Breaking NEWS PHOTO SESSIONS!!!!!! :-)

[TotalSnowWhite]

Just booked a sitting for SSR and one later during our trip for GF.

I am really excited about getting some shots with both me and Dh and our DDs - especially as this trip will mark our 5 year anniversary

However - from all the reading I've done on this - I think it is important for those booking this to have **realistic** expectations of some good snapshots of your family - not portraits (there's a big difference there).

For those looking for "portraits", I believe Disney does in fact offer that service as well - but obviously at a much higher price.

We were lucky enough to find out about this new option when looking into booking a Disney Photographer - I did want some nice pics of the 4 of us - but it seemed "risky" not knowing how the girls were going to adapt to being on vacation - and given I didn't buy **ANYTHING** the last 2 times we took older DD to the photographer at home as she just wasn't "into" cooperating (2 years old!!)

Anyway - we booked 2 separate sessions on 2 separate days - figuring we are bound to get a few good shots out of that - and if they aren't cooperating one day, hopefully they will the next - or at the very least, DH and I may learn a few things to help them be more comfortable.

This seems like a great opportunity and something super to caputure memories from vacation - with your WHOLE FAMILY in the pics (a little less hurried and rushed than the Photopass in the parks), but I wouldn't want anyone to book this thinking it is a professional photography sesison - because it is not - and it is not inteded to be.

Agreed. While the pictures that have been posted are nice, they're obviously not what I would get from a pro photog. I think it's sooo worth it, though, to have some good shots of your entire vacation group in a unique (well, unique to the thousands upon thousands of Disney visitors ) setting. With cropping and some photo editing of your own, though, the pics can look just as good as the pros!! We're thrilled to be doing the shoot!!

 

[Dannielle_1]

Going to Disney next week. What time do you think would be a good time to do the photo session (provided space is available)? I thinking in terms of lighting/sun position etc...

Any ideas?

 

[Lucky'sMom]

How much time should we allow for this? I am hoping to schedule the photo shoot at the Poly in June on a Saturday before our 7:15 Hoop De Doo. We will have a car. I was thinking 5:30? Do you think that is enough time to handle all aspects of the photo shoot (payment, etc) and then arrive at the HDDR for the show?

Also, please post Poly photos when you get them...I can't wait to see them!

Thanks!!!

 

[jstbcuz]

I called today and scheduled our photo shoot for the GF for May 29th. Was told 7pm is the latest time slot.

Thinking I might reserve a spot at the Poly too, and do both. THat way if my 2 year old doesnt cooperate one time, he might the other. Besides it doesnt take much time away from other things. Might be a nice break.

 

[christa112]

What did you not like about them? What kind of work did your husband do to the pictures?

I have worked in photography industry for 7 yrs and I currently manage a photography studio, so I am going to be really really picky. I am just wondering if it will be worth it or not. We are definately doing the cd, but I am still leary.

We had 70 pictures taken.
20 minutes.
We initially were not happy with ours but after cropping and DH touching up on our computer programme we were a lot happier. If the Poly is available on our next holiday we will do it again there.

 

[mom2zandjsquared]

What did you not like about them? What kind of work did your husband do to the pictures?

I have worked in photography industry for 7 yrs and I currently manage a photography studio, so I am going to be really really picky. I am just wondering if it will be worth it or not. We are definately doing the cd, but I am still leary.

Not the poster you replied to but just wanted to say as many PP have mentioned they are not professional photographers so sometimes the pictures are hit or miss - a few of ours turned out blurry.

 

[Laren]

We decided on the spur of the moment to book a session for later in our trip after talking with the CM's at the GF's photopass booth- they were wonderful- and we are SO glad that we did it! What an amazing keepsake. My in laws have no idea we did this and they will LOVE the pictures.

