Yoona has done a few photoshoots in her time but none like this. None on this level of professionalism and intensity. Those previous shoots were small and had been basic as they were done for promo shots for the musicals she had acted in. This photoshoot, well, this was next level and she was no longer sure she was ready for it.
Yoona had always adored the hanbok and wearing one. She even had one at home that she wore on special occasions. Of course, growing up with a family like hers meant that she was rather used to wearing traditional clothes. In fact, she felt comfortable and familiar wearing hanboks. She loved the fabrics use, their colours, and the patterns. Women always looked so majestic and beautiful when they wore them. She also loved watching traditional dramas and movies so it only seemed fitting she attend the Hanok Village.
The brunette had practiced modelling poses and facial expressions at home and after modelling classes to make sure she had some idea of what to do during the shoot at the end of the month. She was still uneasy and nervous come shoot day but she felt a little more prepared than she had when the announcement had first come out.
The travel to the shoot location was easy and Yoona had conversed with a number of her fellow trainees during the ride over. Once on location, they were shuffled inside and given the order they would shoot in. Yoona patiently waited for her turn as she chatted with the other trainees. When it came for hair and makeup, Yoona suddenly felt nervous once again.
The entire process of hair and makeup had taken longer than she thought. With the smaller shoots she had done it had never taken this long and was never this intricate. It was actually rather fun for her. Costuming was just as enjoyable and she felt like a new person in her hanbok and makeup. She felt like a new person.
The photoshoot itself was interesting and much larger than she had anticipated. The photographer was kind and instructed her as best he could. She tried to draw on her limited experience and knowledge when it came to her poses and facial expressions. Even if for only a moment, Yoona felt like she was back in the Joseon era.
singing and dancing are always a given when it comes to monthly evaluations, and once in a blue moon, they even get rap-focused evaluations if he’s lucky, so he’s thrown off when he hears that they’ll be modeling for the august evaluations. he can’t remember the last time they’ve done something like this, or even if they’ve done anything like it at all, but he’s always up for a challenge, so like always, he tries not to think about it too much. it’s not like he hasn’t thought about it before---coincidentally, he’d recently been focusing on modeling and being photographed, so it really had come at an opportune time.
still, preparations for this sort of thing is kind of beyond him. he isn’t quite sure how to practice for a photoshoot, but that certainly doesn’t stop him from trying, from both in front of the camera, and behind it.
“yes, that’s it!” he exclaims, running around minho in circles, taking photographs from different angles and heights. admittedly, he isn’t really paying attention to composition or lighting or anything like that, but they won’t be behind the camera for the actual evaluation anyway, so he might as well have some fun with it. he’s even clicking his tongue, imitating the sound of a shutter. “yes! smize! smile with those eyes! you’re a natural!”
Modelling. Of all the potential career choice Moonbok could have foreseen for himself growing up, this was probably close to being on the bottom of the list. And yet, in the last few years, it had began to appear in his thoughts. It was during his first run in the MGAs when blogs and individual netizens alike had commented that should he not be offered a trainee idol contract, then someone should give him a modelling one instead. Particularly if it involved haircare.
Luckily, at least one member of his family could understand his feelings. And to be bluntly honest, Moonbok is surprised Yoona never actually considered a modelling career. Of course, her father is even worse than his own in that regard, but the fact that his cousin is now a trainee surely meant that his uncle is loosing up a little bit. (Or perhaps Yoona’s an exception, given that she is Kyungso’s daughter, after all.) In any case, the deadline for choosing his concept is fast approaching and Moonbok still hasn’t made up his mind.
“Noona...” he whines as they sit together in her apartment, poring over examples, running a hard through his hair in frustration. “I seriously don’t know... I mean, going with the traditional route would be a good idea, given our ‘family values.’” Air quotes around the last two words are accompanied by a scoff before Moonbok returns to his fretting. “But it’s not like it’ll buy me brownie points with either my parents or your dad.... The nightclub one is cool, but I can’t see it going down so well...”
He whines again and leans forward to flop on the floor with a defeated expression.
“I know I should stop trying to win the family approval by now, but I can’t help it...”
when it came to this month’s evaluation, jordan was not in the least bit worried about it. he spent most of his life behind a camera so that didn’t worry him. and he also didn’t mind sitting (or standing) and posing for a camera, either. so, all in all, he really wasn’t worried about the upcoming evaluation and wasn’t putting that much effort into practising poses or any of that rubbish. whatever he was told to do on the day he would manage with. no use in worrying about it.
“so, which location you thinking of?” he wondered, glancing across at beomgyu to where the younger boy was sat. “i thinking of the nightclub or the arcade.” though he thought it would be somewhat amusing to dress up in hanbok, he couldn’t really be bothered with that. he’d rather just stick to something that was going to be easy.
