giuseppe1969

I don't particular like the authoritarian tone of this lady - I think there are other ways to tell people to move along.

That was actually a good idea.

My wife had a similar problem with Sigourney Weaver as she is smaller than the actress. My wife was so happy to have her picture and didn't think much about it. On our way back to Clacton, on the train, we did realise that the picture was not really good. You can see my wife's head floating near the bottom edge of the picture - although the picture is not great (considering that it was shot by a "professional", allegedly provided with some sense of proportion and aesthetics) it is still within "acceptable" parameters and she is cool with it. I had a similar experience with Buzz Aldrin (I am tall, he is not) and the height difference really doesn't make the composition great.

Yes, I asked twice but the man in red shirt still refused and kept saying that, after all, it was a great picture.

Thank you for your support!

Exactly! The advantage of the photoshoot, as opposed to a picture at the table during autographs, is to get "a better picture, in focus, taken by a professional with a nice background". If this is the quality we are getting ... well, I can show you pictures at the table taken by my son with a lousy canon of a much superior quality.

Sorry to hear that, SilvaNemesis. I was in the same queue, on Friday, and it was really difficult to understand which tickets should go first - the good, old chronic lack of communication, I suppose. Anyway, I remember the lady shouting that only people with a Friday entry ticket could get the photoshoot and they asked to have the entry ticket ready to show together with the photoshoot ticket. I found this very odd as if I am inside the venue on Friday, it only means that I have the Friday entry ticket (unless I am a "convention crasher"). Also, I had a 'batch 2' ticket but at some point they let people in as they came. Then, how do they know if one purchased a ticket just for Friday or for the other days too and, in the end, what difference does it make? Also, I fail to see the logic in sending away and postponing people in your position: did they think that on Saturday and Sunday would have been less chaotic?

Yes, we might say it was a simultaneity of errors by the photographer, the guy who checks the printed pictures and the man in the red shirt. Anyway, still waiting for SM to tell me, here on this forum, that this is a great photo and there was no reason at all to retake it. Although, an apology accompanied by a substantial voucher might also do the trick. I know the event was wrapped up only three days ago and they need to sort out things, so no worries: I can wait, I am patient. Obviously, they should apologise to my son, who is not on the forum, but it's OK: I will pass their message on.

This is one of the most mysterious and atavistic issues. SM have stated in the past that it is the guest that, at some point, decides not to do posed photos and there is a sort of "agreement" they can blame it onto SM. This might be true, otherwise I couldn't explain why so many actors do concede posed photos. I took three autos and got posed photos in all three cases. A different explanation might be that SM try to "convince" the guests not to take posed photos, in order to have more fans purchasing photoshoots, and some accept and others don't. Said that, at a convention organised by a different company, after having had a nice chat with one Heroes actor, I asked for a posed photo which he was happy to do but before saying yes he looked around him, as if to check that his attendant wasn't looking, and then say "yes, that's fine but let's do it quickly" ... that implied "before they find out". At another event, it was clearly stated by the organisers "no posed photos" for everyone at all, no matter what. Obviously, it is in the best interest of the organisers to cash in as much as possible but, for SM events, I want to concede them the benefit of the doubt.

Thanks!

Wow! Well done! Excellent account and lots of cool pix. Geekness at its best! Interesting videos - thanks for posting them.

Why not?

Some impression here but I was lucky as, while I was rolling my eyes looking for the photographer to take my picture, he did it exactly when I was looking at him - so, the photo is brilliant, by sheer chance.

Yet, according to the man in red shirt it was - quote - "a great picture". Evidently, the sense of aesthetics is quite a subjective thing.

Well, it happened to us too. We got rushed outside and had to came back to pick up our photos and bags. I understand the business thing and also the fact that SM want to give as many fans as possible the chance for a picture with a star BUT it shouldn't be carried out like this. Either they sell fewer tickets or they allocate more shooting time. However, I admit that in other photoshoots, even with Sigourney, the environment was more "relaxed". I wonder why this was not possible with MJF.

Did he get the opportunity to kneel down? A lot of the photos I have seen have had people knelt down next to MJF Yes, most people crouched/kneel (I did) and that was the idea but, as soon as my son approached the car, the photographer took the picture and "off you go". Adults understand the circumstances and can be quicker at posing themselves but children might need a few seconds more - from this point of view, the photographer didn't show much consideration, in my opinion.

Don't worry. If you/SM acknowledge (and only if you do) that the picture might have been retaken, my son is happy to accept a £95 voucher to be spent at the next convention.

