Family Photo Shoot-MK

[PHamrick]

We have an amazing family photographer up here in Virginia. She is an annual passholder at Disney and has always wanted to shoot a family's photos at MK. So, I naturally jumped at the chance! We will be going to MK on a weekday in April. I'm looking for inspiration for outfits and photo poses. She's going to follow us around for about four hours and take pictures--some posed and some natural. I'm thinking of doing black, white and red as our color scheme for our clothes. No matching t-shirts and nothing too-Disneyfied. I'd love any suggestions on favorite spots, poses, anything that worked really well (whether on purpose or not!). And of course, if you have any photos you'd care to share, I'd love to see those too!


Thanks!!!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We have an amazing family photographer up here in Virginia. She is an annual passholder at Disney and has always wanted to shoot a family's photos at MK. So, I naturally jumped at the chance! We will be going to MK on a weekday in April. I'm looking for inspiration for outfits and photo poses. She's going to follow us around for about four hours and take pictures--some posed and some natural. I'm thinking of doing black, white and red as our color scheme for our clothes. No matching t-shirts and nothing too-Disneyfied. I'd love any suggestions on favorite spots, poses, anything that worked really well (whether on purpose or not!). And of course, if you have any photos you'd care to share, I'd love to see those too!


Thanks!!!

Has your photographer friend been authorized to take professional photos inside the parks? I believe that's necessary. This is from a thread about doing just this same thing:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/personal-vacation-photographer.3429456/page-2#post-54090204

 

[PHamrick]

She’s not a friend really; she’s a professional business woman. She’s used to needing permits here in the DC region so I assume she will know/take care of any needed permits there. That being said, I’ll double check with her. Based on my reading though, it seems like this happens on a regular basis in both WDW and DL.

 

[hllb]

I don’t believe it’s allowed. If they see you, they may make you leave. It could have implications for her AP.

However, i think it is allowed at resorts. We had pictures take at a resort before and it turned out wonderfully. Have you considered that? We were staying at Caribbean Beach Resort and had them taken on the cay.

 

[mom2rtk]

Your photographer will need to decide how much of a risk she's comfortable taking. It's technically against park rules so she would be potentially putting her AP at risk. That said, you're right, it does happen all the time, so others have done it with no issue. My guess is that it will come down to how much she stands out as a professional photographer as opposed to just another member of your group with a nice camera.

 

[starry_solo]

Your photographer will need to decide how much of a risk she's comfortable taking. It's technically against park rules so she would be potentially putting her AP at risk. That said, you're right, it does happen all the time, so others have done it with no issue. My guess is that it will come down to how much she stands out as a professional photographer as opposed to just another member of your group with a nice camera.

Agreed! So make sure she goes on a few rides!

 

[PHamrick]

Agreed! So make sure she goes on a few rides!

For sure! Hoping to get a few shots on some rides. And when she does family shoots, she generally carries only one camera. I’m not worried about her standing out. She’s done our pictures several times so the kids love her and it should seem natural. Thanks for all the concern!

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

I agree with the others above. I am almost certain this is not allowed, as it defeats the purpose of Disney's MagicMaker and Disney's own professional photographers. A quick Google search also comes up with the same results. I guess if you do not make it obvious then Disney has no reason to approach you, but not only are you risking the photographer's AP you should also be prepared to potentially be escorted out of the park and lose the rest of your vacation. I personally would not be willing to risk that...

 

[PHamrick]

OK, thanks for all the concern. No one is risking anything. A quick google search will also turn up dozens of professional photographers who do family photo shoots in WDW. All we have to do is get permission from the Resort Media Relations.

From the WDW Park Rules: Professional photographers with professional cameras or recording equipment, who are visiting Walt Disney World Resort with the intent to take photographs or recordings of people, Walt Disney World Resort properties or icons for professional purposes must make prior arrangements with Walt Disney World Resort Media Relations.

I didn't start this thread to be lectured about the "dangers" of taking unauthorized pictures in WDW. And as my photographer is a professional and a long-time AP holder, she won't do anything to jeopardize that either. If no one on this forum has any help for the original questions, we should let this thread die out.

 

[MikeOhio]

Disney is very strict about this because they want you to pay sky high fees for their photo shoots. They don’t grant permission to outside photographers very often.

 

[rpb718]

When posing a question to the board it's best to be specific. You provided too much backstory. The 1st 3 sentences were unnecessary. Your actual "question" was the 5th sentence, but by that time folks reading the first few sentences were already crafting a response.

 

[hllb]

OK, thanks for all the concern. No one is risking anything. A quick google search will also turn up dozens of professional photographers who do family photo shoots in WDW. All we have to do is get permission from the Resort Media Relations.

From the WDW Park Rules: Professional photographers with professional cameras or recording equipment, who are visiting Walt Disney World Resort with the intent to take photographs or recordings of people, Walt Disney World Resort properties or icons for professional purposes must make prior arrangements with Walt Disney World Resort Media Relations.

I didn't start this thread to be lectured about the "dangers" of taking unauthorized pictures in WDW. And as my photographer is a professional and a long-time AP holder, she won't do anything to jeopardize that either. If no one on this forum has any help for the original questions, we should let this thread die out.

Good luck(and I mean that sincerely). People are giving you good advice but we can’t make you take it. Disney doesn’t grant official permission easily. They may even charge a large fee (I don’t know that, just a guess). We hired a professional photographer at Disney who used to be a Disney photographer. She didn’t do pictures in the park but rather at resorts because Disney doesn’t really want or let outside photographers in.

We hired a professional photographer in Korea to take pictures on palace grounds. They have similar wording about professional photographers. They charged over $10,000 a day for the right for a professional photographer to come in and take pictures. Needless to say, we snuck in and had to “hide” our session. But we weren’t really risking anything.

 

[Crystal824]

I think it will be difficult to do a photo shoot at MK. Not that you are going to get in trouble (which you might), but it is nearly impossible to get shots without a ton of people in the background at MK. Better make a PPO breakfast reservation that day.