Family photos with photographer?

[DisneyLove2015]

After someone posted the information about Disney Event Photography and how they can do family portraits... I've had my interest piqued.

Has anyone used Disney Event photography for family photos?? How did your session go? Where did you end up holding your session?

I'm also considering Randy Chapman Photography- if anyone has used him and wants to share your opinion - would love to hear it!

 

[wacowgirl]

I did this back in 2008 with my oldest son and I and I was REALLY pleased with the results. I did our photo shoot at the Beach Club. The photopass lady was awesome! She took some amazing shots and took her time with us. I was able to get shots of just myself and just my son. I'm sure the price has gone up and the name changed, but I would imagine it's the same process.

 

[burberryplaid]

All of the information you need can be found on this website:

http://disneyfineartphotography.com/portraits/

There are two options - a one hour session at World Showcase, Animal Kingdom, or Hollywood Studios or any WDW resort.

The 20 minute session is offered at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Art of Animation, Beach Club, Grand Floridian, or Polynesian.

We had a session at Grand Floridian in 2008 and thought it went well although it was very humid and it's hard to stay looking fresh when it's hot & humid. I am considering doing a session at the Polynesian on our upcoming trip since we are staying there & would love to use photos for our Christmas Card this year.

 

[JRennie]

After someone posted the information about Disney Event Photography and how they can do family portraits... I've had my interest piqued.

Has anyone used Disney Event photography for family photos?? How did your session go? Where did you end up holding your session?

I'm also considering Randy Chapman Photography- if anyone has used him and wants to share your opinion - would love to hear it!

I used Randy a couple years ago and will book him again the next time we go. He was wonderful! Highly recommend him. In the area of Canada I live in a family photo session costs around 500 bucks canadian, Randy was around 225 USD two years ago, so in my opinion his prices are quite reasonable too!

 

[JRennie]

I used Randy a couple years ago and will book him again the next time we go. He was wonderful! Highly recommend him. In the area of Canada I live in a family photo session costs around 500 bucks canadian, Randy was around 225 USD two years ago, so in my opinion his prices are quite reasonable too!

Oh and he also gives you two discs of your photos , one in black and white and one in colour. I ended up having about 300 on each disc.

 

[mshanson3121]

After someone posted the information about Disney Event Photography and how they can do family portraits... I've had my interest piqued.

Has anyone used Disney Event photography for family photos?? How did your session go? Where did you end up holding your session?

I'm also considering Randy Chapman Photography- if anyone has used him and wants to share your opinion - would love to hear it!

As a photographer, take my advice - do not use the Disney photo service, their quality is really sub-par, when looking at professional quality. Get a local professional Florida photographer. They're cheaper (you're paying for the Disney name with their photographers, NOT quality) and they're allowed on resorts etc... to take photos.

 

[mshanson3121]

Quite honestly, looking at his portfolio, I wouldn't use him, either. I'll dig around, someone else had asked a question and they linked to a local professional. Their portfolio was much better than either of these two options, and prices were similar or better.

 

[mshanson3121]

Check out these options.

http://karenleslie.com/portraits/#!/home/

http://jenstevensonphoto.com/

 

[poppinspenguins]

I have used Jennifer werneth photography twice. It's a husband wife team so you get 2 photographers foe an hr. Super nice, comes to you, answers emails quickly, you get all rights. Loved them!

 

[poppinspenguins]

And riverside or French Quarter are awesome.options for location

 

[DisneyLove2015]

As a photographer, take my advice - do not use the Disney photo service, their quality is really sub-par, when looking at professional quality. Get a local professional Florida photographer. They're cheaper (you're paying for the Disney name with their photographers, NOT quality) and they're allowed on resorts etc... to take photos.

Are you referring to their fine art photography or Photopass photography? I know the photopass photographers aren't great... I've liked the portraits I've seen on the disney fine art website though- good advice though.

 

[mshanson3121]

Are you referring to their fine art photography or Photopass photography? I know the photopass photographers aren't great... I've liked the portraits I've seen on the disney fine art website though- good advice though.

