Creating a whole magazine comes with a lot of things that could go wrong. Whether that is not having inspiration, being behind on time, or things outside of your control not working well. To ensure I have plan B’s in case of these situations, I need to plan ahead. These are some of my worries of what might not go smooth:
- Not knowing what poses to make myself or the models stay in. What if they turn out boring? What if I’m not sure exactly what I want to do?
In case this happens, I will search up poses on Pinterest, I will look at more magazine covers and I will ask my models and Mr for some ideas. I will need to trust the process and take a lot of photos so that I will have what to choose from. Also, because they’re my friends and I am comfortable around them, we can make a try-out session of different poses.
- Procrastination. What if suddenly I don’t like the project I’m doing anymore? What if I won’t finish on time?
This has happened before, suddenly losing all motivation to work and feeling like it is useless, and it’s something that also has to do with having a lot of other work to focus on (as someone who chose 4 subjects on the AS level), and ending up procrastinating all at once. At that point I just need to start. To tell myself that I’ll be doing this task for 5mins and once I actually start I’ll keep going until I finish. I will ask my teacher for help, and I will also write down or record all ideas, that way, my thoughts will feel more organised and by putting down everything as a step-by-step way of reaching the end goal, it will seem like an easier target.
- Problems with props. What if I forget something at home? What if I still need to buy something but everyone has already arrived at the photoshoot?
In the first photoshoot I’ll be closer to home so I can go and buy what I need, and the location can be easily changed from near my house to the central park or to any other park with white/pink flowered trees really. Plus I will have my boyfriend to help me with anything else if needed. For the second photoshoot they’ll be 2 models, so if a prop needs to be bought urgently, one of them can go to the mall which is nearby to get it while I photoshoot the other model. I will also make a list of props the day before, see what needs to be bought and what I already have, and put everything in a bag at the entrance to just pick up in the morning when I leave.
- Delays. What if one of my models can’t make it anymore?
If they tell me a few days before we can try to reschedule, but if not, either I will use just one of the models for all outfits, or I will find a new model quickly, someone who lives closer to the school.
- Problems with clothes & makeup. What if a material rips? What if makeup smudges?
I will bring a small makeup-kit with basic and most important makeup products (mascara, lipgloss, blush, concealer), and a sewing-kit in case a clothing rips and it’s visible. I will also bring extra jewellery in case an earring is lost or anything similar, a hair brush, hair ties, hair gel/fixative.
- Problems with weather. What if the weather is rainy and the photoshoot really can’t be done outside? What if this makes the lighting bad?
We will reschedule for when the weather is sunny, and if it really doesn’t get so and we’re running out of time, I will take the photos inside the botanical garden. I can bring an additional lighting source to brighten the photos.
- Problems with editing. What if the program I’m using isn’t good enough?
My laptop is a version on which I cannot work on AdobeLightroom, the app just isn’t compatible, and the other editing app I have is pretty basic, this is why I’m relying on the sun a lot for the photos to have that golden colour. If the online web is not as good, I will upload and edit them with my mom’s or dad’s laptop. But before that I will try to find a compatible app on which I can make good photo edits. Additionally, because I don’t want to lose my work I will back-up on drive or cloud regularly.
These are the main things I could think of. Planning ahead is important so that in the case something does go wrong you don’t panic and know what the solutions are. However, leaving certain aspects to be figured out at the present moment, like what poses we’ll do exactly, or how the petals would be arranged works better since you actually see how it looks, it makes the decision easier. I’ve put together a well-thought plan, which hopefully won’t need to be used and things go according to plan. But in case of unexpected surprises I know I’m prepared.