I’ve had many high paying temporary jobs but the greatest corporate job I ever had was working as a Photo Pass Photographer at Disney World (sorry, dont have any photos of me dressed in that costume!). I started off at the water parks and after 3 months there, transferred over to Epcot. Of course, my first choice was the coveted Magic Kingdom because when people think Disney, they conjure up Cinderella’s castle and Space Mountain. The only theme park that had an opening was Epcot and I snatched it up because I HATE water parks (in general. Disney actually has really clean ones but I was still grossed out).
In hindsight, Im glad I didn’t get Magic Kingdom. Epcot was SO laid back & fun.
When I started my job at Disney, I was 21 years old, had never really driven a car (so I drive like a crazy person now because I basically learned on I-4 and that stretch of road is no joke), I was super super quiet and was so painfully shy I would get physically ill just THINKING about being alone around people I didn’t know – so I mean, working at Disney was the ideal job, amiright?
My first two days of training was ok since I was the only trainee (if it had been a group setting I swear I would have walked away from the job). The guy training me was so helpful but then the final day of training came…and he was no longer the one taking the photos and scanning the Photo Pass cards. I was!! I wanted to throw up in the pool (I didnt). The next day I was on my own & the first few weeks for me were really rough.
But as time went on, I felt more confident in my ability to talk to the guests and make them take their Photo Pass Cards after they came down the slide. I slowly started to come out of my shell and not be as shy.
Working at the water parks, it was mostly capturing candid moments – most of the positions are based at the bottom of water slides & at the tidal pools. This is where I learned how to look for and wait for the best moment to take a photo of guests coming down the water slides or waiting for a wave to come as they jump into it. The “spots” where it was grip n grin sort of photos were with the characters (like Lilo & Stitch at Typhoon Lagoon) or in a dry spot on land with the parks icon in the background. One of the most requested photos by guests at Typhoon Lagoon is when the GIANT wave comes – they want the smiling at the camera photo with the wave approaching in the background and then fun candid images once the wave slams into them! Again, this was teaching me how to take the “safe” shot (smiling and looking at me) and waiting for that perfect candid moment (when the wave slams into them).
When I got transferred to Epcot, it was mostly “look here and smile” photos with Spaceship Earth as the backdrop, though my favorite locations were with the characters (-: Obviously. Still, these standard photos were teaching me how to compose group photos as well as give direction and pose them. Again, it took me a few weeks to become comfortable enough to tell people to “Get closer! Act like you like each other!” but I eventually got over the fear of bossing people around and now I boss people around at weddings. I also learned how to bribe small children with stickers. Working with the characters taught me to stay on my toes and wait for the moment. You KNOW the child (or adult) is going to run up to Princess Aurora and hug her. Just like I KNOW the father of the bride is going to kiss her on the cheek as he’s giving his daughter away at the start of a ceremony. They might twirl in a circle with Belle or they might high five Aladdin.
We also got to be creative and have fun, they weren’t just static boring poses (unless the family didnt want anything fun which is kinda weird…you’re at Disney!). For the non-character photos, we could have the kids holding their hands out and later on when they view the photo, Tinkerbell is in their hands! We would call her over and she would fly super fast, stand in their hands, and fly away – so fast, you cant see her with the naked eye (-; We could also have them jump in the air and put cartoon balloons in their hands. Just a note – this doesnt mean Im going to superimpose a T-Rex in the background of your wedding photos (-; My point is, it got me to think more creatively and do things besides the “safe shot”.
Also, being a Cast Member meant that I got into the parks for freeeeeee anytime I wanted. My best friend was also working at Disney at the time so on our days off we would go together and I would bring my personal camera and take a TON of photos. This gave me a ton of experience shooting details & candids as well as shooting in all kinds of different light (indoor, sunrise, harsh light, sunset).
I also learned a lot about customer service while working at Disney which I implement in the wedding business today. I wont bore you with that though (-;