The Disney Fine Art Photography. To an untrained eye, their photography will seem fine, and most people would be pleased. But honestly, they're nothing more than snapshot quality that any one with half an eye and a DSLR could take (many of their photos are fuzzy, out of focus, have flash shadows, blow outs with lighting, average composition etc...). Same with that other photographer you listed, I saw more errors than I could count, and saw many things that made me cringe. To a trained eye... both places are mediocre at best, and you can definitely get better quality elsewhere, for similar price. With Disney, it's going to depend on who you get for a photographer, too. They contract out different people, so you'll be depending on the luck of the draw, some are better than others. And again, with Disney, you're paying for the name, not quality.

 

[Tigerlulu]

As a photographer, take my advice - do not use the Disney photo service, their quality is really sub-par, when looking at professional quality. Get a local professional Florida photographer. They're cheaper (you're paying for the Disney name with their photographers, NOT quality) and they're allowed on resorts etc... to take photos.

This!!!!

The fine art photogs leave a lot to be desired. The photo pass photogs are worse. Every now and then you find one who knows what they are doing. My feeling is you pay a ton of money to go on a special vacation--why skimp on the portraits commemorating such a special time for your family? You'll always have those photos, long after the vacation becomes a distant memory. Pay the money and get quality and you'll never regret it!

 

[burberryplaid]

I think people are being rather harsh. There are some great Disney Fine Photography photographers out there. These are not the same as the photo pass photographers.

I'd be cautious of going with someone who no one has worked with. When you look at websites you are only seeing a small sample of someone's work and quite frankly, you don't know for sure if those photos are really theirs or not.

While I think you certainly could go with an outside photographer, don't let a few people who dislike Disney photographers dissuade you from using Disney if you want. I have had many friends use them for weddings and shoots with beautiful results.

 

[mshanson3121]

I think people are being rather harsh. There are some great Disney Fine Photography photographers out there. These are not the same as the photo pass photographers.

I'd be cautious of going with someone who no one has worked with. When you look at websites you are only seeing a small sample of someone's work and quite frankly, you don't know for sure if those photos are really theirs or not.

While I think you certainly could go with an outside photographer, don't let a few people who dislike Disney photographers dissuade you from using Disney if you want. I have had many friends use them for weddings and shoots with beautiful results.

Not being harsh at all. Just truthful. It has nothing to do with not liking Disney photographers. I think there are some Disney FA photographers who are better than others, yes. It has to do with expecting quality for your money, and you do not get it with Disney Fine Art photographers. Again, those who are not trained, who don't know what to look for, no, they probably will not notice. And let's face it, most families getting portraits on vacation - do not know enough to know the difference between real quality portraits. So, of course they're going to leave good reviews. Most people aren't looking critically at their photos, they're looking with emotional eyes, therefore do not notice the errors. But, unfortunately, no, the quality is not there, and the portfolios on both the photographers OP was looking at, while they do contain some nice pictures, definitely contain more that have many amateur mistakes. So, yeah, I would say, if you want good, technically sound, quality photos, look outside Disney. You can get some "nice" shots through Disney, or get some "great" shots elsewhere.

And, I would assume that it is common sense to do your research when hiring a photographer. Call them, talk to them, Google for reviews, ask around etc...

 

[burberryplaid]

Not being harsh at all. Just truthful. It has nothing to do with not liking Disney photographers. I think there are some Disney FA photographers who are better than others, yes. It has to do with expecting quality for your money, and you do not get it with Disney Fine Art photographers. Again, those who are not trained, who don't know what to look for, no, they probably will not notice. And let's face it, most families getting portraits on vacation - do not know enough to know the difference between real quality portraits. So, of course they're going to leave good reviews. Most people aren't looking critically at their photos, they're looking with emotional eyes, therefore do not notice the errors. But, unfortunately, no, the quality is not there, and the portfolios on both the photographers OP was looking at, while they do contain some nice pictures, definitely contain more that have many amateur mistakes. So, yeah, I would say, if you want good, technically sound, quality photos, look outside Disney. You can get some "nice" shots through Disney, or get some "great" shots elsewhere.

