Need advice on Photo Pass with Special Needs Son

[ilovefairies]

I was wondering if anyone can share their experience with the photographers and how much time they will spend trying to get a good picture. My 14 year old son is mentally/physically handicapped and can not follow direction to look a certain way or smile. In fact a lot of times, he will shake his head ...which usually results in horrible pictures.

Are we better off relying on our own camera or are some of the photographers patient enough (and have enough time) to try and get the best shot?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[dntd]

Use your own camera, candid pics are the cutest and the most remembered. Take pictures when he is happy and distracted. First trip I used photo pass, this time I didn't and I didn't regret it at all.

 

[Michigan]

If you knew how much they charge for the photo pass pictures you wouldn't even think twice about taking your own pictures.

 

[Talking Hands]

They will take candids if he cannot pose. That is what they did with my grandson. 2 yos don't pose. The photographers are very patient with kids. The photopass photos are very expensive though.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Some will take their time and make an effort to get a great shot, and some will point and shoot regardless of how bad it is. Overall, I had much better results with the female photographers on this past trip. They seemed to have more patience and at least tried to get ds's attention so he would look their way.

 

[SueM in MN]

It's a real mixed bag.
Some are good, some are not. We've found that the ones who tend to just shoot, no matter what is in the picture tend to be the photographers doing characters. They know they have a steady stream of guests coming in, so they really tend to try to keep things moving.

The ones who have been most patient, at least for us, have been the ones at the park entrances or sort of scenic locations. Some of them are not very busy, so will take a lot of time.

 

[buckeev]

Like Sue said, it is a mixed bag. We did buy the CD for our last two trips, and overall were pleased with the results. There are many great shots, and a few, well...stinkers. Our son is autistic, and many times, he is a photographers real challenge to capture, but most were very patient.
We also takes many pictures with our cameras and smartphone, with pretty good results.

 

[sharadoc]

We tried to teach our DS to make a nice face. Not a smile or say cheese or anything because he tends to overemphasize smiles and it looks kind of creepy. We'd rather have a more relaxed yet non smiling face. It's who he is and we're happy with what we get.

 

[ireland_nicole]

We order the cd; it works out a lot cheaper that way plus you can edit them and we usually end up with at least 500 pics that way. Some are great, some are awful- we seek out every possibility when the kIds are up for it and been willing to do a shot in her chair or in profile or with sunglasses on etc to make dd more comfortable . If you preorder the cd and find when you preview them that you're not happy you can get a refund

 

[jmartinez1895]

We enjoy the cd each time we go. you can pre order it and save some money. They are only $119 when pre ordered. If you get home and look at the pics and do not like them they will refund your money, but we have always loved ours.
http://www.disneyphotopass.com/previsitoffer.aspx
We found that all of the photographers were very nice and took lots of photos, both candid and posed. The only time we felt rushed was at the Muppet fountain, but there was a line of about 30 or so people behind us.

 

[rmt32481]

We have the opposite problem. My son won't stand or sit more than 2 seconds for picture so I always get annoyed when the photographer takes forever to set up a shot. I just tell them up front that my son has autism and to just take a few pictures as quick as possible. We've gotten some great pictures with all of us smiling breathlessly as we rush into the shot and my kiddo distracted and smiling at the characters. If they wait and try to get everyone to smile and look at the camera then all we get is a big blur as he tries to run away.

 

[TexansInNY]

For all pictures - Disney / Santa / all, we explain quickly and tell them to just take pictures - period. We actually love the ones we have - DS (autistic and 7) telling Santa exactly what he wants, giving Sully a huge hug, pointing at the Tree of Life with Flick...

 

[loadsapixiedust]

We've had mixed success with Photopass photographers. Some will take time to get a decent shot of our DS who has CP and cannot hold a pose well. Others will just point and shoot regardless. Time is a big factor if you can get there when there isn't a long line of families waiting they are often willing to spend an extra few moments to help you get the shots you want, even the magic shots, some of which are very difficult to do with a disabled person.

Our big disappointment was the baby Simba shot, our DS really wanted one of those having seen some posted on the net, but we never found a photographer who would allow him time to pose for it as it is physically quite challenging for him.

We have found they are generally very accommodating at the character meet and greets but again being there at a quieter time really helps a lot. We were lucky enough to meet Pluto (DS's favourite character) just coming out to start early one morning in Town Square when there was nobody else around. We were first to meet him and got some fabulous shots that day with DS wearing a Pluto ears hat and the 2 of them goofing around. It was worth every $ we've ever spent on Photopass.