills. But I like taking photos. Oh, and I'm cheap. I'm just wondering if getting a photopass would be a good use of my limited money.

There will be 7 of us on the trip together, so I know I'll get many pictures of DH, DD & myself... and I'm sure will have opportunities to have someone take some big group shots for me. But I do admit to losing myself behind the camera and focusing too much on capturing every single thing that DD does and not enjoying the experience myself.

[cjstarr]

Last year we used the PhotoPass for the first time and I will tell you it will be that way from now own. Not only did we do the PhotoPass CD's but we did the PhotoPass Alubm. This along with our Disney World Photo Album we have enought pictures to enjoy until we return.
I'm one of those photobugs also and I take tons of pictures (more then 2000 w/video) every time we go. It was just so nice to have someone take family photos without having to bother someone else that is on their vacation to take our picture. :thumbsup2

[ChiSoxKeith]

We did the last trip (our first time getting the Photopass). It was DD4's first time doing character meet and greets (she was too shy the first time we went) and I didn't trust my abilities - didn't want to miss any of the shots.

Turns out it was hit or miss. Some of the shots I took were better than the photopass photog, some they did a better job. Together, we had everything covered.

[Code]

There should be a third option: Give my camera to the Photopass photog and tell them to only use it, not theirs.

I know there was a debate about this here a long time ago... but it is allowed, I have a better camera & better glass than they do, and my pics don't cost anything extra.

[WilsonFlyer]

We have done Photopass for every trip we've ever taken. It's sort of become a rite of passage for our trip. LOL

We get mixed results, but with the $100 promotion, we figure if we get 20-25 good shots of the entire family that we couldn't have gotten otherwise, then years from now, it will have been well worth the negligiable expense in the grand scheme of a Disney trip.

We usually go 2-3 times a year. When I get home, I order the CD and shoot the whole thing straight to SmugMug as soon as I get it.

[Pooh2]

When we went on our anniversary trip with the just the two of us, it was well worth the $100 to have alot of shots of us together.

[jennifur25]

I do- I have them take a picture and then take one with my camera too. We don't always buy the CD unless they happen to catch some better smiles with their camera. Almost all of them ooh and aah over my camera and lens, which I find amusing.

[NYEmomma]

You can purchase the package in advance for $100, but then if you don't like the photos, you can cancel it & have your money refunded, correct? If that's the case, I'm tempted to get it... the worse that can happen is that I don't think the photos are worth $100 (though we'd probably split the cost 3 ways with the rest of my family) and I don't order the CD and get my money back.

Is canceling it relatively painless?

[SrisonS]

I usually ask them to take one with mine, and one with theirs. There's usually not much difference, and I'll just use the ones from my camera. But it's nice to have options.

But the one time it was really useful was when my daughter had her first visit with Santa there. I was snapping pics while the Photopass photog was also shooting. But she was able to catch the perfect moment, at the perfect angle. So we did end up buying that one. Plus, Santa was playing more to her than to me. But I did get a few decent ones; so at least those were 'Free'. ;)

[Snappy in OK]

We used it for our last trip, and will probably use it again this fall. It was nice having pictures of all of us together, and they usually took more pictures than DH (if I was in the pic) so they usually caught better "moments" than DH.

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

... it was well worth the $100 to have alot of shots of us together.

That's how I feel. I love the photos I take of my kids, but it is worth the $$ to have the ones they take of all of us, as a family, without handing cameras back and forth...

[wenrob]

Yep, we use it. I usually hand my camera over and have them take one with that as well. Though I swear they purposely got bad angles with mine this trip.:rotfl: We do DL/DCA so it's only $50, well worth it to get family shots and proof that I was actually there. Eldest DD and I will be going on a short trip next Jan and we'll use it then too.

[pgowder]

We do it on our longer trips, and we get the CD.

Of course on the longer trips Brooke usually gets a BBB visit. That includes a portrait session. When you get the CD you get all of those too.

We have also gotten lucky the past couple of trips and found PhotoPass photographers in unexpected area. In 2009 they came up and took shots of us while we were in the pool!