And, I would assume that it is common sense to do your research when hiring a photographer. Call them, talk to them, Google for reviews, ask around etc...

I'm not saying you're totally wrong but you are making a very broad generalization. As with everything you're going to get some photographers who are better than others but there are some who do beautiful work on par with outside photographers. As I mentioned, I have seen some amazing photos taken by Disney photographers, so yes the quality can be found.

in the end it's up to the OP - don't let anyone here decide for you or make you feel like whichever way you go is wrong. I'm sure you'll be happy whatever direction you go in.

 

[mshanson3121]

I'm not saying you're totally wrong but you are making a very broad generalization. As with everything you're going to get some photographers who are better than others but there are some who do beautiful work on par with outside photographers. As I mentioned, I have seen some amazing photos taken by Disney photographers, so yes the quality can be found.

in the end it's up to the OP - don't let anyone here decide for you or make you feel like whichever way you go is wrong. I'm sure you'll be happy whatever direction you go in.

I've specifically stated: "With Disney, it's going to depend on who you get for a photographer, too. They contract out different people, so you'll be depending on the luck of the draw, some are better than others." It's not generalizing to acknowledge that you're going to be spending a good amount of money, to take a chance on what photographer you get. You might get a good one. Or you might get a bad one. Now, is it generalizing to say "They're nothing more than snapshot quality"? Yes. Because it's not incorrect to do so . "A generalization is a statement drawn from particular facts that are generally true about a category of things." And, it is very easily seen from their gallery, that there are more "amateurish", snapshot-quality photos in their gallery, than there are good, solid, professional-level ones. And when you consider the fact that galleries only present their best work (traditionally anyways), that's not a good sign of overall quality.

Part of offering quality, is offering consistency with that quality. So, based on their lack of consistence in quality, is why I would not recommend them. I would never recommend that someone spend that much money on something that they're relying on the luck of the draw, especially for something like this - a once in a lifetime (or likely very rare happening) family portrait session. Not everyone is willing to throw money around in hopes that "quality can be found". I think it is better to go with a photographer that has a far more consistent, better quality portfolio.

 

[SheilaHeartsDisney]

I've used Disney photography 3 times and Randy Chapman and both have their perks. If you use Disney, depending on where you have photos taken, they can get you into certain areas in park that a local photographer won't go or can't go. But using a local photographer will get you a lot more for your money.

I thought the quality was a little better with randy but that could be cause I had a lot more to choose from. Disney got some great shots too but not as many.

Randy let me customize my package where Disney was very strict with what you get and kinda difficult to work with.

My suggestion to you it to go to the wedding boards and get some feed back there. Those girls have done all the research already and you can see some of the quality photos.

 

[Tigerlulu]

I think people are being rather harsh. There are some great Disney Fine Photography photographers out there. These are not the same as the photo pass photographers.

I'd be cautious of going with someone who no one has worked with. When you look at websites you are only seeing a small sample of someone's work and quite frankly, you don't know for sure if those photos are really theirs or not.

While I think you certainly could go with an outside photographer, don't let a few people who dislike Disney photographers dissuade you from using Disney if you want. I have had many friends use them for weddings and shoots with beautiful results.

I simply want to point out that the "people being rather harsh" are actual photographers. In my case, (and assuming the case of @mshanson3121) I have the experience, education and knowledge to know what is what within the photography industry. And Disney Fine Art Photography is not a good value for your money.

 

[mshanson3121]

I simply want to point out that the "people being rather harsh" are actual photographers. In my case, (and assuming the case of @mshanson3121) I have the experience, education and knowledge to know what is what within the photography industry. And Disney Fine Art Photography is not a good value for your money.

You assume correct And not just myself, but my mother, and two brother in laws are also professional photographers. Though my mother is more into landscape than portraits.