Randy Chapman vs Disney Photo

debbieb04

Earning My Ears
Joined
May 11, 2004
Hi all,

I'm trying to decide if I should contact Randy Chapman to photograph my vow renewal in December.

I have no doubt he is an excellent photographer, but what was the deciding factor? Was it cost or just the fact that you get a cd of your pictures right away?

How do his prices compare to Disney?

If we use Randy Chapman are there any hard feelings with Disney?

Thanks

Debbie
 
Here is something is my take on Randy!

( I wrote this review on a different thread but want to share it here just in case you missed it)

Before I speak further I encourage you to look at at Randy's work along with other competitors. Randy is highly spoken of here on the boards, but I want you to make a decision that you are comfortable with. I am Randy's biggest fan so you will hear me speak very highly of him. His work is phenomenal and seriously, cannot be beat.

Depending on the package you get from Randy will depend on the price.
If you go to www.chapmanphotography.com and go to "Disney brides" the password is "Ariel". You can look at those photos and see some examples of his work there (you might be surprised to see many DISers there). If you click on the botton it will say "wedding information"... there you can look at his prices. When comparing prices you will see that Randy is a GREAT investment.

Disney gives you very few photos and makes you pay approx $1000 for the CD. Where Randy, on the other hand, gives you a CD with all of your photos and you own the copywrite to the CD. He also gives you an album with (depending on the package) a great number of photos.

Here was my package-- to give you an idea.
-I paid $613 dollars for 3 hours of photography. He shot me getting ready at the WL, then at the ceremony (Sea Breeze Point- Boardwalk Resort),shot afterwards for the reception and Mickey and Minnie, and then we went for the remainder of the time to the Grand Floridian for some photos on the grounds there.
-We received the album with over 400+ photos. The album is beautiful and I could not be happier.
-He also sent the CD with every single photo he took of us on the day. We have been able to take this CD an get reprints for as low as .22cents (Compare that to any other photographer. Sometimes reprints can cost up to $70 dollars).

Randy is a great deal! Take a look at the photos he shot of my DH and I in my Trip Report. That link is in my signature and will give you an idea of his work.

Randy is the most artistic, tallented, individual I have ever met. He is very personable and really makes you feel as though you are well taken care of. I had no idea what was going on the day of my wedding and Randy did. He took control and even helped my DH and Dad get their clothes on correctly (haha ) before the wedding. He also answered all of our questions as to what we needed to do for the ceremony (something my WC hadnt really prepared us for).

I highly recommend Randy as an outside vendor.

Think of it like this

You get what you pay for. With Disney its already included but you get very very few photos and when you want more (those that they didnt give to you in your fold out)... that will add up (sometimes photos are $70 a piece. Wont all of the in-laws want atleast 1 photo?? How many photos is that-- it practically makes going with randy worth your money). His packages are so reasonable and you wont have to worry about years down the road having to get in touch with someone just to get a reprint of a photo that your child happened to rip up, or got knocked off the shelf and bent. You own the copywrite and the CD with all the photos are on it... its as easy as going to wally world-- popping it in the computer and getting a reprint for mearly pocket change.

Some might say... 'weve already paid for someone.. why throw more money away'... but whats $600 some-odd dollars in the grand scheme of things? A lifetime of memories on paper... able to access them forever-- not to mention a photographer who is(in my opinion) better than Disney Photography?? In my opinion thats priceless in and of itself... Theres no big price tag along with this one though... hes actually affordable

But look this is the real thing, Im not someone who works for Randy nor do I know Randy outside of the photography that he shot for my wedding. Genually- hes all round tallented great guy.

Here are a few of my photos-- and if this dont convince you I dont know what will. I have said this many times and ill say it again-- im not bragging about me or my DH in these photos (if you read my TR you will see I wasnt exactly pleased with my looks on the day of the wedding).. but in all honesty, Randy Chapman could take fabulous photos of pigs playing in a pig pen...

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I hope you make the same great decision I did...:hug:

If you need more info please feel free to ask. You can exchange your already paid for Disney package for the Disney Honeymoon Photo Shoot-- free exchange. Here are photos of the album I received (I also received the CD) and as you can see--- a whole lot more photos than what Disney offers! GL with your decision:thumbsup2

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I have to agree with some points that maggie has raised. Her photos are fantastic but I have not seen as good of phots as hers that randy has taken if i'm honest. Alot of brides on here use him and he does take good photos but some have been disapointted. I too would not use disney as they charge way over the top for the same kind of packages and you are not guarenteed a specific photographer.

I was looking at booking randy but then I searched a few more photographers and came across misty miotty and I just lover her work, she is very artisitc and after talking to her serveral times on email we are going to book her.

