Thank you so much for booking a Disney World Portrait Session! I am so excited to capture this time for you. Disney brings out the magic and childlike love in all of us, and my main goal is to capture that for you. This prep information will help to make this a very smooth portrait session, so be sure to read it all the way through and contact me for any remaining questions.
Prep:
Prep your kid(s) that they are going to meet me and I am going to take special pictures and that it will be fun! If kids feel any sort of stress from the parents, they will feel under pressure to perform. My goal is to not capture any fake smiles, so I won't tell your child(ren) to smile. I much rather a serious face with a sparkle in the eye than a forced smile at Disney. In the weeks prior, just let your little(s) know that this will be quick and fun and that after we are done, they will be able to ride on rides, meet characters, get a snack, (whatever your plans are). Please know that I am pretty high energy and a tad bit goofy (pun intended), so if you hear some fake toots, burps, talks about bird poop, stinky feet, and other gross things, I have to completely humiliate myself to get some genuine laughter. Just roll with it!
Wardrobe:
At Disney, children are allowed to dress up. I love Your Fairy Godmother for costume rentals. The owner is awesome and she is extending a discount to my clients! You just have to let her know that I sent you. The discount is:
Rent 1-2 costumes, enjoy 15% off, Rent 3-4 costumes, enjoy 20% off, Rent 5+ costumes, enjoy 25% off
I also love Disney Bounding for family sessions at Disney!
To go the route of not wearing Disney(ish) attire, I recommend family styling in a timeless, non-busy manner.
Morning of Session:
The morning of, please make sure to eat, or at least have a snack, prior to the session. Hungry kids are usually cranky kids (if they are anything like my 4 children!!). The first bus usually runs at 7:15 a.m. Please check with your resort and find out the time that your transportation (boat, monorail, bus) runs. It takes a while to get there, then through security, then the check in, so please take the first trip in. It is very hectic to get in early, and crazy busy in front of the castle. We will set up our meeting location closer to the session, depending on the areas you are wanting for your session. My phone number is (352) 455-8015. We will become great texting/messaging/and-or e-mail buddies the day before/morning of, so make sure to keep my number handy.
Session:
Please do not plan on any images on the roadway in front of the castle. It is pure insanity there. You will notice in my images that they are from the sides, which is perfect. One of the tricks is patience. We will wait until people aren't walking through to get the shots we want. There are plenty of great areas that aren't busy as well, but to get the shots around the castle we will just hang out and chat until we have an opening with nobody there. Ride lines are very short during this hour as well. I would love to photograph during a ride, too, if you are wanting that. The carousel, Dumbo, and any outdoor rides are best for lighting purposes. The rest of the park opens at 9, so if you're wanting to go to Adventureland, or the other areas that don't open until 9, I would be glad to go over there right at 9, too. If there are specific images that you love and want done, please make sure to message/email me to let me know so I can make sure that they are done.
After the Session:
If you want a sneak peek, I will do one within a few days of your session. The entire gallery will take about 4 weeks to edit. I will email/message you when they are completed with download instructions. As for the number of images you will receive, I don't like to give an exact number because I will give every image that represents my work. This can vary from 50-150 images. Please know that every good image, you will get.
You rock:
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through this to help make this the most magical session. I look forward to working with you and create timeless portraits for your family.