﹥ ﹥ ﹥ ﹥ #RKAUG20EVAL — TAKE A SNAPSHOT
“ ♡ ┊ aug. 31st – pink pool cafe
she thinks she has what it takes. sorry—she knows she has what it takes. it isn’t only the features on her face, but the way she can work with them. while nakyung had never taken a step on the acting path, the girl could probably do a good job at it. she’s good at lying and at getting what she wants. it’s more than only using your words. you can’t win someone over with a straight face unless they are as much of a psychopath as you are.
when to bat your eyes; when to turn your head. was she perfect? not yet, but that’s why they keep offering all of these workshops. as a trainee, nakyung has access to a multitude of options to help her achieve her goals. this isn’t limited to singing and dancing, but posing and smiling too. you can’t make it in the idol world without a sprinkle of charisma. she likes to believe she has more than that.
the van takes her to the pink pool cafe. it’s cute but not too cute. it’s more on a playful, adorable spectrum than pure. one of the best feelings is getting dressed up and beautified like a doll in a flash game. she likes to take care of herself on her own. going to professional beauty salons and buying designer clothes isn’t much of a viable option, but no one needs to know that. nakyung makes good use of what little she has. as long as people can believe what she puts on her face, then so be it.
they call for her next. lee nakyung. with a gentle smile on her face, the girl walks to the center of the set. it’s not as easy to predict what the photographer wants. modeling is more than just talking to someone and making them believe it. words can’t save her in pictures. incorporating props is still her go-to. what some people could say it’s difficult gives her comfort. even if it’s only a sprinkle of something different, the girl thinks it’s enough.
Once you become an idol, your face will be everywhere. Hopefully, if you are lucky enough to attract attention to your name, but even if not, you can not really escape it. From concept teasers and promotional pictures to magazine spreads and endorsements, idols should know how to carry themselves in front of the cameras and pose nicely. Even as trainees, having good headshots is a way to sparkle the interest of agencies and brands for potential opportunities such as commercial films, acting roles and mv featurings.
This month, while they continue to practice hard to improve their performance skills with the help of their coaches, trainees will have special weekly modeling lessons with a professional photographer and a model to develop their skills, learn how to vary the poses and get them ready for any future photo session so they don’t look like robots with the same facial expressions in every picture. Instead of regular performances, at the end of August they will head out for a photoshoot to have a full modeling experience, including hair, make-up, styling and props.
The companies will prepare five different indoor sets for the photo sessions and trainees may choose one of them for their photos, remembering that the styling and concept will be related to the location, which means they have to submit their choice (only ic) before the evaluation so everything is prepared for the day. Vans will be waiting for them in Seocho after lunch and take them to the said locations where the photos and preparation will take place. Once a trainee is done with their photos, they should wait until everyone finishes theirs so they can head back to Seocho complex together.
Find more about the locations below the cut.
In order to collect +2 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE AS YOU WISH and +2 DEBUT POINTS, write one 250+ words solo or a four-post thread with another trainee involving the preparations for this month’s evaluation. For +3 POINTS IN CHARISMA, +2 DEBUT POINTS and +1WK OF MODELING ACHIEVEMENT, write one 300+ words solo about your muse’s photo session for this month’s evaluation. Please tag all your posts with #rkaug20eval and have them up by midnight EST at the end of Monday, August 31st. Threads may be continued after the deadline, but points can only be collected if the requirements are met before it.
AUGUST EVALUATION (for the SEPTEMBER 2nd verification form)
[link to thread or solo about preparations]
+2 ___ POINTS
+2 DEBUT POINTS
NEW DEBUT POINTS TOTAL:
[link to solo about photo session]
+3 CHARISMA POINTS
+2 DEBUT POINTS
+1WK OF MODELING ACHIEVEMENT (number of times taken + current level)
NEW DEBUT POINTS TOTAL:
This evaluation was something Sungmin had never seen coming. He was somewhat thrown by the randomness of it. Usually evaluations were vocal or performance based but this, this was different. He understood the reasoning behind having a few modelling classes but he couldn’t understand why they had decided to make an entire evaluation out of it.
This sucked.
Sungmin was currently sitting with Haruto. He had somehow befriended the younger boy during their evaluation together months ago. He was a kind boy who reminded him of his sister. Plus, he could brush up on his Japanese when he was with Haruto which was a bonus. Sungmin had zero idea of what to do or even how to model. He was at a loss this month. He turned to the younger, wondering if it was the same for him.
❝ So have you decided what you’re doing with this month’s evaluation? ❞
he let out a sigh, as he wandered around in search for one specific friend. on any other day, when things were still uncomplicated, he would have looked for either johnny or namjoon as both of them had experience in modeling, but since the two of them were rather busy and had no time to spend time on trainee evaluations they had nothing to do with anymore, he had to ask another friend for advice. jungkook was a photographer, so he had an eye for stuff like this and since gray was absolutely nowhere close to be a model, he hoped to get some useful tips from the younger.
it was a little frustrating to yet again being forced to work on a skill he had no interest in improving in the future. gray had no intention to model. so spending his time in it seemed like wasting practice hours that could be used to perfect his rapping or to write new songs. and besides, why were the evaluations usually targetted at the singers, dancers, models or actors among the trainees? why couldn’t they have a rapping evaluation?
as soon as he found jk, he grabbed him to pull him to his side. “jk, hyung needs your help - desperately. as photographer you know how to direct your model, right? can we practice together? i can’t do this for f*ck’s sake.”