We are having a no frills package with is 6 hours of photography and we only get the cd with the rights. This is $887 and we have to pay 25% deposit. We are going fro the cd only option as we are from the UK so we shall probably make all the albums here to save on shipping costs and we have the rights so we can get them reprinted as well.

There are alot of others than other brides have used so its worth checking out everyone before making a decision.
 
Your pictures are beautiful and the other disney bride pictures on his website are great too! I am planning on getting the MK photo shoot so I am definitely going to inquire about RC's availability for my VR.

A few ???

Is there any problem or extra charge for using RC within the parks

How far in advance does one book a photographer (if you aren't using Disney)
 


I am looking at booking mine in about 4 weeks just outside my 12 month mark with disney,
 
Your pictures are beautiful and the other disney bride pictures on his website are great too! I am planning on getting the MK photo shoot so I am definitely going to inquire about RC's availability for my VR.

A few ???

Is there any problem or extra charge for using RC within the parks

How far in advance does one book a photographer (if you aren't using Disney)


If you want Randy, I would book him as soon as possible because of his popularity! And Disney knows Randy, and no one so far has had to pay a fee to have him, nor do they have any problem with him being on-site for photography. He is just not allowed to take pics in any of the parks.

Others who mentioned maybe not getting all of the artistic types of shots Maggie got, in hindsight, have stated that they wish they had just told Randy more specifically what types of shots they wanted...i.e., more artistic, more traditional, etc.

Hope that helps!
 
So if your reception is inside, say, Epcot, he is not allowed to take pictures at the reception?
 


Randy isn't allowed to do the photography in the parks...kind of sucks..but its their rules.

Also...if you're doing this December '07...as in 6 months away, I would decide and call Randy quickly. When I booked him for my December '08 wedding he thought I had said December '07 and said he was pretty booked up..didn't even have my date (the 18th). Luckily he had just heard me wrong and DID have my date for '08. So call soon! :)

On a last note...I WOULD NOT use Disney...they charge WAY too much for VERY little. I have saved so much money using Randy, and am much happier knowing exactly who will be photographing my wedding. :)
 
So if your reception is inside, say, Epcot, he is not allowed to take pictures at the reception?


Any outside photographer is allowed to do receptions inside a park. If you are thinking of an engagement shoot or any other type of photographic occassion, then no, he isn't. However, Disney allows outside photographers for in-park weddings!
 
We chose Randy because his prices were A LOT cheaper than the package we would've gone with if we had Disney. We were also concerned because we wouldn't know our Disney photographer until day of (or shortly before) the wedding. With Randy (or another outside photog for that matter), you know exactly who the person is and their reputation.
 
If you want Randy, I would book him as soon as possible because of his popularity! And Disney knows Randy, and no one so far has had to pay a fee to have him, nor do they have any problem with him being on-site for photography. He is just not allowed to take pics in any of the parks.

Others who mentioned maybe not getting all of the artistic types of shots Maggie got, in hindsight, have stated that they wish they had just told Randy more specifically what types of shots they wanted...i.e., more artistic, more traditional, etc.

Hope that helps!

Exactly-- I told Randy that I loved those type of photos and we talked about stuff like that throughout the photoshoot as well. If you are paying him for his services definitely speak up!! I got a lot of my inspiration from Tchan's photos!
 
For me personally, it was the number of photo's he actually takes and gives you a copy of. The CD is a big factor too.
We booked him Sept '06 for our VR in Dec '07!
 
We used Randy for our wedding and have no regrets at all. We were extremely happy with our photos. He was with us the whole day (around 10 hours) from getting ready through to our IllumiNations dessert party.
He did cost more than Disney, but it was well worth it. We didn't want just traditional posed photos, more photojournalistic, and that's what we got with Randy :)
The only downside was the length of time we had to wait to get the photos, both the proofs, and then the actual albums. Although they were all worth the wait in the end :)
 
Having Randy for our pictures was the best decision I made. I couldn't imagine the day without him. He put my dad and my DH completely at ease.

I decided to go with him and not Disney after seeing his work and knowing the cost ro get the Disney CD. Frankly, knowing that I would have to pay $1000 for the CD put them completely out of the running.

Good luck with your decision.
 
I have to agree with what Maggie and the above posters have stated. It is VERY important to check out several different photographers and their work and then decide what it best for you and DF. Once you decide and book that person, it is VERY important to tell them clearly if there are any particular styles or shots that you want.

