This article only really applies to MCM London, but I have done this for other events I felt a schedule is needed.
I have always said, that cosplayers and photographer work in opposite workflows. E.g. hard work and stress for cosplayer before the comic con and for photographers after. So for me it’s the calm before the storm when I am at a comic con/expo.
So I thought I would let you guys know how I plan my weekend when I put out a schedule.
- About a 2 months before the event, I put out notices about when my schedule will come out as I know one post, especially with Facebook reach being so bad. Also I would have added to my calendar over three days, which time slots I’ll be making available (*also I kid myself that I will make time for lunch and have time to walk around the comic con).
- 3/4 Weeks before the event, the schedule goes out and I use facebook to keep track of messages. It’s a good way for me to track which message come first, as I have a first come and first serve policy.
- Once I have locked down the peoples slots, I then spend a week researching all the characters, poses and ideas of where to shoot their cosplay. because of the research I do, is the reason why I release my schedule so late, as I guarantee that cosplay lineup doesn’t change.
- Of the week of the comic con, I message each person a reminder of time, cosplay I’ll be shooting. This ensures me that, if changes are being made, I have time to reorganise myself.
All of these steps all happen before a single photo is taken. After the long three days of photo taking, comes editing the photos. Both my least favourite but rewarding part of my work.
I go through which on average over 2000 photos I would take, each photo and decide if I want to edit them. This can be such a boring task. Once that is done, I go through my workflow to edit the selected photos as quickly as possible. I hate having projects left incomplete before I start a new project. And when all photos are edited and I am happy with them, I upload them to my online drive, send photos to the cosplayers and afterwards, onto facebook.
I really do enjoy my time at a comic con, but I do find the editing process takes a lot of my time. And also, the day I release my schedule, I have to make sure I am in front of my computer, and try and keep up with all the messages making sure the assigned slot is changed on my calendar.
I hope that is a insight to what goes into planning my scheduled weekend.
If you have a question about the process, please let me know via the comment below.
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