Confused about photopass and photo shoots

[mskayjay]

Not sure I understand so please bear with me and tell me if I've got this right. DH and I never had professional shots done for our wedding and since this will be our 25th Anniversary, I would love some very special pictures so......

Okay, for photopass I tell a WDW photographer that I want to purchase the CD and then anytime I see one of the WDW photographers during the rest of our trip, I can just ask them to take a shot of us, it gets put on a CD that will be mine, I can add enhancements to it (have no info on that so please share how/where you do this!), and that CD is sent to me??

If we get the private photo session done I can have those photos taken at our resort (WL or is that not available????) and those photos can be added to the CD shots for how much and the cost of the sittings is how much?

Are there photographers available at any of the restaurants? We'll be at CG for Wishes and our actual anniversary dinner and would love a great shot up there.

I'm sorry. I know I've asked a lot here but I'm so confused. The idea of not having to carry a camera with me is simply amazing! I'm a semi-pro photographer and did weddings and all the family stuff for years and prefer to be behind the lens, but sometimes....

Thank you so much in advance for any help, assistance, advise, savings ideas, etc. you have to offfer!
K

 

[michygoomy]

Your best bet is to actually purchase the CD ahead of time on the Photopass site. They will send you an email with a code that you will use after your vacation is over.

When you get to the parks, if you see a Photopass photographer, just ask them to take your picture. The first one will give you a Photopass card, then the rest of them you can just hand them the same card. But don't worry if you leave your card in your room one day--just get a second card. You can collect as many of these cards as you need, but it's a little easier to have one or two.

The Photopass photographers are available at prime spots in the parks, but not at the resteraunts. I've seen them at night, but I'm not sure if they could do anything during Wishes.

If you want to do a resort photoshoot, either at GF or Poly (not sure if anywhere else has been added), you'll make an appointment ahead of time within 30 days. You show up at the resort, show them your receipt for pre-paying for Photopass, and pay $25 + tax. You can use a room key. They spend about 20 minutes taking pictures around the resort. You can look at them all when you're done. The photographer will then give you a new Photopass card with those photos on it. Our photographer actually gave us a new card AND transferred the photos to our old card, so we had a kind of a backup.

When you are done with your vacation you sign on to the Photopass site and enter the codes from as many Photopass cards as you collected. You can edit all the pictures, including adding Disney borders and icons. The nice thing is that you can edit and save them as copies so you still retain the unedited original in case you change your mind. When you're done, simply add the CD to your cart and enter the code from the email. You'll be send the CD in the mail with all the copywrite rights.

If you have interet access while on vacation, you can start inputting your cards right away. We did that at CR and every day we could come back to the room and see the new pics for that day. It also made me feel more secure that they were there in case I lost my cards.

Someone here mentioned taking a picture of the back of your Photopass cards in case you lose it. I think that's a great idea and I will be doing that in the future!

I can say I was really please purchasing Photopass this year. As I look through the pictures I realize this is the first time I have any pictures of the whole family together. They are really nice.

 

[Bell30012]

One of the best things is that if you purchase the Photopass photos you get a release right on the CD. This allows you to make duplicates at Wal*Mart or other places that only charge 20 cents or so per photo.

 

[Lauraubie]

Here is what we did/were told in December...

When we got to the Grand Floridian for our photo session they asked us to go to the shop (right next to where you check in) and purchase the cd & $25 for the photo session. We brought our receipt back and showed them. Then they did the photo session. At the end of the session they put all of our photo session photos on the cd and gave us the cd with the copyright release.

They told us to return to the Grand Floridian on our last day of our trip with our photopass cards (from the parks) & the cd and that they would add our photo pass photos to the cd. We did this on the last day at the very last minute because any photopass photos taken after you have the cd updated would have to either be purchased seperately or lost.

We were not able to do the modifications to the photos online with the tinkerbell & WDW 2008, etc.

If I was going to do this again, I would purchase the cd online before I go and get the code like michy wrote. We lost about 20 of my favorite photos of my daughter that were taken AFTER we had the cd updated, we just happened to see the princesses the very last night and it was too late to get the cd updated.

 

[shyjade]

In addition to taking a digital photo of the ID number on the back of your card, we also write our last name on the card with a Sharpie so the CM doesn't get it mixed up with anyone elses (I've read posts where this can happen).

I suggest pre-purchasing the CD also.

 

[mskayjay]

Thank you all so much! This sounds like a great idea for us and I'm going to order it! Yeah! No lugging my Nikon's around with me!!!!! I'll grab a disposable for quick shots and that is it!

 

[shyjade]

Thank you all so much! This sounds like a great idea for us and I'm going to order it! Yeah! No lugging my Nikon's around with me!!!!! I'll grab a disposable for quick shots and that is it!

Just remember, the majority of the PhotoPass photographers seem to be near the park hubs (Main Street/castle in MK, hat in DHS, Spaceship Earth in Epcot, etc.) The majority of our PhotoPass pictures were taken by these icons, and few others were taken around the park.

Personally, there is so much more to photograph around the parks that I could never rely heavily on just the PhotoPass pictures.

 

[maddiesdaddy]

Just remember, the majority of the PhotoPass photographers seem to be near the park hubs (Main Street/castle in MK, hat in DHS, Spaceship Earth in Epcot, etc.) The majority of our PhotoPass pictures were taken by these icons, and few others were taken around the park.

