I haven't met dan and phil (yet) but I've been to several comiccons in canada :) dnp m&g are a couple minutes long, right? you can say what they mean to you, give them a small gift, and get a picture together. at my comiccon, I can't get all of that at once. photoops and autographs are two different experiences to buy separately, and I'm not allowed to give letters or gifts. photoops are generally very quick. I've had a couple of longer interactions (mostly comments about my cosplay) but it's usually just "hello how are you 📸 thank you bye!". for autographs, most people bring their photoop picture to get signed, or maybe merch (a book they wrote, a boardgame based on a show they were in). if you only want an autograph, not a photoop, their table will have a few pictures you can choose from (headshots or a photoshoot from their show/movie). while you wait in line, a comiccon volunteer writes your name on a post-it so they know who to sign to. autograph sessions can be longer or shorter, it depends on the person. I've had very short ones (some because I was starstruck and couldn't think of what to say, some because the line was very long and the building was going to close for the night and they couldn't spend more than a handful of seconds per guest). but I've also had actual real conversations with some people (amanda tapping saw my doctor who shirt and we talked about favourite companions; karl urban asked how's your day going and was really impressed my sister ran 10km that morning). if I can only get one or the other, I go for the photoop (I have a binder for my pictures). but if someone's work means a lot to me, sometimes I like to get the autograph too so I can tell them so, and thank them for coming to my city.
thank you so much for being so thorough, i really appreciate it!! <3
i feel so spoiled having been to a dnp m&g cuz mostly i’ve heard about photo op experiences like you described. like them being only a few seconds sounds so harsh 😭 it makes sense cuz there’s lots of people they need to get through, but it seems like such a steep price to pay for literally just a picture. that being said i feel like i’d probably prefer the autograph ticket then, since you have at least some time to chat.. i’ll have to check if gillian’s doing those
it’s so nice to hear you’ve had some really lovely experiences at cons though! it’s definitely made me feel better about the whole thing so thanks again!!
