Family Photos

This post is brought to you by one of my clients Stacey! We'll be updating it next month with photos!

Each time we go to Disney, we try to come up with something new to do. One evening, my husband mentioned that it had been a while since we had family photographs taken. We decided to book a photo session through Disney Fine Art Photography during our upcoming Walt Disney World vacation. What could be better than family photos in our happy place?!


There are two available photography sessions to choose from: the Mini Session and the Enhanced Session. According to their website (www.disneyfineartphotography.com), the Mini Session is a casual 20-minute session and costs $150. Photographs can be taken at the following locations: The Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Beach Club, Art of Animation and Animal Kingdom Lodge. The session includes all images on a flash drive and a copyright release.


The Enhanced Session is an hour-long session and costs $350. The photo locations included the same options as the Mini Session as well as EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. This session includes image retouching and studio lighting. Following the session, participants will be able to view the images on a secure website and receive a 6x6 proofs album.


We decided to go with the Enhanced Session.I called Disney Fine Arts Photography,407.934.4004, and spoke with a very nice cast member named Jessica. She patiently answered all of my questions and helped me decide on a location. I was wrestling between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. Hollywood Studios is our favorite park after the Magic Kingdom. I decided on EPCOT because, as Jessica pointed out, there are numerous background options in the World Showcase. Plus, we could enter that area of the park early so there wouldn't be potential strangers in our photographs. I reserved our session for February 2, 2015, at 9:00 am. This would be our second full day of vacation, which would allow us to reschedule if the weather didn't cooperate. There is a $25 non-refundable fee, which is applied toward the session cost. Shortly after booking our session, I received a very thorough email providing tips, general information, and driving directions.


The morning of our session, we drove to the Beach Club so that we could enter EPCOT through the International Gateway. We met our photographer, Amy, and her assistant. Amy asked if we had any favorite locations within the World Showcase. I have always loved the Canadian pavilion, especially the flower garden and water fall outside of Le Cellier. So, that's where we began our journey. My daughter thought it was awesome because we were allowed to enter the actual garden for our photographs; we weren't just limited to the walkways. After shooting in Canada, we took pictures in England and ended in France.


Amy was very easy to work with. She and her assistant (I think his name was Andreas) even carried my purse for me. Amy also encouraged us to let her know if we wanted any specific shots. So, while in the French pavilion, I noticed a large clock hanging in a garden. I asked if my husband and I could have our picture taken under it. (We have a fabulous picture of us kissing under the clock at Union Station on our wedding day that hangs above our mantle). Amy was very accommodating and let us step into the garden, right under the clock. I can't wait to see that shot - I hope it turned out well! We will be able to see all of the photographs in about a month following our session. Once they are ready for viewing, we will receive an email that will include a link to our personal website.


Our session seemed to fly by! I normally hate having my picture taken, but we had a lot of fun. It was awesome having the World Showcase to ourselves and being allowed into the actual gardens. I'd definitely consider doing this again in the future!