Is Disney Photo Pass worth it?

[SwiberFam]

Were going on our 1st family trip to Disney in 21 days!!! I was wondering if its worth it to prepay for the photopass. It will be me, DH & 3yr old son. Do you get a lot of good pictures usually?

Thanks!!

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

If you use it, its worth it. Until our last trip (December), we did the pre-purchase. We stopped at every photopass photograher we could find. We did get some very nice images with the entire family. Otherwise (for the most part), each photo was missing a member, the photographer. They will take a pic with your camera, but I found it usually isn't as good as theirs or if you took the image yourself. When we got back from our trips, I would put the frames around them and customize them as far as I could. I have used some for Christmas cards.

So again, if you use it, its worth it otherwise no.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

I've purchased it every trip since they've offered it. The photographers are pretty much in the same place every time, so it's the same pictures trip after trip. It's still nice to have group shots of everyone together, though. And even though they're the same picture locations every time, they're pretty much iconic shots that you'd want every time anyway.

I usually purchase the package that also includes a photo book.

We've gone some trips and had literally hundreds of pictures that required several CDs, and other trips where we only got a few dozen photos. However, there are always some very cherished photos on any CD. It's hard to determine the value from that perspective.

 

[traylorc]

I have really become more interested in photography over the past couple of years. So for our last trip to WDW in Aug 2011, I was the primary photographer. So in that sense, purchasing photopass was worth it because it allowed me to be in some of the group pictures.

However, in my opinion, the quality of the photopass pictures are hit or miss. There are times you run into experienced photographers...and the photos are more than acceptable / downright good. There are other times where the pictures are remarkably average. In other instances they are simply terrible. The best photopass pictures occurred when I allowed the photographer to use my camera. I have my preferred settings in place, so all the person has to do is frame the shot and press the shutter button.

My wife always tells me that I have become very picky since I have become more knowledgeable about photography. I think she is on to something...

If you are someone who looks at a photo and does not get bent out of shape about inaccurate white balance, overblown highlights, shadows on people's faces, random bluriness, pictures taken in JPEG format etc... IMHO you will likely find the quality of Photopass photos acceptable. It is not my intent to insult anyone....but there are going to be some experienced photographers out there that may not find Photopass photos up to their standards.

If you do elect to purchase Photopass I would make a conscious effort to have them take as many photos as possible. Don't just get 1-2 shots in front of the castle.....get 10-15 shots in front of the castle. Have your picture taken frequently so you can increase your chances of securing some acceptable pictures.

 

[aalan]

Photopass is worth it if you get a lot of photos taken by the Disney photographers. I do agree with the other poster that the quality will vary, so the more you take , the better the odds of having great photos.

 

[katiekoester]

Photo pass was worth it to us because of the spontaneous photos we ended up with. We went in mid-may 2011 and have great shots of the girls interacting with characters and eating dole whips! Def shots I didn't get mostly because I was right there with them having fun and enjoying my fav Disney treat If you preorder less than 90 days out and you don't like/think it's worth it you can request a refund.....just FYI

 

[jkc0325]

We pre-ordered last July for our trip. We (I) made sure we stopped at every photopass photographer we saw. We got hundreds of shots and some were amazing quality, not only in the crispness of the pictures, but the artistry of the pictures as well. Some of these photographers are quite talented. As you can imagine, some of them were not worth anything. My kids especially loved the fun shots. I enjoyed editing them with the Disney frames/clip art.

If you decide to go for it, have them take as many pictures as possible so you'll increase your odds for good pictures.

 

[WDWFigment]

I guess I'll be the lone voice of dissent. No, it's not worth it. I'm surprised to read people on the photography board think that it is (I could see these reactions on a general board here).

TouringPlans had an interesting article about this (http://blog.touringplans.com/2012/02/21/disney-world-photopass/); here was my comment to that article. It's more or less applicable here:

The common definition of a professional photographer is one who makes at least 50% of their income through photography. By that definition, PhotoPass photographers are, in fact, professionals. By that same definition, I am not a professional photographer. So I suppose that makes them better than me.

I could rant about PhotoPass for pages, and it’s probably a good thing that I didn’t write this article, because it would be far more one-sided.

From this (non-professional, mind you) photographer’s perspective, PhotoPass is a horrible PRODUCT. The “professionals” rarely have any idea what they’re doing, and are barely familiar with their own equipment. Granted, there are some PhotoPass photographers who are excellent at what they do, and are actually photographers beyond what they do for Disney, but my experience has been that these folks are few and far between. We use PhotoPass regularly (just to take photos of us with my camera), and at least half of them don’t understand the concept of a prime lens (it’s a lens that doesn’t zoom–this is photography 101 for a real photographer). As Cast Members, they’re usually delightful to us just like most Cast Members are, but as photographers, I don’t feel that most are up to snuff. I realize I’m painting with broad strokes here, and as I mentioned above, some ARE excellent. So if you’re a good PhotoPass photographer, please don’t take offense.

Now, as a SERVICE, PhotoPass is wonderful. This is because all of the photographers will take photos of you with YOUR camera. We use this free service all the time, and while the photos don’t always turn out great, it’s tough for me to take photos of us during the daytime hours, so they offer a very useful service. Because of this, I’m glad PhotoPass exists!

