"You can always paint the roses red."
As a self-described “weird girl,” I've always had a deep love for Alice in Wonderland and all things strange, whimsical, and a little bit unsettling.
So when I had the opportunity to create a Queen of Hearts photoshoot, I wanted to do more than simply photograph a beautiful costume.
I wanted to tell a story.
For this Alice in Wonderland-inspired photoshoot, the model and I imagined the Queen of Hearts when she was younger—before she became the Queen we know. We imagined her going through the looking glass into Wonderland and experiencing the events that eventually made her mad.
The entire photoshoot took place at the Mesa Community College Rose Garden, which turned out to be the perfect setting for our version of Wonderland.
From the photoshoot while we were painting the roses red
Creating a Wonderland Photoshoot
I wanted to include as many nods to the original story as possible while still creating something that felt like our own interpretation.
We gathered props including:
- A mirror
- Red and white roses
- A pocket watch
- A mismatched tea set
- A paintbrush and red paint
- A harlequin-patterned blanket
- A basket
- Lace
- Giant playing cards
- A book
The model also created her own Queen of Hearts dress, bloomers, and crown, making the entire concept even more personal.
I love working on fantasy and cosplay photoshoots where the costume, location, props, and photography all work together to tell a story.
A Little Cosplay Trick for the Queen of Hearts Crown
The model also came up with a clever little cosplay trick while we were working on the crown. She wanted the gems to be the perfect shade of red, so she changed their color by drawing on them with whiteboard markers. Sometimes cosplay doesn't require buying something new. A little creativity can completely change an existing costume piece.
A Mad Tea Party in the Arizona Sun
We planned to start the photoshoot early in the morning, but Arizona had other plans.
The sun became incredibly bright and harsh surprisingly quickly, so we started with our Mad Hatter-inspired tea party portion of the shoot. I found the mismatched teacups at a thrift store, and the model created the “tea” using colored coconut water and cocoa powder. We wanted to photograph the tea before it became too warm, so we made that part of the session our first priority. The intense Arizona sunlight actually gave us one of my favorite unexpected details from the shoot: the light created a huge, dramatic shadow from her eyelashes.
Sometimes the conditions you didn't plan for end up creating some of the most interesting photographs.
Looking Through the Keyhole Into Wonderland
One of my original ideas was to photograph the Queen of Hearts through a keyhole, making it look like the viewer was peeking through a door into Wonderland. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the effect to work quite the way I envisioned with my camera. But rather than abandoning the idea completely, I showed my fiancé how I wanted the effect to look, and he was kind enough to use his phone to film multiple parts of the shoot.
Watch the behind the scenes video here
It's a good reminder that creative photoshoots don't always go exactly according to plan. Sometimes you have to find another way to create the idea.
Turning the Looking Glass Into a Portal
I wanted the mirror to feel like more than a prop. It needed to feel like an actual portal into Wonderland. To create that effect, we poured water onto the mirror while the model splashed it, creating the appearance that the surface of the looking glass was moving.
There was one small problem: I needed to photograph from above the model without appearing in the reflection. Fortunately, the model happened to have an apple box in her car. That extra bit of height made all the difference. It also taught me an important photography lesson: Always bring a stepladder. Especially when you're photographing mirrors.
Painting the Roses Red
Of course, no Queen of Hearts photoshoot would be complete without painting the roses red. We photographed everything in a rose garden, but I wanted the actual act of painting the roses to be part of the story. So I brought a bouquet of both red and white roses. The model used real paint to slowly paint the white roses red, creating the photographs I had envisioned. It was important to me that as many of the effects as possible were created in camera rather than simply added afterward.
Practical effects make a fantasy photoshoot feel more tangible.
All of those physical elements helped us create our own version of Wonderland.
Hiding the Cheshire Cat in Wonderland
I wanted to include one more reference to the original story. I found an illustration of the Cheshire Cat in a scan from the London Library archives and incorporated him into one of the final photographs.
Rather than making him the focus, I hid him in the trees as if he were quietly watching the Queen of Hearts. It's one of those little details that you might not notice immediately. And that's exactly what I wanted. A little piece of Wonderland hiding in the background.
Creating Alice in Wonderland Photography in Arizona
One of my favorite things about fantasy photography is taking a real location and making it feel like somewhere completely different. We weren't in Wonderland. We were in Mesa, Arizona. But with the costumes, roses, mirrors, props, practical effects, and a little imagination, we were able to create our own version of it. That's what I love about fantasy and cosplay photography. You don't need a movie set to create a story. You need an idea, a willing team, and a photographer who is willing to figure out how to make the idea happen. This shoot definitely gave us the opportunity to channel our inner Wonderland.
And yes...
We are all mad here.
Want to Create Your Own Fantasy Photoshoot?
I'm a Phoenix-based fantasy and cosplay photographer serving Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale, Gilbert, Chandler, and the surrounding Arizona area.
I love photographing people who want something beyond a traditional portrait session, whether that's cosplay photography, fantasy portraits, themed photoshoots, creative portraits, or a completely original concept.
If you've ever had an idea for a photoshoot that sounds a little strange, a little magical, or maybe just completely impossible...
Tell me about it.
Let's see what we can create.
