I had planned the mock shoot to happen at 10.30am and informed the 2 models (Dhamsarani and Sowmieya) and my friend who was helping out (Imra) to come sharp at the time.

Challenges:

1. When I reached the place I was informed by the officials that I would not be allowed to use the camera to take pictures without paying 12k per hour. Solution: As I did not want to spend so much money on the mock without even knowing how long the shoot was going to go until, I decided to use the iPhone 13 itself to take pictures as they allowed that for free.

2. I did not have a phone with a good camera quality as I had not thought about the issue prior itself.
   
   Solution: As I really needed a phone with good camera quality I called up a friend and asked if they could lend me their phone. Fortunately, they agreed to bring and give their phone for the course of the shoot.
   
   

3. The models did not show up on time, and it started to rain as per the weather forecast predicted.
   
   Solution: Although I told the girls to come at 10.30 all of them ended up coming at 11.45am. Up until that time my friend and I ran through the reference pictures and decided where each shot could be taken, using the time effectively. However as soon as they came we quickly did a few outdoor shots and when it started drizzling we went indoors and took a few photos there.
   
   

4. I did not take a separate device to access the reference pictures. Solution: It was a real hassle as I did not think about how we would access the reference pictures on google docs without a device that was logged into my Gmail account. Fortunately, Imra (friend) had screenshotted the images onto her phone and we were able to use them. Yet it was time consuming. 

This mock shoot taught me quite many valuable lessons that I would take forward to my main shoot. 

• Take a phone with good camera quality as backup for the camera. 

• Reduce the amount of photos being taken per model to limit the time as I will have to pay for the main shoot when I use the camera, and I will have to be time and cost effective.

• I have to inform the models the meeting time to be at least 30 mins early to ensure that we don’t run behind on schedule.

• Take a device separately with the reference pictures all in offline formats to prevent hassles during the main shoot.

As I was still recovering from dengue and this shoot showed how energy consuming the main shoot would be, I decided to push the shoot by a week and postpone it to the 6th March (Monday), to ensure that I will be able to give my best then.

As I had no experience of shooting photos at the Arcade, Independence Square and as my models did not have any modelling experience as well it was essential I have a mock shoot prior to the main shoot. 

Planning Process:

1. I asked the models to come in casual wear - but similar to their final costumes - as we were just going to practise the poses.  

2. I prepared a google docs with reference pictures for the models to make it easier for the models to understand what is expected of them. This would also give me a visualisation of the final outputs. 

   
   
   [Reference pictures for the mock shoot. Images from Pinterest compiled on a google doc.]

3. Hired a Canon camera from Gearstore, a rental shop to be used for the photoshoot. 

Challenges:

However this preparation process also had its challenges. 

Challenge 1: Unfortunately closer to the mock shoot I came down with dengue fever and was in the hospital. Even after being discharged I was really exhausted. Yet I did not want to postpone the shoot as I felt I would not have adequate time left for post-production.

Solution: I asked a friend of mine (Imra Imthiaz), who knew her way with a camera and direction to come and help me out with the photoshoot.

Challenge 2: As I had very short time to plan out the mocks due to being in the hospital for a month, I only informed models a few days before the shoot. Hence, 2 of them weren’t able to make it.

Solution: As the 2 of the models coming nor I had no practice for the shoot, we decided to move forward with the shoot and do what we could do.

This preparation process really tested me as it was very stressful and I was rushing it all last min with a day or 2 to spare. It taught me that I had to better my planning skills or else I would be undergoing something similar for the main shoot as well.

In editorial photoshoots, the photographs are taken with the intention to tell a story by themselves. As I was aiming to recreate scenes from the ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ fantasy book series, costume was of utmost importance for me to breathe life into this creative concept of mine.  

As I had already picked out which of the characters I would be featuring in my magazine, I briefed through the books again and watched a couple of TikToks to get an idea of what the characters actually wore in the story. It was important that I know what their fashion aesthetic and personality was, to recreate the outfits to convey them appropriately. 

