Photo pass photographers for characters being phased out?

[YorkshireT]

Cannot verify this but it's claimed on Twitter by a reasonable source from what I can tell that it's been in testing since late 2017 at Tinkerbell and this is what it produces.

[sha9]

I would think it would take a significant drop in Photopass sales to make any difference to this.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by TeamJEM

Really disappointed with this decision- so nice to be able to get ‘family ‘ shots without someone missing from key pictures by taking them. I really hope the quality of the automated pictures is as good as a photographer and will be complaining if any are blurred 😪

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I've had blurred and underexposed shots from the photographers in the past, so that's nothing new. When we met Minnie Mouse at HS one year all the PhotoPass photos were terrible - thankfully I'd taken my own photos.

So it's possible that the quality of photos from the automatic system might actually be better in some cases.

[Burgmeister]

We spoke ot one of the photographers a few years ago and she was saying that most of the photographers at Disney are not "proper" photographers. Just cast members that are given a camera to go out and take pictures with. She herself was a college student with no training on photography at all.

[Andybear]

Originally Posted by gjdjud

What's the difference in a cm pushing a button on a machine or a photographer pushing the button on a camera If they are planning on just having one member of staff then surely a photographer can greet the guest and then take the photo?

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The photographers take more than one photo though. I went on a solo trip in September and was surprised at how many photos they took of me at each character greet - one was posed with each character and the rest were very natural. One of my favourites is of me kissing Winnie the Pooh on his nose!

[gjdjud]

Disney have said that they will still have photo pass photographers in over 100 locations throughout Disney World and the automated cameras will be coming to 9 different character meeting locations but they will have multiple cameras. The first one is due early January 2019.

From Disney.

"The most special part of a Disney vacation is the treasured memories our Guests take home, which is why our Disney PhotoPass photographers play a key role throughout our parks. Whether it’s capturing the moment when a family sees Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom Park or when Grandma, Grandpa and the grandkids pose behind animal print frames at the Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park or when a young girl asks for a picture with Sebastian and he magically appears online when she views the photos in the My Disney Experience app, Disney PhotoPass photographers use their creativity to capture customized photos of our Guests every day.

Walt Disney World Resort continues to have more than 100 locations where Disney PhotoPass photographers will personally capture these moments, and we know our Guests enjoy the interaction with our Cast photographers and characters to create those magical, one-of-a-kind memories. We will be installing≈automated≈cameras at nine character greeting locations≈with the first location in use beginning in early 2019. Multiple cameras will capture numerous memorable moments during a character interaction, allowing guests to choose from a wider variety of character photos. While Disney PhotoPass Cast Members will no longer capture photography at these nine locations, photographers will continue to support the more than 100 other Disney PhotoPass locations across our parks so that they can use their creativity to take personalized photos for our Guests."

[Minimanam]

What a load of rubbish - How will any number of automated cameras catch pictures like the one in my signature below.

Or when my youngest daughter met Rapunzel for the first time and she had a Tsum Tsum Pascal which Rapunzel interacted with and had on her shoulder for the entire time!

Disney need to get a grip

[Tinkerbell]

Goose killing golden eggs. Seems to be Disney new mantra. More and more extra costs less magic.

Well it’s a business I supposed and there will always be people who want to go so they pretty much h have a captive audience after all we are all still going!

[greekgranny]

Originally Posted by Burgmeister

We spoke ot one of the photographers a few years ago and she was saying that most of the photographers at Disney are not "proper" photographers. Just cast members that are given a camera to go out and take pictures with. She herself was a college student with no training on photography at all.

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Yes, I was aware of that.

[Palm trees]

What a shame. On our last trip my little boy was doing sorcerers of the magic kingdom and a photographer wandered by (on their way to or from somewhere ekse). She commented on his expression... he was totally focused and lost in the moment... and offered to take a couple of photos for us despite it not being a photopass spot. I've no idea whether or not she had professional training but the resulting photos were absolutely lovely (although shame on me for not thinking about taking photos myself before she came over )