Walking in a Witchy Winter Wonderland ( A Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Inspired Photoshoot)

The Chilling Tales of Sabrina is a show on Netflix that aired on October 26, 2018. The tv series is about a young woman named Sabrina (played by Kiernan Shipka) who's half human and half witch who's struggling to fit in both worlds into her everyday life.

I have become a fan of the show for the horror themes, special effects and the outfits on the show. So much so that I decided to make the costume and plan a photo shoot with some friends who are equally huge fans.

Here's the behind the scenes video from the shoot.

BONUS! I have a short clip on how I did the ruffles for the sleeves on Sabrina's dress.

As you can see, the snow and the surroundings were 100% real.

We were all super cold and drenched from the wet snow by the end of the shoot, but it it still turned out amazing!

During the photo shoot, we took turns getting our pictures taken individually. As we waited our turn, I asked everyone a few questions about the show and other topics about geekdom in general:

What is your favorite part/episode of the show?

Agatha (Jenny Prado): I really enjoyed episode 5 that features the nightmare demon Batibat. Not only does the episode have really great visuals it also gives you further insight into each of the characters that reside in the Spellman household since the nightmares they have focus on their insecurities and fears.

Prudence (Mercedes Dorsey): I believe all the episodes are good in their own way but my favorite part is the underling plot about Ambrose investigating the one warlocks death and all the little details scattered throughout the episodes.

Dorcas (Ashley Witter): (Anything with) The weird sisters, oh my gosh, they’re so rad.

Anthony H. Nguyen Photography: The cinematography, especially the shallow depth of field they used early on - made me think my contact prescription was going bad, but I liked the mood it conveyed

Who is your favorite character and why?

Anthony H. Nguyen Photography: Ambrose, he's a good sounding stone for his cousin.

Dorcas (Ashley Witter): I’m kind of nuts about Salem’s demon form. Yes, out of all the characters that’s the one I clung to. Heh.

Agatha (Jenny Prado): If I had to pick it would most likely be Ambrose. I was a big fan of the 90s tv show mainly because of Salem's sass and whit. I think Ambrose fills that void for me. He's usually the voice of reason but is still willing to help Sabrina out of a bind.

Prudence (Mercedes Dorsey): My favorite character is of course Prudence for she plays my favorite type of antagonist, one which they have their own beliefs and not just simply evil or one dimensional.

Would you choose to be a Child of Light or a Child of Night?

Dorcas (Ashley Witter): Child of the Night, fo sho.

Agatha (Jenny Prado): Child of Night!

Prudence (Mercedes Dorsey): Child of Night

Anthony H. Nguyen Photography: no preference :)

Why is representation important in geek culture?

Prudence (Mercedes Dorsey): It’s so important for as an African American women it helps me feel seen, if that makes sense. It also helps future generations of black women feel like it’s okay to be into different type of things and not feel like you’re being represented negatively.

Anthony H. Nguyen Photography: it's awesome that we're seeing more and more representation in geek culture; my main characters growing up were the trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Compare that to my nieces & nephews who have so many more POC characters in geek culture AND don't necessarily even see it as representing them. The characters are just "cool," e.g., Miles Morales Spidey.

Agatha (Jenny Prado): This is such a great question! As most people know I am half white and half Mexican. I grew up in a small, predominantly white town. I rarely if ever saw myself reflected in my community and the fandoms I followed. It was frustrating! I usually ended up feeling isolated or left out. I think it's extremely important to represent all walks of life in geek culture. It gives people that feel like outcasts a home or a safe space, if you will.

Dorcas (Ashley Witter): It’s important because we live in this incredibly diverse world and when our media doesn’t reflect that I find it to be… awkward. As a multiracial girl who can pass as Caucasian, I’ve been in between these two worlds of a predominately white society and its portrayal of minorities. I’m happy to see that we’re finally getting positive, diverse representation but I also I think the entertainment industry has some catching up to do. More, keep it coming. :)

What do you look forward to or hope for geek culture for 2019?

Agatha (Jenny Prado): I'm excited for all the new MCU movies coming out! I'm also excited about the strides Marvel and DC have taken towards representing positive female role models. I'm looking at you, Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman!

Anthony H. Nguyen Photography: Hopefully some characters of Asian heritage hit the big screen; IW Part 2; on a personal note, growing my cosplay photography skills, i..e. more storytelling images.

Dorcas (Ashley Witter): This was my first official cosplay shoot, it was a lot of fun thanks to everyone involved! I hope to dabble a little more in cosplay, for funsies. I’m going to be attending a lot of conventions this year to promote my artwork, so I look forward to seeing friends, fans, and celebrity guests!

Prudence (Mercedes Dorsey): I’m looking forward to the second part of this show of course! I’m also looking forward for all the conventions I plan to attend and to see all the amazing cosplays from all the amazing types of show and movies we got this year. Plus I’m looking forward to see how Infinity Wars is going to fix itself for I’m not settling on that ending for sure 😩😩😩

Meet the Team

Mercedes Dorsey as Prudence Night

Mercedes is a member of Geek Girl Brunch (Chicago) - a group of diverse geek women based out of the Chicagoland area who hold inclusive geek brunch events. you can follow her on social media here:

Jenny Prado as Agatha

Jenny is a local Chicagoland cosplayer who's involved in a lot of charity events with the group called CWC (Costumers with a Cause) and Drawn to Cosplay. She is also one of Monica's biggest cosplay inspirations when she started out cosplaying. You can follow her amazing work here.

Ashley Witter as Dorcas

Ashley is an accomplished artist and illustrator and has worked with big companies like Marvel, DC and writter Anne Rice. She's best known for her illustration work in Interview with the Vampire: Claudia's Story, Dr. Aphra, Squarriors , Scorch, Cigarettes and Carrot Juice and many more. You can follow her and her company Cold War Inc. in the following links:

Monica Paprocki as Sabrina Spellman

Monica is the founder and CEO of GeeksAGogo.com. She is also an award-winning cosplayer and has been featured in publications such as Cosplay Culture Magazine, Chicago Tribune, Indy Star, Cosplayzine, and Chicago Sun Times. You can find more about Monica's cosplays here.