Senior Pictures

[kpiper]

Has anyone had their kids' senior pictures taken at one of the theme parks (we're thinking EPCOT specifically)? Did Disney have a problem with it? We're talking professional photographer with equipment, etc. I'm looking for any advice I can get!

 

[deegack]

Has anyone had their kids' senior pictures taken at one of the theme parks (we're thinking EPCOT specifically)? Did Disney have a problem with it? We're talking professional photographer with equipment, etc. I'm looking for any advice I can get!

Disney does not allow outside professional photographers to take pictures in the parks. You can try to arrange a Disney photographer but I believe it's very expensive and may only be available if you are having a wedding there

 

[andyman8]

I think Disney does have some sort of PhotoPass photographer service where they can take special pictures. You cannot bring an outside photographer into the parks. Call up Disney directly and ask. Hope this helps and congratulations about your kid(s).

 

[kpiper]

Thanks for the replies! This is exactly what I thought. I guess my son will have to make due with pictures in Ohio! And there goes my excuse to plan another trip to WDW!

 

[boltfan]

We had one of the Photopass sessions at the Grand Floridian and I used these as my son's senior pics. Here's my favorite:

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Many schools have an exclusive contract with a photographer, and only that photographer's photos can be used for the head shots.

 

[erincon23]

Many schools have an exclusive contract with a photographer, and only that photographer's photos can be used for the head shots.

That's only for the photo that goes in the school yearbook. I actually took the senior photos that I mailed out to friends and relatives when DS graduated -- the senior portrait session that the school offered was way overpriced and not at all creative.

If the OP is good with a camera, can she at least bring her child's cap and gown in with her and take a photo or two on her own (if she wants a cap and gown pic)? We had ours a couple of weeks before graduation. Or would Disney not allow that, like they disallow wedding clothing? Even if they're not the "official" senior portraits, they're guaranteed to be more fun.

 

[PanIsMine]

You can do a photoshoot at the resorts. The prices aren't bad and maybe if you do it at the Poly you can have the castle in the backround. Just a thought!

 

[mom2rtk]

How about buying some graduation Mickey ears and take your own in the parks? I saw a really cute one posted here once with their child jumping into the air on Main Street wearing their graduation ears.

I just wish my own senior to be would even want to do anything like this.

 

[Johnny Depp Fan]

My daughter wanted her senior pictures done in Epcot too. I contacted Disney Event Photography and they have an hour session at any location at Disney. The price is $350 and you get a free 6x6 soft cover book with the session. You can also buy the cd with all the rights to the pictures. There are examples of the senior pictures on their website. I will be in Disney on vacation in November so I will be getting my daughters senior pictures done at Epcot. She is excited!!

 

[Allison]

Many schools have an exclusive contract with a photographer, and only that photographer's photos can be used for the head shots.

Not for senior pictures that the op is talking about. Students go to the professional photographer of their choice. This is not the same thing as the company that comes into schools and takes pictures of all the kids.

 

[chartle]

My daughter wanted her senior pictures done in Epcot too. I contacted Disney Event Photography and they have an hour session at any location at Disney. The price is $350 and you get a free 6x6 soft cover book with the session. You can also buy the cd with all the rights to the pictures. There are examples of the senior pictures on their website. I will be in Disney on vacation in November so I will be getting my daughters senior pictures done at Epcot. She is excited!!

Bolded part is an important issue. Without those rights you can't copy those pics to send out or put in the yearbook if your school allows it.

 

[nicki.momof3]

Many schools have an exclusive contract with a photographer, and only that photographer's photos can be used for the head shots.

In most cases all the student has to do is go get a head shot (under $25) for the yearbook at the exclusive photographer.

Your personal photos can be taken anywhere.

 

[kpiper]

What a lot of great ideas and suggestions! Unfortunately, I am not a very good photographer and would definitely want a professional taking the pictures, so I guess I could arrange a session at the resort, etc. Lots to mull over. And, I am NOT going to use the photographer for the yearbook picture for this. Ugh! Why do schools do this to us?!?

