I will stand on the hill and die here with the statement that ‘photography is always worth it’.
I am lucky in that I not only have an amazing friend that is a photographer, but that he lives in Orlando so when I need that Disney magic family photography session, he is and will always be my go to (you got that Greg?!). It also helps that he is great with kids, so rather than it being a stressful situation (I have thus given up on Capture Your Moments until the kids are older…a story for another day).
We do not have stairs in our house, so anytime she gets to go up and down them is a good day!
Get yourself an amazing photographer that treats your kids like their own and has fund with them.
The biggest dilemma I have every time we do a photog session in Orlando is what to wear. I love the families that go with the flow and I wish I was that person, but alas LOL I am not. So here I come with the tips and tricks;
First and foremost, you are taking pictures in Disney…have FUN. Trust me, if you are stressed out for the pictures and are gritting your teeth telling everyone to smile (I have been there too), it will show in the pictures and I can guarentee no one in the family will want to experience it again. It is almost always the pictures where we are not posing that end up being my favorite.
Second, know your families comfort and style, but if you are unfamiliar with the location and trust your photographers aesthetic, do not be afraid to ask them for advice. Again, I can tell you firsthand that I have been that parent that tried to get EV into those lavish over the top DIsney Princess outfits and she absolutely unequivocally hates it and wants nothing to do with it. If it has sparkle, glitter, tulle, sequins, etc., not only will she not put it on, it will be a full on fit…now wrap pictures into that and it is a recipe for disaster. Because EV is the more specific one when it comes to what she wears, I model the rest of our outfits after hers. I also ALWAYS show her what she is going to wear, if there is an inkling in her face that she will not enjoy it, I reevaluate. Give yourself enough time to plan, rethink, and purchase anything you need to. Not all clothing options that are Prime on Amazon are two day delivery and if you have your heart set on something or a specific look, you will want to make sure it gets delivered on time and not where you are racing against the clock.
I want the pictures to not be too posey and look natural and like us and therefore I want the kids to be able to run around and enjoy the pictures. Clothing which this can be accomplished is necessary.
Plan for weather. Have additional things with you that will look cute in pictures in case there is a weather change. There is nothing more frustrating than Florida weather. One moment the sun is shining and gorgeous and the next it is monsooning. No matter how the Weather Channel tells you it is nothing but blue skies ahead and 3% chance of rain. Consider bringing; big clear umbrellas (Florida weather is spotty at best) like THESE, denim jackets, light sweaters, etc. You could even get the family really cute matching rain boots (puddle jumping pictures would be amazing). I also plan the location accordingly so if we have to go indoors it is a location that is beautiful that it won’t matter. Art of Animation on the outside epic….indoors…meh.
Select clothes that reflect your style, but will show up well with the enviornment. When we did Capture Your Moment at Animal Kingdown, we chose bright colors rather than neutrals so that it would show up well against the greens and browns.
Because we were doing EV’s 5th Birthday pictures I wanted something special, but still felt like her. If you have never seen VeryChicBaby dresses on Etsy than you are missing out. They are positively amazing, Jenni is wonderful to communciate with, and the dresses are unique and perfect for any little girl that hates the sparkle, but still wants to feel like a Princess. I have said it a thousand times, but EV will always choose the Star Wars over the Princess, so THIS dress was a no brainer. It was absolutely perfect and if you zoom up close you can see that the fabric is Princess Leia Buns with the message ‘The Future of the Galaxy is Female’. With that being said…here is the next tip.
If you are doing pictures to celebrate a special occassion and there is one particular outfit that you wanted to showcase, choose that outfit and build around it. I tend to lean towards daddy and son polo shirts unless its Commodore’s birthday and then I tend to make something fun on the cricut (boy stuff for Disney is weird, right?!). I had a great teal polo shirt that I had gotten the Commodore at Primark, so finding a matching teal for Sean was kind of a struggle, but in pure Amazon fashion, they came through in a clutch.