We are using Randy for our Feb wedding after my cousin made the mistake of not heeding this advice for her Nov DFTW. She used Disney Photo because it just seemed easier to go with the inhouse service, and was assigned whatever photographer was working that day. While I'm sure that there are many brides out there who have used DPS and were very satisfied with their work, you do run that gamble by using them that you don't know who exactly the photographer is til that day and therefore don't know anything about the quality of their work or style.

She had submitted a shot list ahead of time, but she did not get many of the photos that she had requested. There were also some other issues that I won't get into right now, but she ended up meeting with one of the supervisors for DPS about the photos and work that she did receive and it was then discovered that the photographers had in fact taken about twice as many photos as she was given proofs of or were put up on her website. :sad2: Many of them WERE good shots, and if she hadn't complained and met with the manager, she wouldn't have gotten/seen/or known were taken.

So again, RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH. Then ASK ASK ASK....ask for the shots you want, ask for the styles you want, and ask if they have given you ALL the proofs of the photos taken that day. Only you and DF can decide who's best for your wedding!
 
With everything thats said, I'm going to be the lone person who suggests giving Disney photo a second look, based on some misinformation given. 1, you can actually request a photographer, so if you do your research, it isn't too hard to find someone's style that you like. Disney tried very hard to honor this request (short of illness, death or previous booking etc) 2. They do take a TON of photos, we ended up with over 600 for 7 hours of photography. Now a major difference is price between Disney and outside photo and what you get, which is a major selling point to go outside. However, if you need photo to meet your minimum (which I expect more and more people will based on the changes to the minimums) its not necessarily a bad thing! They do do great work, you are guaranteed a photographer, you do get 1 3x5 proof of every picture and if you do want reprints, they're $12 a piece for a standard size, not $70, but you can go all the way up to a 30x40 canvas, which does run about $350 and you do get at least 1 very pretty albumn. And I went the inexpensive route, picking the 6 hour package and adding 1 extra hour vs. doing the 8 hr package which was $1000 more, but you get more stuff. Their customer service is stellar, you can get in touch with anyone at anytime and they are super quick to respond You can buy your cd initially for $1000 which is outrageous, or you can wait 3 years and get (and your copyright) for $99....I think Disney knows they do such beautiful work, they want the copyright just so they can use people for ads!
All in all, I know they're not for everyone, but they are at least worth a thought and if needed, they do great work (especially Paul)!
 
Thanks everyone for answering my question, it's great how helpful everyone is to each other!

Maggimus - your pictures are incredible and I will be reading your reports very soon.

I have sent an e-mail to Randy Chapman to check his availability, but I couldn't get price information from his website. I'm sure I was doing something wrong!

Let me see if I understand the information Disney sent me...a six hour package is $2665.00 (vow renewal at 5:00, pre-reception and reception 6:00-10:00). This pays for the photographer and an album with $750.00 towards prints.

With Randy Chapman I can get a cd of all our photos included in the cost of the package?

I'm not worried about meeting my minimum, but could there be issues if I use Randy Chapman and Disney videographers? I think I read somewhere about a Disney videographer giving the bride a hard time about not using Disney photo.
 
It's nice to know there are options out there. I myself am a picture fiend, and knew that waiting for 3 years wasn't going to be an option for me - neither was paying $1000!

Thanks to the wonderful gals here, I checked out both Randy and Misty Miotto. They both take wonderful photos, we responsive to questions, and are fairly comparable in pricing.

In the end, we're going with Misty. She just has some of those "wow" shots that I was really impressed with. In the end, I hope I'm not disappointed, but something about her just clicked with me.

Like Maggie said though - alot of the pictures you receive will depend on your voice. Misty has sent us a list of her "standard" shots, and also reccomends us informing her of specifics.
 
Thanks everyone for answering my question, it's great how helpful everyone is to each other!

Maggimus - your pictures are incredible and I will be reading your reports very soon.

I have sent an e-mail to Randy Chapman to check his availability, but I couldn't get price information from his website. I'm sure I was doing something wrong!

Let me see if I understand the information Disney sent me...a six hour package is $2665.00 (vow renewal at 5:00, pre-reception and reception 6:00-10:00). This pays for the photographer and an album with $750.00 towards prints.

With Randy Chapman I can get a cd of all our photos included in the cost of the package?

I'm not worried about meeting my minimum, but could there be issues if I use Randy Chapman and Disney videographers? I think I read somewhere about a Disney videographer giving the bride a hard time about not using Disney photo.

To see Randy's pricing information go to www.chapmanphotography.com and click on
"MENU" then
"disney brides" Password is "Ariel"
Click "Wedding Information" just below the photo scroll
then click on the words "Disney Wedding Packages and Pricing"

That should give you a run down of Randy's packages, costs, and what each include. Hope that helped!
 

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