I listed the key points in terms of the characters' fashion and personalities so I could work towards bringing the characters to life through the outfits.

I was not sure about the current price range for buying or renting out clothes in Colombo. I googled a couple of places that sold and rented out Couture wear and then called and visited some of the places to see what options were available and if they were cost-effective. 

Upon calling UR Bridal Dresses, they informed me that their selling prices were above 16,000 rupees and renting prices range from 8,000 to 10,000 rupees. In addition, they only had very limited options of dresses for rent. 

Then I called up H&H Bridal Gallery which is another store that rents out couture wear for women and they told me that their price range was 3,500-4000 rupees. As this was more affordable I decided to physically go to the place and see what dress options they had.

[Some BTS photos taken while checking out the stores.]

I even tried a few dresses on to see how they looked. Although I was able to find dresses that matched my colour palette and aesthetic I was not satisfied with it as the clothes I preferred seemed to have some damages on them and I was not sure if my models would prefer wearing rented out clothes due to sanitary concerns. It did not seem cost-efficient to rent 3 pairs of clothing as well.

So I decided to style the clothes which the models already had.     

I direct messaged each of my models with the costume and style I wanted from them and from there on we mixed and matched whatever clothing they had with them or I could lend them.

Nesta: Nesta as mentioned above represents Death and one who wears clothes that aren’t revealing and always has her hair up. Thus I wanted the girl modelling as Nesta to follow the Arab fashion as they also don’t wear revealing outfits and go for black clothes so as to represent death. Thus we paired a black short skirt and black crop top with a pair of black tights and a black head scarf. As Nesta wears a gold face mask I decided to add a touch of gold to the look using minimalist jewels: 2 gold chains (a thick one and a thin one) layered together, a few gold rings and gold hoop earrings. We decided to finish the look with a pair of grey heels. Her makeup look would be more focused on her eyes. 

Elain: Elain is the character who is considered as the most beautiful and the softest of the three sisters and is very much into flowers. I felt that her character would be better represented through Bollywood fashion which involved lehengas. Conveniently I had a sparkly maroon lehenga which captured the character’s personality and was cohesive with the colour palette which also happened to fit the girl modelling as this particular character. We decided not to wear any jewellery for her as she will be having a heavy floral makeup look and her hair would be let down like the character itself. 

Feyre: Feyre is the High Lady of the Night Court and represents the starlight. I wanted her to represent the western culture in the Sri Lankan community and thus we decided that her outfit would be a long blue dress. We paired the dress with desi jewelleries: earrings, bangles and a simple necklace. The main intention here was to show that styles that are considered way apart can go together harmoniously. Her outfit was paired with Grey Block heels. The makeup look she will wear would include rhinestones so as to represent starlight and her hair would be let down like the book character itself. 

Cassian: This character being the Commander of the Night Court represents Bloodshed. His entire personality is hidden behind a playful smile and sarcastic façade. As he is the commander he dresses in black leather. Thus I wanted my model to wear a black shirt, black trousers and pair it with a black belt and any black shoes he had. His makeup will be more messier to represent his easy going personality. We even tried to see if we could get feather wings, but eventually dropped the idea as wings weren’t available in the country at the time. 

The process of styling outfits took quite a lot of time as we had to go back and forth between what we had and what we wanted. However as this was the most crucial part of my fashion magazine I did not want to rush through it. I specifically wanted the mise-en-scene to embrace the local cultures and yet adhere to the storyline of the book series. 

Prior to my photoshoot I wanted to have at least a brief idea of the feature article I would be writing so that I could take pictures that align easily with the storyline.

So I made a google docs by jotting down a few concepts I had in mind for the article. 

[Google docs with the concept ideas.]

This brain dump helped me get a better handle of the outcome I wanted to get out of the photoshoot which is to recreate parts of the book and thereby create a fandom for the book locally.