Given the fact that PhotoPass will take photos of you with your own camera, it’s very unclear to me why regular Disney guests purchase the photo CDs or photobooks. Most guests would come out far ahead if they purchased a pocket-sized Canon S95, had PhotoPass photographers use that to take their photos, and then purchased photobooks through reputable online photobook services (the quality is higher than Disney’s, in many cases).

After only a couple of trips, you’d come out ahead monetarily. Plus, you’d have a Canon S95, which is an excellent camera. You could use that camera for other photos at the parks, too!

 

[ThurlFan]

In my experience, the pictures themselves tend to be fairly ordinary, sometimes worse depending on the weather conditions. If you have a decent point and shoot camera you'll do just as well channeling the extroverted side of your personality and just asking any random cast member or even a friendly-looking guest most will be happy to take a picture with your camera.

One exception I can think of is pictures at night with the lit-up castle behind you. That's hard to do without a tripod and most folks aren't going to bring one to the park with them.

Also, if you are into the decorative borders and embellishments available on the photopass website, that's another reason you might want to purchase. There are lots of fun options, and it's fairly easy to do.

In summary, it's certainly worth getting your picture taken as many times as you like - costs nothing to pose. Most likely it would be more cost-effective to buy individual pictures that turn out well rather than the CD, even taking into consideration any pre-ordering discount Disney may offer.

 

[Experiment_626]

I more or less agree with Bricker. I do note, however, that they've recently introduced (or are about to offer -- not sure which) the "Photopass Plus" option. The pre-ordered disc option is more expensive than the regular version, but this includes, among other things, the on-ride photos from several attractions. This is new, and furthermore, these are photos you most definitely cannot get yourself. So if that appeals to you, that might be worth it.

SSB

 

[WDWFigment]

...these are photos you most definitely cannot get yourself...

I beg to differ.

Presenting Silly Symphony Swings - on ride photo:

http://t.co/MCAr4Wur

Kidding aside, I agree with you. If I were going on my honeymoon again, or taking a number of trips within 30 days, I might consider the plus option.

 

[Mom-to-2-Princesses]

It was invaluable for me when I took my two daughters on a Mom-Daughter vacation -- otherwise it would have looked like "girls on their own"! And I agree with a poster about the night pictures, they come out very nice. But the best for us were the water park pictures -- the photographers were clicking away as the inner tubes were coming off the water slides and shots of my girls playing in the wave pool. Priceless!

 

[krb2g]

We usually pre-order the CD just because it's easier to let someone else take the group pictures than to mess with handing off my camera (maybe if I weren't wearing that Goofy hat the whole time I'm in the parks I'd mind the hand-off less...). For the night pictures, it means if I don't happen to have my tripod, they probably do (although, as others have said, the picture quality can be hit or miss). The other thing that some of the PP photographers are very good at is character interactions. We've gotten some really lovely shots of various members of our party hugging or otherwise interacting with characters (the good character photographers will start snapping as you approach the character before the posed shots; usually in these cases they only take the posed shot with your camera). Finally, if you like the "surprise" pictures with Tink or Captain Hook or the balloons or whatever you need to use the photopass for that (or I suppose you could add something approximating the effect in with photoshop at home).

 

[jk2006]

We always get the Photopass CD, and I've always been glad I did. Then I do a photo book through Shutterfly, and they are awesome looking at years later. I enjoy adding the borders & embelishments and then picking which picture to use later.

My main advice (BE SURE TO DO THIS!) take a picture of your photopass card/number with your own camera right away when you are given that little card. That way if you lose your photopass card they are able to retreive them & merge your pictures (free) onto another card before you leave the park. (Yes, I speak from experience, having our photopass code saved saved me alot of tears over lost images when I lost a card)

I am always very happy with the castle & character photos that the photographers take, they are so much nicer then when I hand them my DSLR to get the same picture. We also have one or two outstanding, artistic shots mixed in here & there from the really skilled photographers.
good luck!

 

[JMSMommy]

As a professional photographer, yes, the quality isn't up to my standards. We do, however, get the photopass (and now the photopass+ for our upcoming trip). I choose to do this for various reasons, one is that I don't LIKE to hand off my camera, and with the custom function settings I have on it...yeah, I'd spend more time trying to explain it to the CM (BTDT). I don't LIKE to carry in my nice cameras when I have 4 kids to work at keeping up with, and I do it only on one or two special days. Our upcoming trip, for "Princess Day" I WILL be carrying it in. Since we get the CD, I tell the photographer that we have purchased the CD, and I get TONS of great SNAPSHOTS of my kids interacting with the characters while I get to enjoy the moment instead of seeing it through a lens.

The posed photos in front of the castle? Or other kind where there are random people walking in the background? I'm never going to enlarge those. Empty street with us on it? Not a photopass photographer there, so I take it of the kids.

Is it worth it for the CD? Sure if you look at it for a chance to get snapshots and you would rather enjoy the moment instead of seeing it through a lens. If you are looking for professional photographs? Not so much.

If you do the portrait sessions with the photographers for that? Well, I didn't find the quality up to my standards for a large wall print. But then again, I'm rather picky for those.

 

[coloneldebugger]

I would say, yes, it is worth it. Get the pre-paid pass, and use it extremely often. It's one of the only ways I ever get into any pictures on these trips.

It's been said enough already that quality will vary from photog to photog, but you will end up with some very good shots. They obviously set up at most of the prime locations.