Melissa and I are actually retired from wedding and family photography, but if you'd like to take a look around you'll see some of the wonderful clients and memories we had with all these beautiful people.
Have I ever mentioned that I like Disneyland? No? :)
One of the coolest jobs I have as a lifestyle family photographer is being able to capture real-life moments as they happen. I certainly have an appreciation for posed family pictures, and they will always have their importance, but I’ve learned that the images that have always meant the most to me were the ones of great moments between me and my wife or those between family members. I may be completely wrong here, but I think this is why we like dog and baby videos on Youtube, because these are real moments that really happened, and most of the time they are fun!
One of the advantages (and blessings) I have to living in Southern California, is that Melissa and I are able to travel to Disneyland quite often -usually to enjoy the place- but we’re also available as Disneyland family photographers to those families who may be traveling from out of state or out of the country even! When heading to Disneyland, people sometimes realize that they need to hire someone to capture some real moments with them and their loved ones (even photographers realize this!), instead of taking the pictures themselves. This gives people some more freedom to just have a great time in a truly wonderful place! To some extent, this is why Disneyland invented the “Photopass” system. If you’re not familiar with the system, basically you buy a prepaid package of pictures of your family taken at pre-determined locations throughout the park, along with a collection of stock images of Disneyland (or the Disney Park you’re visiting at the time). All you have to do is look around for the cast member who looks like a photographer with a tripod and a vest (and a hat), you’ll know them when you see them. I think this is a great idea for families who would love to get some family portraits in front of the traditional landmarks of the park.
What I like to offer is something a little more special for those families looking for an “upgrade” of sorts. I like to spend some time with the family, and capture the real moments as they happen. This way families have pictures of them that capture more of their personalities and what makes them unique, not just pictures of the same smiles in front of the landmarks they saw. I will always do my best to capture traditional “portraits” in front of the main landmarks (you HAVE to have these!), but I also like to give families something special and hopefully more emotional. So that when they look back on the images, and even others see their moments, they can remember how happy their time was, and not just of the sights they saw. This is Disneyland! The HAPPIEST Place on Earth!
When Courtney approached me about doing some family photos at our favorite place, of course I jumped at the chance! Courtney is one of the lucky few who made it on to this years’ Disney Parks Moms Panel to answer questions people from everywhere have about visiting the amazing Disney Parks around the world. What a cool job! I may have to submit and application! :)
I had so much fun with the Bautista’s on this SUNNY day in July. Thank you for letting me hang out with you! … and I may or may not be stealing Mason’s outfit for myself.
Melissa and I were fortunate to attend a preview of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street in the “newly-reimagined” and renamed “Disney California Adventure.” Whether or not I think this was a necessary change is a different discussion, but what Disney has accomplished in the park is truly monumental and special.
Our day started off rough, running late getting to Disneyland, getting in an accident in Anaheim, having to tow our car back to Bakersfield and missing our scheduled time slot to this event we had been so excited to attend for several months, was not the way we’d hope this would go.
We have all had our bad service experiences with select cast members, but on this day, the real Disney service shined. Not only were they kind enough to let us in to the event, they gave us tickets to a World of Color show that night. Inside the lands we visited, the cast members were the model of smiles and kindness. Being taken back to 1920s Los Angeles in Buena Vista Street and completely immersed in one of the most intricately designed lands I’ve ever seen from Disney, was exactly what we needed that day. Needless to say, this park has become something truly special.
Here’s a list of some new attractions and eating establishments:
This is by no means an exhaustive play-by-play of Disney’s huge expansion to an already-great theme park. I just wanted to share some of the photos we gathered on the day. I hope to post more soon. Also with a video.
I hope you enjoy the pictures! Try to visit this place soon.. It is really amazing.
-john
Map from MiceChat - Car's Land is so big! This map gives you an idea of where everything is.