My husband and I were celebrating our anniversary on this trip and since we had our wedding luncheon at the GF when we got married in 1999, it was especially meaningful for us to have pictures taken around the resort as we did not use Disney Weddings for our wedding (the ceremony was off-property) and so didn't have pictures taken professionally around the resort for our wedding, just snapshots here and there.

I would highly recommend the session and can't wait to do one at the poly with my whole family someday- just be careful what your expectations are going in. Especially if you have children.

I worked in a photo studio taking portraits before I became to ill to work and I found that the parents attitude set the tone in most cases for how the pictures came out. Unless you had child who was going to be afraid of the camera no matter what you did- then there wasn't a lot you could do but try to calm them (that was my specialty LOL) but if folks are glaring at their kids and telling them how to smile and such- then your pictures will not look relaxed, and the more relaxed you are in your pictures, the better they will come out.

I can tell just from looking at the pictures here that the ones that came out great- everyone was relaxed! It shows and you can't fake it!

With just the two of us- our photographer (who was awesome) took us all around and did what he called a lot of 'wedding' type poses- and we loved almost every single one of the pictures. I can't wait to make a bunch of prints from our cd.

Time of day and light does make a huge difference in how the pics come out (as does the sky being overcast as you can see from some of the pictures posted here- it effects the 'mood' of the photos in the end) but if you go in with an open mind, work with and really listen to what your photographer is telling you (I beg to differ from those who say that the folks who take these are not professionals. . . unless you get a real newbie or something, they know what they are doing at the GF booth!) Our pictures here are better than the professional ones I've seen for many weddings- including my own)

One thing to keep in mind too- artistically- if you wear clothing that compliments your surroundings and does not fight with it- the pictures will turn out much better. Also helps if people wear similiar or the same colors and above all, avoid competing patterns! It makes things look more polished if, say, dad isn't wearing a loud hawaiian shirt while mom and the girls or kids wear stripes/pastels, etc.

Solid colors- all in one or in complementary shades is what I recommended at the studio to my returning clients. They always thanked me when they saw the results.

 

[labst60]

Lauren - great advice - thank you!!

 

[MissMommy928]

This is such a weird question, but does anyone know if they can have a black and white photo shoot? All of the pics from the photo shoot i've seen are in color. They look great, but I'm really set on getting some good black and white photos to put in with my black and white graduation announcements.

 

[Cruiser1969]

This is such a weird question, but does anyone know if they can have a black and white photo shoot? All of the pics from the photo shoot i've seen are in color. They look great, but I'm really set on getting some good black and white photos to put in with my black and white graduation announcements.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you add the B&W feature to the pictures when editing them online?

 

[Cruiser1969]

Just thought of a question . . . some clothing advice please . . .

I'm thinking of having the kids in tan bottoms and solid orange tops (because they both happen to have them).

What colour should my DH and I wear? I don't have anything orange right now and was looking for other options. I prefer black bottoms, but I am open for suggestions of what might look nice.

Any ideas?

 

[YoCoLifSavr]

You could go tan bottoms and white tops....that would look good

 

[MissMommy928]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you add the B&W feature to the pictures when editing them online?

Ohh I didn't know that. I was told when I was booking them that you couldn't edit these photos

 

[M 'n C]

I am super excited to start seeing photos of everyone trying out the new resorts. I have till August/Sept to decide which one I want to do.

Now about colors in the pictures. I am a black top, dark jeans sort of girl. Would this look ok or no? I do not do tan or white for various reasons. Thanks!

 

[Laren]

Just thought of a question . . . some clothing advice please . . .

I'm thinking of having the kids in tan bottoms and solid orange tops (because they both happen to have them).

What colour should my DH and I wear? I don't have anything orange right now and was looking for other options. I prefer black bottoms, but I am open for suggestions of what might look nice.

Any ideas?

To go one further from YoCo's reply- I would say put everybody in the khaki's and white tops. It's worth buying a couple shirts for your kiddos to get the uniform look in the pictures.