[ColleenG]

We get the CD before we leave from home. I always give them my camera too. It's the only way we get any pictures with me in it. And it's nice to have someone else take the character interaction shots with the kids so I can actually watch them and play with the characters too!

[rtphokie]

A better question is, do you buy Photopass photos? I always take advantage of photopass photographers and have gotten some great pictures because it. Not because of skill on the part of the photographers, most are average at best, but because of luck.

I have a bad tendency to close my eyes in flash photos, so the more photos taken the better, one of them is bound to turn out. This got worse after I had lasik surgery (I'm not complaining, my eyesight nearly perfect even 8 years later, just a minor side effect that no one mentions).

The thing to remember about photopass is the photography is free, it's the prints that cost. So use them often and then be selective in what you buy. I have never and probably will never buy the CD, there just aren't enough decent photos to put on it in my experience. I'm picky and cheep though.

I also photopass them because it's the only way I'm in any vacation photos.

[OKW Lover]

We don't do photopass for a few reasons:

It costs too much
I like to take pictures
I prefer to take pictures of some of the little things
I enjoy taking pictures from different, non-staged perspectives
There often isn't a photopass photographer around when you really want one
And, candid photos are a lot of fun.

:cool2:

[stormer]

You can purchase the package in advance for $100, but then if you don't like the photos, you can cancel it & have your money refunded, correct? If that's the case, I'm tempted to get it... the worse that can happen is that I don't think the photos are worth $100 (though we'd probably split the cost 3 ways with the rest of my family) and I don't order the CD and get my money back.

Is canceling it relatively painless?

Yes, that is correct. IMy friend did that last summer. She didn't like the pictures when she got home so she got a refund for the pre-order. She did it all on-line.

I like to buy it. It is hit or miss, but sometimes you do get some good shots. We just got home last week and this was our 9th trip in the past few years, and the 8th time we ordered the CD. I still regret the one time we did not get it.

[Jalva22]

If you pre-order the CD, once you receive it can the pictures be edited in Elements?

[cosine4]

I voted YES but only use it for the Disney Visa Rewards free print each day. I also hand them the card when doing character meets just in case they catch something that I miss and really want.

[disneyboy2003]

If you pre-order the CD, once you receive it can the pictures be edited in Elements?

Yes, the photos on the CD are all standard JPEGs. You can edit them in Photoshop Elements (or any other photo editing program), just like you would any other JPEG photos.

[Spinning]

have to say I wasn't impressed. We were in Disney beginning of March with my daughter's band. I asked her to use the photo pass to get some nice group shots of her and her friends since I was not with them. My girlfriend and I also got a pass and planned to combine the cards. I was surprised how expensive a photo was and that many of them were blurred. I was so glad I didn't preorder it.

[disneyboy2003]

have to say I wasn't impressed. We were in Disney beginning of March with my daughter's band. I asked her to use the photo pass to get some nice group shots of her and her friends since I was not with them. My girlfriend and I also got a pass and planned to combine the cards. I was surprised how expensive a photo was and that many of them were blurred. I was so glad I didn't preorder it.

Yes, I've had the same experience with PhotoPass Photography, where those photos were often out-of-focus, had weird color casts (from wrong or auto white balance), or something else. I'm sure we've talked about this multiple times in previous threads.

I know how to take good, comparable PhotoPass-style photos, so I probably don't need their services. However, seeing them hold all that camera equipment and all dressed up in their vintage photographer uniforms, to me, makes them look "super professional." :sad2: So maybe that's why I always concede and buy-in to their PhotoPass photography, despite my multiple previous experiences receiving "snapshot-like" photos from them. :sad2:

But what I do like about PhotoPass is that I can have as many PhotoPass photos crammed into a single CD for 1 single price. So if you've got that $100 pre-order CD price, don't shy away from PhotoPass Photographers. In fact, take every opportunity to get your photos taken by them. I routinely get about 150-200 PhotoPass photos for each trip.

When I receive them on CD later on, I always have the option of getting them printed myself at a local photo store. In reality, though, those PhotoPass photos just stay on the CD and are sometimes uploaded into my SmugMug account.

