Dilemma.... questions about "their" photos of you with dolphins

[Lyon_King]

I will be going down with my girlfriend and taking her to Discovery Cove as a surprise (she loves dolphins) I'd love to have some good photos of her with the dolphins (without paying an arm and a leg) and we have a great camera with a huge zoom lens, but I wouldn't mind having one photo of the two of us with the dolphin. I would never entrust someone else with a thousand dollar camera, so asking someone on the beach to take pictures of us is completely out of the question.

If I were to go on the dolphin swim at the same time she does and we just buy the "professional" pictures they take...
1) can we tell them what sort of photos we'd like to buy (so it would be in their best interest to try to capture those photos)?
2) what size are the photos they sell?

On a similar token, if I scheduled my swim at the same time as hers, would they let me go out with her for a minute or two and get a few pics together with a dolphin and then let me swim back to the beach so I could take some pictures my self?

 

[The Hunt]

They will take a bunch of pictures of you, and will pose several. I suspect if you told the photographers what you wanted, they would try to accomodate. They are wading right there in the water with you. The pictures are good quality, and cost about $15 each--there are packages that can reduce the cost slightly. I think the size is 5 by 7. I doubt if they would want you to leave the swim to take pictures, and I doubt if you would want to do that. You'd miss too much of it, and it's really fun. Plus, I doubt if you would be able to get a really good vantage point for a picture from the beach.

One tip--if you do buy pictures, pick them up an hour or two before you plan to leave and put them in your locker. The photo counter gets very crowded at closing time, because almost everybody buys pictures (and everbody gets a free group photo taken when you enter).

 

[robvia]

I talk about the picture prices in this thread and what you can expect.

http://64.225.125.24/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=80693

1 - 8x10 $28.99
1 - 5x7 $15.99
2 - Keychains of same photo $15.99
1 - Snowglobe $15.99

Yes, you can talk with the person taking the pictures and coach them as to what pictures you would like, in fact, this is a good idea so they stay awake.

No, you won't be allowed to bring your camera into the water when you are doing your dolphin swim. Disposables are not allowed because it can be a hassard to the dolphin if they pinch it, so bringing a $1k camera into the water is really out of the question. The only thing you will have on is your mask.

Now, before you get frustrated, let me explain why. First of all, it's salt water, which is not good for cameras, plus all the sand. People wishing to take pictures are only allowed to put their feet into the water at ankle level at the shore line, or they stand on the rocks that encircle the lagoon. The action happens in waist deep water a good 20 yards from the shore. The dolphins can and do splash at any given moment. Even with a telephoto lens, you will still capture other people in the shot because everyone is standing next to each other. The camera person is right there with everyone in the water so they get shots of each person close up.
The other reason is that you only have 20 minutes with the dolphins. This time flys like you wouldn't believe. You don't have time to get out, run to the beach, dry off, snap some pics, then come back. And besides, you want to enjoy your time with the dolphin, not worry about taking some pictures. You'll ruin the moment if you're thinking about pics with your camera, let it go. I'm sure your equipment is much better than theirs, but their pictures came out looking really nice.

You get 1 free pic as you walk in, a 5x7.
Then you could buy 1 5x7 when you come out of the water. It's weird, they try to sell you a package, but you can go to the photostand and buy more later. So go into the hut after your swim, narrow down your pictures, save them into your portfolio (saved by your name), then you can decide. I forgot what the min package deal is, but if anything, you could save your portfolio, walk out, then go to the photo stand and buy singles.
Our package deal had 3 5x7 and then either a snow globe or a key chain. See the gimick? 3 pics plus one more thing. Most would rather have 3 pics and that's it.

You'll probably want the one of your girlfriend kissing the dolphin, and then one of you riding to the shore, and then you'd have the free one as you walk in. This would cost you about $35.

Believe me, after you take your swim, you won't complain about the picture prices. Just put it aside that they cost alot and enjoy the moment of the swim. I know you'll go nuts seeing how much a 5x7 costs when you can do it for alot less, but you're paying for a moment.

You can bring your camera and store it in the free locker, so you can get a bunch of good shots of your girlfriend on the beach.

 

[Lyon_King]

Thanks for you suggestions. I think I will take the swim with her and let the photographer take all the pics. Initially, I was more interested in having ALOT of pictures of her (I have no problem paying $50 for a couple of pictures of us, but I didn't want to fork over $200 for a dozen pictures of her) and if I didn't swim with the dolphins at all, I wouldn't mind. The only reason I was going to do the swim at all was just to get one pic of us together with a dolphin.

My sister did the swim last year and the photographer was in outer space and wasn't taking many pictures and she ended up with zero pictures of her experience because the few that were taken did not turn out well. I was afraid to take this risk. Our carmera can handle 20 yards without a problem, so I was going to stand on the beach and take them..... But after hearing what you two have said, I think that I would be sorry later if I didn't take the opportunity to swim with the dolphin. I guess I'll be making some reservations today... lets hope the cameraperson is on their toes when I go.

Thanks.

 

[Ninilchicken]

Our 2 DD's swam with the dolphins last December, while my DH and I were on shore. They were in the group farthest to the left and we got to watch them from a glassed in sunken area that was much closer to the action than any of the other groups, but we didn't get any good still shots because they always had their backs to us. The photographer took shots of them together and seperately with the dolphin and I'm really glad we bought the group shot, I turned it into a screen saver and I get to see it every time I turn on the computer. It is a really nice picture.