Personally, there is so much more to photograph around the parks that I could never rely heavily on just the PhotoPass pictures.

Agreed. As I understand the nuances of photopass, it is mainly a supplement to your own pictures..to make sure you get your entire party at some location or another, but in no means is uses to REPLACE your own picture taking. In fact, it is suggested that you get the photopass photographer to also use your own camera if they aren't busy/have a big line. Photopass is a great way to make sure that you can take some fun pictures of your entire party, enhance them after the fact, even with some disney magic, but not designed for you to leave your camera at home. I know you mentioned disposables, but we're talking about 100's and 100's of pictures..

hope that helps.

 

[mskayjay]

Thank you all again! On many of our other trips I have lugged around my Nikon's or used the disposables in a pinch. While I love having somephotos of the trip, at this point I don't need to take pics of the parks, attractions, etc as I have many from when we took the kids. I think if we do that special photo shoot and the pass along with a few disposables we should be great! Of course we'll still impose on others to snap a shot or two of us at special places but that won't be too bad. We're just really into the R&R and romance for this special trip!

Again, thank you thank you thank you for all your help and advice. I'm getting sooooooo excited about this trip!

 

[Nank]

How much does the CD cost?

 

[stephanie23]

How much does it cost and what is the web site?? I am very interested in getting it!

 

[eeyore29]

I just want to add another reason for taking as many pics as you can & have them use your camera, too: they're not professional photographers. For the most part they do a great job, and I hope that I don't get flamed for this, but we've had some pretty un-great pics, too. I'm talking about shadows covering half of our party, not making sure everyone's looking, crooked and un-centered pics, and so on.

I haven't been terribly disappointed and I don't want anyone to think I'm saying "avoid Photopass altogether." I'm just saying, have them take your pics, but make sure to get as many pics and in as many different locations as possible to get the most out of your money. Plus, have them use your own camera too, and print/order whatever turns out the best. I've been considering doing the photo shoot, but I'm still up in the air because of the fear of not-so-great photos for that price.

 

[Ohana90]

The pre-ordered CD is 99.99

 

[MatterhornMiss]

I just want to add another reason for taking as many pics as you can & have them use your camera, too: they're not professional photographers. For the most part they do a great job, and I hope that I don't get flamed for this, but we've had some pretty un-great pics, too. I'm talking about shadows covering half of our party, not making sure everyone's looking, crooked and un-centered pics, and so on.

I haven't been terribly disappointed and I don't want anyone to think I'm saying "avoid Photopass altogether." I'm just saying, have them take your pics, but make sure to get as many pics and in as many different locations as possible to get the most out of your money. Plus, have them use your own camera too, and print/order whatever turns out the best. I've been considering doing the photo shoot, but I'm still up in the air because of the fear of not-so-great photos for that price.

I agree. I really enjoy the photopass pics, and think it's a nice way to share pics with others when you get home (you can email your photopass pics to others for free for 30 days). But I have found pics (mainly the ones I have them take with my own camera, not the photopass camera) with fingers in them, way off center, crooked, etc. Now, this is probably just because they are in a hurry, and not familar with other cameras (this has happened to me whether I used a 35mm, digital, or disposable), but it is disappointing to get home and realize the pic you get on your own camera looks cruddy compared with the one you have to purchase. If you have lots and lots of pics taken, it doesn't really matter in the end. But I've been on brief trips with friends and family, and only have a few.

 

[DiznEeyore]

I just want to add another reason for taking as many pics as you can & have them use your camera, too: they're not professional photographers. For the most part they do a great job, and I hope that I don't get flamed for this, but we've had some pretty un-great pics, too. I'm talking about shadows covering half of our party, not making sure everyone's looking, crooked and un-centered pics, and so on.

I haven't been terribly disappointed and I don't want anyone to think I'm saying "avoid Photopass altogether." I'm just saying, have them take your pics, but make sure to get as many pics and in as many different locations as possible to get the most out of your money. Plus, have them use your own camera too, and print/order whatever turns out the best. I've been considering doing the photo shoot, but I'm still up in the air because of the fear of not-so-great photos for that price.

ITA!

I've bought the CDs in the past but truthfully, it probably would've been better to just buy the one or two really good shots rather than spend the $100+ on the CD.

My dh is a professional photographer and he and I are very critical of photographs. Which is why we're going to try and do our own photos on the beach at the Poly with his pro camera and a remote shutter release. This way we can be in control of posing, lighting, etc.

I've seen several posts where people feel they've gotten better shots this way rather than the ones the Photopass photographers did. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our results are good!

 

[polyforme]

Could someone please tell me where to order the cd?
Thanks
Kathy

 

[DiznEeyore]

Could someone please tell me where to order the cd?
Thanks
Kathy

Do you mean the pre-order? If so, here's the site:

http://www.disneyphotopass.com/previsitcdplan.aspx

HTH!

 

[polyforme]

Yes that is what I meant and thanks so much for the link. I will order mine for our upcoming trip!!!

 

[DiznEeyore]

Glad to help!

 

[biscuitgirl]

Is it ever difficult to get to a Photopass photographer? Do they have lines? Or are there several of them around accommodating large groups of people. I ask because I want to utilize every PP photog I come across, but I don't want to waste valuable park time waiting in lines to get my picture taken. How are the waits on this usually?