Come to think of it, I'm not sure why I still buy into the PhotoPass photos. I usually have thousands of my own photos to sift through...why do I need another 150-200 mediocre quality photos to add to my collection?

[MinnieForMe]

We always use it! It is just plan convenient plus my kids listen better (posing) to a stranger!

We even did the walk around with a photographer at the Grand Floridian three year's ago. We loved it!

[mom2rtk]

We end up buying it on every trip, in spite of the fact that I take the same photos on my own camera.

1) I like adding the borders online, especially for special events like MVMCP and MNSSHP

2) Inevitably they will end up with a handful of shots with better smiles, or someone not blinking, or like this last trip, when the dial on my camera got changed accidentally and all of my Daisy/Donald pics were completely blown out. I'm still not sure what happened there, but I think maybe last time I used AV it was set at 2.8. Then somehow my camera got changed from TV to AV between meeting Minnie and Donald/Daisy. Long story short...... it's insurance against accidental flubs.

3) Word of note........ I have seen a pattern. Once night hits and I would need a tripod to get good shots in front of the castle, I have been letting my guard down and not bothering with mine, but letting it be all Photopass since they are all set up with tripods ready to go. This is a mistake. If the shot is important, take it yourself. I have found the foreground WAY too washed out on most of these shots (i.e. the people). Then there was a big batch taken where the person in the foreground was completely out of focus. I guess they had set the focus manually for the spot they wanted everyone on, and it was wrong in every single picture.

I think you'll find a lot of folks here use both because we LOVE photos, and do see photopass as a great insurance of getting the right shot. After all, it's completely refundable, so there's no harm in trying.

[WriteDisney]

I voted YES but only use it for the Disney Visa Rewards free print each day. I also hand them the card when doing character meets just in case they catch something that I miss and really want.

Is there a free Disney Visa Rewards print every day? I remember reading something about a free 5x7 print (from the character stop in Epcot?) but we never take advantage of it.

[mom2rtk]

You can go through that special meet & greet with your Disney Visa, then get your free 5 x 7 without further participation in photopass.

[Wadecool]

I have a question about photopass that you guys might be able to answer. If I buy the $99 preordered deal, does that mean that I get an unlimited number of photos for that $99, whether I get 20 or 200? I guess I'm confused about what exactly that $99 gets me? TIA

[disneyboy2003]

I have a question about photopass that you guys might be able to answer. If I buy the $99 preordered deal, does that mean that I get an unlimited number of photos for that $99, whether I get 20 or 200? I guess I'm confused about what exactly that $99 gets me? TIA

For $99, you get ALL your PhotoPass photos on 1 CD, regardless of whether you had 1 PhotoPass photo or 300+ PhotoPass photos. I believe that a CD holds a little more than 300 photos.

So to get your money's worth, you should take advantage of PhotoPass photographers whenever you can.

[disneyboy2003]

3) Word of note........ I have seen a pattern. Once night hits and I would need a tripod to get good shots in front of the castle, I have been letting my guard down and not bothering with mine, but letting it be all Photopass since they are all set up with tripods ready to go. This is a mistake. If the shot is important, take it yourself. I have found the foreground WAY too washed out on most of these shots (i.e. the people). Then there was a big batch taken where the person in the foreground was completely out of focus. I guess they had set the focus manually for the spot they wanted everyone on, and it was wrong in every single picture.

Yes! This is EXACTLY what I've noticed with my night-time PhotoPass photos. The daytime ones are okay. It's the nighttime ones that are usually out-of-focus, difficult lighting, and/or incorrect white balance.

[WriteDisney]

You can go through that special meet & greet with your Disney Visa, then get your free 5 x 7 without further participation in photopass.

Wow awesome!

[ColleenG]

For $99, you get ALL your PhotoPass photos on 1 CD, regardless of whether you had 1 PhotoPass photo or 300+ PhotoPass photos. I believe that a CD holds a little more than 300 photos.

So to get your money's worth, you should take advantage of PhotoPass photographers whenever you can.

My last photopass had over 300 pictures after I add several borders to each shot, and they put it on to 2 CDs. So have fun and go nuts! I really try to get every pennies worth out of it.