I don't know about the others, in my case I asked a crew member in red shirt; I don't recall his name but I remember him from various conventions so he must be one of the most experienced. Going to the Organising Boots is not always feasible; in this instance, the photoshoot was about to end - and, remember, I had to go to SW photoshoot - and there is always a queue at the booth. Anyway, I post the notorious picture (I will leave it for a day or two) so anyone can judge for themselves.

Thank you for your answer, Queen. I appreciate some people may play the system to get extra seconds with the stars; however, in the future I would like to see more flexibility towards children as, in their case, the error might be really genuine.

Just wanted to report a moment of lack of flexibility by a red shirt crew member who was in charge of the MJF+DeL photoshoot on Saturday. Once taken the photos, my son (11 years old and BTTF maniac) and I rushed to Sigourney's photoshoot; half way through, my son drew my attention on his picture: he didn't really come well, he was (as all of us) pushed and rushed when taking the picture by the DeL, and the photo taken without allowing him to reach a proper position. He is not even staring at the camera, he got an annoyed glance and semi-closed eyelids - it is a kind of picture you really don't want to show your friends, even if MJF is in it. So we rushed back and ask the man in charge if my son could retake the picture but he said, politely but firmly, "no"; apparently, pictures are retaken only in exceptional circumstances like when they come blurred or the subject is in a really awkward position etc. I appreciated that but I insisted that my son is only 11 and he didn't really appeared great in the photo. The man in red shirt insisted the photo was good, after all, and confirmed he wouldn't allow another retake. At that point, my son gave up and asked me not to insist anymore - we still had to rush to SW - so we left. Afterwards, my son expressed all his disappointment for the picture - he wanted to show it (off) with a little brag to his friends but now he doesn't even want to have it anymore. Now, I understand that there are rules but would it have hurt so much, I wonder, allowing a retake of that photo?

I was the last one at the power loader and she greeted me nicely with a shake of hand. Then, I realised my picture wasn't good and the crew member told me to go back and have another one. In the meantime, as the photosession has ended, she was changing position sitting on a chair for a group photo with the crew I believe; I had to intrude and say to her: "Sorry to disrupt the arrangement but they told me to take the picture again - Take 2!" She smiled, stood up and went back to the previous position and said: "No problem. That's fine: it was probably my fault!". Actually, it was mine but don't tell her ... As per her figure, I had the same impression as others: she looks stunning.

Showmasters have recently announced that they are going to book more halls at the Olympia as they plan to make the event even bigger. This is always good BUT ... I think this is one of the main points to focus on: expanding all the time without settling. I admit that, over time, SM have taken on board the advice we fans have provided here on the forum and things have improved a lot in recent times. However, I feel - my opinion - that when mistakes are made and SM try to rectify them, then expansions (i.e. more super guests, bigger venue, more attendees, etc.) happen and there is not really time to absorb the shock and settle. What they should do is to keep the layout and the magnitude of the current event and stick with it for one or two years so they can have time to improve things properly - and even the less experienced crew members can familiarise with rules etc. Only when problems and complaints will be reduced to a physiological minimum, they should consider to move up to the next higher stage. In short, there should be more time to learn from mistakes. At Olympia one of the worst things was the movement of people; the place was clearly overcrowded and SM can be rightly praised to have added the stairs in the middle from ground to level 1. However, as it happened, that was not enough - and certainly, one set of stairs between level 1 and 3 is absolutely inadequate for such an event. I truly hope SM find a way to improve things both from the logistic and safety points of view.

I was, together with thousands, trapped on the third level for 30 minutes. I am not going to repeat here the health and safety issues well exposed by others but I want to suggest Showmasters to have a look at the following website http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/index.htm I don't know much about risk assessment but I believe that if someone called the inspectors they might have shut down the event straight away.

Among the possibilities, Showmasters should offer a £25 refund. They wrongly assume that one wants to get more autographs or even travel to go and attend another convention in the future. Many do but to those who don't, a refund option should be available, especially when the word "guaranteed" is used. From now on, I would use, instead, "there is a really high chance to".

I agree. It is not just acceptable that the good working of a queue depends on the particular crew member in charge: some of them are brilliant, loud and give clear directions; others leave a lot to be desired. A better system that always work should be implemented as quick as possible. On Friday, people with photoshoot tickets purchased on the day had priority over e-ticket; on Saturday, they were allocated at the very end of the queue. These sudden changes create a lot of confusion and need to be addressed.