Disney Photo Session PART II

[mickeymyfavorite]

Disney Photo Session PART II.........

WOW!!! In the last 3 years this has changed a lot!!!!! and the cost is not justified IMO.


So I just called and here is some updated information

Disney Fine Art Photography is the photographers that take you for a personal session. They are the same as the Disney Photo Pass that you see in the park. But at the resort for personal photo sessions they are called “Disney Fine Art Photography”

Still Disney photo sessions are only at:
Animal Kingdom Lodge, The Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and the Beach Club.

You have to book in advance, and there is a $25.00 non refundable deposit regardless when you cancel.
Times: early session 7:30am-11:30am then again from 3:00 pm-6:00 pm


There are only 2 packages

Package “A”
Cost $99.95
20 min session
How many pictures: depends how corporative your party is.

What you get for $99.95 Images on a disk that will be ready for you at the end of the day at the resort your photo session was taken,. NO they won’t deliver to the hotel you are at. I asked ….nothing other then the photos on a disk. NO PRINTS are included at all. Very

Package “B”
Cost: $350.00 for and additional $50.00 you get a disk with all the pictures taken during your photo session.
1 hour session
How many pictures: again it depends how corporative your party is.

What you get for $350.00 6x6 photo proof book soft cover with your family name embossed on the cover. Image retouching such as: making a picture black and white, softening of the pictures, removing red eye ETC... For an addition $50.00 you receive the disk with all the pictures you have taken during your session. The disk is not included in the $350.00 that you are already spending.

I called twice to confirm the above information, I called the main tel# 1-407-934-4004, and then I called one of the hotels (Disney Animal Kingdom) just confirm the information.




I hope anyone that does the private sessions would share there photo's

 

[jenseib]

That $350 does NOT seem like a deal at all. Who would pay that and then not want the pics on CD as well?

 

[mickeymyfavorite]

I agree!!!! I think they got greedy.

 

[wmears95]

Is it possible to hire a photographer from "the outside" to do a photo shoot at a resort?

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

you absolutely can hire an outside photographer for a RESORT. they can not go into a park for a shoot though. most local photographers know the rules and stick with them. some can be pricy but are quite good. ones that i can think of include misty miotto, david and vicki ardnt, randy chapman, and jason angelini. these are most popular among disney brides.

the $350 sounds very high, i understand... but it does say they are retouched and edited--which is beyond amazing. those other shoots were just point and click, you get whatever happens pictures. you could get some really great pictures from these!! being that they are from Disney's Fine Are Photographers, the quality of photography will be better as well. Photopass photographers may have little to zero training in photography or how to use their camera. As a future Disney bride, I have done a LOT of research and have come across lots of information on the boards.

i would rather pay for the better quality than to get an hour worth of "not so great" pictures for $99.

 

[michellev]

We just had the resort session at the BC in March. We did a session last year and based on what we got, I think we had the new version (ie just the disk and no extra pictures).

I was able to get a DVC discount - I think they total was $85.00. I had to give a credit card # at time of booking and they charged the card on the day of the shoot. Last year I paid when we arrived at our session.

I didn't find the quality any better than last year - in fact I would say that the photographer was more skilled last year although the one we had this year took a lot more shots and used more locations which was nice.

Overall, I'm still happy with the price and the results and will definitely do it again on our next trip.

 

[wdwdancerwannabe]

I'm interested to know - how many pics do people usually get out of the 20 min. session?? We are a family of 4... I know it says: Depending on how cooperative your party is... but how many are people getting?? Thanks!

 

[yrdlyprincess]

would love to know if anyone knows other photographers in the area that would come to the resort....

 

[BurleyGirl]

I've read postings of others using Root Photography. Their pictures were fabulous!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

had the 20 min session at the Poly in October. Found the biggest pain was the fact that the photographer was reluctant to take all shots in one area despite the fact that we were happy and then had to search for a spot without other guests/wedding photographer to take outside photos. We had 23 shots on our $99 disc. I would say three were fantastic and of the others roughly ten good and ten rubbish.

Certainly wasn't as good as our previous resort session at GF back in 2007 when the shots were a bargain.

We were tempted to go again at the AKL this trip but will wait and see.

Has anyone ever had a one-off photo taken by a photopass photographer without booking a slot at a resort?

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

I've read postings of others using Root Photography. Their pictures were fabulous!

they are fabulous! they moved to tennessee this year. they still will travel, mostly for disney weddings, but i'm sure the cost will be higher than it already was--and they're not cheap to begin with. they are spectacular though!!

 

[texasbloke]

Does anyone know if they still do photos in the hotel lobbies at night?

When we were there 2 years ago, their were Photopass Photographers in the lobbies at Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and upstairs at Grand Floridian, at night.

I am just wondering if that is still an option?

 

[GetGlowing]

Thanks for updating the Photo Session info. It boggles the mind that the $350 session doesn't include the CD. It seems they're trying to capture the wedding photography crowd rather than the family photo shoots.

So glad we did this under the "old system" in 2009. We had a group of 10 people and had some FABULOUS shots. I wouldn't do it again for what they're charging now.

 

[jenseib]

Does anyone know if they still do photos in the hotel lobbies at night?

When we were there 2 years ago, their were Photopass Photographers in the lobbies at Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and upstairs at Grand Floridian, at night.

I am just wondering if that is still an option?

I think that is kind of a random thing

 

[toniosmom]

We just had the resort session at the BC in March. We did a session last year and based on what we got, I think we had the new version (ie just the disk and no extra pictures).