That way your eye is drawn to your faces in the pictures and to the colors of the backgrounds- which if you're taking pics at the Grand will be a lot of green foliage- white building structures and bright flowers. My husband wore all black- and I wore a dress that is hard to describe but the dominant feature is vertical black ribbon striping- and our pictures came out amazing (sorry I didn't post them here, I'm wary of posting our pictures on the net).

If just the kids wear orange tops- your eyes will be drawn to those and they will compete with everything else.

One of the best family portraits I ever saw in the studio was done against a muslin curtain with all the family in denim shirts and pants. It came out so crisp and clean.

Try your best to get everybody matching or complimenting each other- even if only shirts as some shots won't show what you're wearing for pants. It really does make a big difference.

If you don't believe it try it out at home- just take a quick snap of the family in the shirts you wanted to wear then with everyone in the same color- then you can decide for yourself if you prefer the contrast or like a more streamlined look- as everyone has different tastes!

Laren

 

[disneyfan2]

Has anyone done the pics during Christmas with all the decorations? I think it would be cool with indoor decorations at GF?

 

[MagicalEars]

Ohh I didn't know that. I was told when I was booking them that you couldn't edit these photos

They told you that because the normal procedure is to take the photos at the photo shoot then for them to burn a CD for you there. When this happens you can no longer upload those photos to the photopass site and edit them. However, you can take the CD home and edit them with your own software. Now if you pre-order the PhotoCD they will just add the photos to your photopass card and then you can edit them on the photopass site. Also, you don't have to pre-order the PhotoCD in order for them to just add the photos to your card, just simply ask them about it when checking in for the photo shoot.

Now a word on editing the photos and getting a B&W image, brought to you by the geeky aspiring photographer in me....

Editing your photos on the photopass website has it's pros and cons. The pros are that you get to add Disney themed clipart, borders and effects that you can't get anywhere else. It's also a very user friendly way to do basic photo editing without needing software or the knowledge of how to use it. The con to that is that you are limited to basic cropping and B&W conversion. On the photopass site they are simply taking away the color and converting the image to grayscale, giving you the B&W appearance but losing the detail and punch that better editing can give you. The solution? Go have fun editing your photos and adding borders on the photopass site, then order the CD (pre-order or not) so you get the edited photos and the originals. Then edit them yourself with something like Photoshop Elements, or find your friendly neighborhood geek to help you edit them. You can spot your neighborhood geek by the pasty complexion and massive amounts of caffeine and junk food on or around them. They come in various ages, shapes and sizes. Ranging from the young pasty strange lad to the middle aged balding type like myself. If you use a geek, please provide us with Mountain Dew, coffee, chips, hot pockets or such depending on personal taste. Thank you.

 

[MagicalEars]

On a side note, I just booked our photoshoot at the Poly for May 14th. Woohoo!

I'll post back with pics of the shoot. I'll post originals, Photopass edited, and then Photoshop edited so everyone can get a good idea of what the pics from the Poly look like. With the background they have there the comps should be fabulous.

Also if you are staying at the Poly between now and May 10th, they are offering a free photo shoot for guests of the Poly. Don't know if they still have openings for this or not, but it was on their recording/hold/message thingy when calling the Poly photopass number. The number is 407-824-1163.

 

[LilGMom]

You can spot your neighborhood geek by the pasty complexion and massive amounts of caffeine and junk food on or around them. They come in various ages, shapes and sizes. Ranging from the young pasty strange lad to the middle aged balding type like myself. If you use a geek, please provide us with Mountain Dew, coffee, chips, hot pockets or such depending on personal taste. Thank you.

I prefer Dt. Mt. Dew and Archer Farms Indulgence Snack mix!

I plan on editing some with the Disney graphics and will try to use all of the graphics at least once. I will then be using Photoshop once I get the CD to do the real editing and also to get the Disney graphics and use them as I need to.

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Beautiful pictures everyone!