There is a smidge of teal in the dress that EV wore, but with the New Orleans inspired setting of Port Orleans, the teal was beautiful against the landscape and buildings of Port Orleans. I had a Lilly Pulitzer dress planned, but the pattern was so big and although it matched perfectly with the boys shirts, it took away from EV’s so I opted for THIS tulle skirt from Amazon. Yes, it is a little much, and yes I second guessed myself a dozen times if a 40 year old woman should be wearing it, but if you cannot have fun with Disney photos, what is the point? It ended up photographing beautifully especially with the setting. If you are second guessing the outfit, I would highly suggest bringing something else that you know you will feel good in. This way, if you do an outfit change it won’t upset the photos or your mood. Because of the skirt being slightly over the top, I opted for a simple t-shirt that I made on the Cricut (I used the Magic Coordinator SVG linked above) and then added a denim chambray button down.
With EV celebrating the big 0-5, I wanted the pictures to be fun and reflect her style, but still read well on camera and with the resort, and I feel that we accomplished that.
I do not have the pictures from Greg yet, so these are just mine that I took outside of the the lobby, as you can see there are so many good spots to get amazing photos.
Make sure that the kids are comfortable and feel good in what they are wearing. Two hours is a lot even for adults and having them feel their best will show in the photos and keep from breakdowns happening. With that being said work around times that work best for you. Greg is always cognizant that EV is a late sleeper and Danny is a creature of habit that naps around 2/2:30pm.
If it is a beautiful and gorgeous day and the kids are prone to squinting in the sun, I also suggest bringing fun Disney glasses for them (a lot of the hotels sell them in the gift shop). One, it will look like they are looking forward when really they are squinty and looking at something else and two, it will keep you from getting frustrated, readjusting and trying to get them to look at a camera that is uncomfortable for them to look at.
Wear comfortable shoes, some of the resorts ::cough Port Orleans cough:: have sprawling grounds and normally your photographer if they are local to the area will be familiar and have ideas of where they want to go to take pictures and it can be all over the place. The kids were automatically in comfy shoes that were still on the dressier side. I had super comfy wedges although by the end I was glad to take them off and I think Sean was in his normal sandals (is it crazy that I can’t remember…roll the tape). I suggest if you are of the sky high-heel variety (I have a myriad of sparkly sneakers, so they are normally my shoe of choice in the parks and for photos), I would throw a pair of flip flops in your bag so that you can traipse around without worrying about getting blisters. Just remember to change your shoes for the pictures ;).
Limit your props. Yes they are fun for the pictures, but if you are not using a stroller, someone in your family or your amazing photographer will end up lugging them around. Make sure it is something you can see yourself using in more than one photo and that you do not mind carrying it. We limit our props to a number balloon for the kids birthday and minnie/mickey ears that I can throw in our backpack or have the kids wear.
EV is awesome when it comes to wearing ears for the picture, but the minute the picture is taken, she is handing them back to me.
If you are a Disney frequenter or you love planning outfits for the days you are in the park (we are already best friends), I suggest that you pack them in the order of the days that you will be wearing them. This will keep you from missing anything that you intended to wear. Make sure to clip socks, bloomer covers, belts, etc to the outfits because day of pictures can be chaotic with hair and everything else and it is so easy to forget something. I also suggest putting any props that you bring a long with with you (ears, balloons, signs, etc.) in a designated area or in their own tote bag, so you are just grabbing it and going to the shoot. You can also put your flip flops in said prop bag, so win-win.
The hardest lesson for me in the beginning was been to have fun. I used to get super stressed where I ended up being more concerned about what they were doing and if they were looking at the camera than to just enjoy the moment. One of the greatest things about Greg is how relaxed he is and having two kids of his own, I have learned to just let him control the narrative rather than me, but trust me, this took a lot of time lol. So that is what I leave you with. Have fun, your photographer is the professional, they know what they are doing and no matter how much you think that none of the photos are going to come out and that it will be a dumpster fire, they are going to be beautiful and you will be shocked how many good photos emerge that you will not even remember them taking. This is me….every. single. time.
All that planning will end up with beautiful pictures….I promise!