I was able to get a DVC discount - I think they total was $85.00. I had to give a credit card # at time of booking and they charged the card on the day of the shoot. Last year I paid when we arrived at our session.

I didn't find the quality any better than last year - in fact I would say that the photographer was more skilled last year although the one we had this year took a lot more shots and used more locations which was nice.

Overall, I'm still happy with the price and the results and will definitely do it again on our next trip.

We just did it at BCV a couple of weeks ago and paid the same. We got about 40+ photos, but my son moved slowly, so others may get many more. I love our photos and would definitely do it again.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Back in December '07 we had an hour long family portrait sitting in the Magic Kingdom with Disney's Photographic Services ((not in any way even close to Photopass at the time)). That sitting fee was I think $265 or something and included the 6x6 booklet of proofs. The portraits were amazing! At the time the only cd you could purchase was only for viewing, you couldn't reproduce or print them. Any portraits you wanted had to be ordered thru them with no reproduction rights ever released to us. After all the portraits were ordered (we got 3 mounted big ones & like 20 8x10s) we were out just over $1k. Is this what these resort Photopass sittings are moving towards? The price seems to be getting kinda up there. At $99 for 20 minutes, that's $300 for an hour. That's more than we paid for professional services IN the Magic Kingdom 4 years ago. Seems kinda crazy, particularly if these are typical Photopass quality. Ya know?

 

[herb102211]

We've done 2 portrait sessions in 2009 and 2010 when Photopass still took them. We did one at the Poly and one at GF. I thought they came out great and I liked the fact for $99 I got both the prints and the CD. I was a little disappointed when Disney Fine Art took over, because now you can only get the CD and no prints for the $99.

We have an upcoming portrait session at the Beach Club at the end of the month. Hopefully they turn out great. We were thinking of doing the $350 package for our honeymoon in October around the Boardwalk, if the Beach Club photos are good.

 

[photographymom517]

We did the Photo Session last June. My total cost was $84 because I received a 20% off coupon in my booklet (the one that Disney sends to you with your resort info & some dining/shopping suggestions in it). I will also point out this year, in my booklet I only received a coupon for a free $5 magnet at DTD...big disappointment, but I guess its ok. lol

We had a party of 3 including our 2 year old son. He wasn't the most cooperative because the sun was shining in his eyes & he was just having a bad day but we ended up getting 65 pictures. We had our session at the Beach Club for 20 minutes. We took some pictures inside, outside in a gazebo area, and then walked out front & had some taken on the beach overlooking the Boardwalk resort. The photographer wanted to take some in the front of the resort & also where the car is in the back lobby but we just said that we had enough pictures due to our son's behavior. I was shocked that we were able to get 65+ pictures in only 20 minutes considering how many times we stopped to calm him down or try to make him smile.

I ended up getting the package with the CD and seven 5x7's. I thought it was a great deal because I normally take my son to either JC Penney, Portrait People, or Sears & I pay way over $100 and do NOT get a CD. If I want the CD included, it usually costs anywhere from $50-100. I also liked that I could go home & add the photopass card from our photo session to my photopass account & add borders.

Are you still able to get a photopass card with the session? Or is this feature gone now?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I think I'll call later today to ask what happens if the pictures are not acceptable. If I shelled out $350 the pictures need to knock my socks off. If they don't, I wouldn't want to be stuck for that amount of money. This also creates a situation where Disney better make sure they're sending photographers who know what they're doing and can produce. I'll report back when I find something out.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Just got off the phone with a nice lady with Disney Fine Art Photography. She said they had a website that I should check out:

www.disneyeventphotography.com

No, no part of the $350 is refundable even if they portraits come out stinky. This $350 package DOES sound extremely similar to what we did in December '07 when we had an hour long family portrait session with Disney's Professional Photographic Services in the MK for $265 sitting fee which included retouching and the 6x6 proof book. The fact that you can purchase the CD with your pics for $50 more is pretty mind-blowing. That was not an available option for us in '07. If you liked a picture you had to buy them individually. Our total out of pocket was like $1k but that was our family portraits. That's what I had budgeted before ever deciding to do them at WDW.

The $350 package can be scheduled "practically anywhere on WDW property" is what I was told. When I questioned further with, "Including the parks?", she replied, "Yes but we try to discourage that because it's very difficult to get the best shots when there's so many other people around. The quality doesn't come out as good." That makes sense. However, when my family did our sitting in the Rose Garden in the MK in December '07 we did it during the Christmas parade taping. There were literally thousands of people on Main Street. It was insane. Here's our signature castle shot:

You don't see anyone else in the shot.

Personally, if I was going to do another family portrait session I would do the $350 package early in the morning in World Showcase/Epcot then buy the CD. If I was going to do a session at a resort I'd lean towards hiring an outside photographer that I can assure myself the quality is there.

I asked repeatedly in many different ways if the photographers that are doing the Fine Art Photography are the same that do the regular Photopass pictures in the parks. She never faltered and always answered, "Yes." Then I explained about our previous portrait experience and the seriously declining park Photopass shots we've had in the parks over the years. I reiterated that $350 would be a lot a money to spend for 1 decent shot out of 200 or so. I think she finally got it. She said that in the reorganizing of the private resort sittings that Photopass used to do, they split off with their own group of professional photographers so now they are a specialized group that handles this particular type of private sitting in the resorts and parks. No, unless you're a very large group or a DFTW bride, you cannot request specific photographers. I asked.

I hope maybe that was a little better info to clarify on the transition with these private sittings. I was really unsure and required additional info making that jump to a $350 package. I'm nutty like that, I guess.