 

[mommyrosa2]

My oldest DD had her senior pictures taken this past October at the BC by the Disney event photographers. We decided to book two 20 min sessions back to back with each session costing 149... So for a total of $300 she ended up with a ton of beautiful shots and the CD with all the jpegs and the copyrights (the mini 20 min session includes the CD) and she wenr well over the 40 min b/c she wanted to change outfits and the photographer she got was wonderful! To us, it was well worth every cent and cheaper than any of our local photographers. She ended up getting over 60 shots some with the lighthouse as a backdrop, some with the boardwalk in the background but the shots she got on the beach and on the BC shipwreck slide were amazing. When we got home, I sent the school the jpeg for the yearbook and we took our CD to Walmart to print the shots she wanted to give to family and friends. I have a nice 16x20 sitting on my fireplace mantle and it cost me peanuts to print. I really can't say enough about the session.

 

[twinklebug]

What a lot of great ideas and suggestions! Unfortunately, I am not a very good photographer and would definitely want a professional taking the pictures, so I guess I could arrange a session at the resort, etc. Lots to mull over. And, I am NOT going to use the photographer for the yearbook picture for this. Ugh! Why do schools do this to us?!?

DD did not want to use the school photographer for her yearbook pic and I told her we can give it a shot at Disney figuring that Disney offers ample photo ops for beautiful but not complicated backdrops across the property. IMHO the resorts offer better backdrops and lighting than the parks. DD's favorite resort is the Grand Floridian so we snapped about 100 shots of her there - many of them were just fun shots we knew would never be used such as her posing with a bird ornament on a tree... others we were trying for more standard portrait poses.

I was surprised to find we had about 10 really good shots to choose from for the yearbook. You don't need a professional or DLSR camera a standard one with good focus and zoom will do fine as the end result in the yearbook will most likely only be 3" tall at most. I altered a few settings depending on lighting, but other than that I did nothing more than straighten out and crop the shots a bit in adobe after import... oh and fight with her over which my favorite was

I say book your trip and try for the shots yourself. It was a fun side adventure for us, one we'll always remember and have the pics to go along with it. (bring battery backups and at least 1 extra card.)

Tips:

• Pay careful attention to the background. A vase of flowers may be beautiful on it's own but may merge oddly with the subject's head when posed in the foreground. Try for something simple with nice texture. Also beware of landscape shots in the background... in Disney there are people everywhere! LOL
• Avoid direct sunlight. The image DD chose to use in her yearbook was of her on one of the covered side porches off the GF lobby with the door behind her. The natural sunlight reflected off the GF and onto the porch perfectly & no flash was needed.
• Try shots both with and without flash. Photo editing software can easily brighten up photos these days, but it's harder to get rid of those hard shadow lines. Another one of my favorite pics was of her on the stairwell inside the boardwalk resort. There I had to use a flash but there were Christmas lights adding enough side illumination to soften her face.
• For every shot take it several times. Blinks happen, heads move. It's hard to notice the little details on a 3" screen. It really takes only 10 seconds to say "just two more" and shoot them.

 

[twokids0204]

This is what I was thinking of when I read the title...

 

[suz_cute]

LOL@Twokids0204. Never even crossed my mind, but that is great!!! Thanks for the laugh!!

 

[juliebug1997]

I saw some of the pictures at the photo pass website and they looked great. I know $350 sounds like a lot, but that's actually cheaper than many senior packages here in my area. Of course, you'll probably scream when you buy the rights (I don't know how much they are), but I think it would be a lot of fun. If you do it, please come back and post a few pictures!!!!

 

[Phatoomch]

This is what I was thinking of when I read the title...

Me too!!! See, this is where the 'language barrier' comes in - I'm British and 'seniors' mean only one thing. I couldn't wait to open this thread and find out why you wanted pictures of (with respect) old people