Smile For The Camera! How To Meet Your Favorite Celebrity At Comic-Con

Have you ever watched a movie, looked at your favorite actor, and thought “wow, it would be really cool to meet that guy?” With comic-con, it’s possible.

Comic-cons have become the hub for celebrity-fan interactions. While they can be very expensive, if you’re one of those fans who just can’t resist the temptation to take a picture with your favorite actor or get an autograph from your favorite actress, taking advantage of meeting celebrities at comic-cons is definitely for you.

But what exactly is it like? How do you go about getting one of those beloved passes? Answering those questions is what I’m here for!

Let’s pretend that you’re going to New York Comic Con (NYCC). All comic-cons are different but the way NYCC runs their celebrity meet-and-greets seems to be the standard.

NYCC will announce their guests in the upcoming months leading the comic-con. In fact, new guests might be added as close as a week or two before the actual convention. Because of this, it’s important to constantly check on the guest page and see which of your favorite stars is going. When you see a celebrity announced, this is when you can start your process.

Prices on celebrity photo ops and autographs will vary depending on the comic-con. At ACE Comic Con, Tom Hiddleston photo ops were $200 for Arizona, $225 for Boston, and at NYCC, they were $300. Really, it all depends on the convention. The first question you need to ask yourself is “is it worth it?”. At first, you’re always going to want to say yes but really think about it. Do you want to meet this person because you admire them or do you want to meet them just to say you met them?

I’ve had this debate myself a few times and I’ve come to the realization that if it takes you longer than a day to decide on if you really want to meet that person, you probably don’t really want to. But if you’re adamant on wanting to drop a couple hundred dollars like I so quickly am, then here’s how you would go about it.

If you don’t have an entry pass for comic-con yet, make sure you get that first. Some conventions will allow you to purchase your photo ops and autograph passes before buying an entry pass, but most conventions want you to have your entry ticket purchased first. Go ahead and do that, then it’s time to buy your passes for your celebrity meet and greet.

The comic-con will give you a few days between the announcement of the guest and actual ticket sales. Make sure you get your money together! When it comes time to buy the tickets, I recommend getting online a few minutes already. I usually hop onto my computer 15 minutes early and autofill my credit card and billing information. This is super important because all of your information will be automatically input instead of you needing to copy down long credit card numbers or street addresses. This helps you secure your purchase that much faster.

Make sure your internet is steady and refresh your page the moment the tickets are supposed to go up. Grab them, check out, and you’re all set!

Now that you have your tickets, what is the actual process like at comic-con? First of all, it’s a lot of waiting. Second of all, it’s a lot of excitement for a few short seconds. So it’s important to make it memorable!

When you get to the comic-con, always double check where the photo-op and autograph areas are. At NYCC, they are in completely different rooms so make sure you know where you’re going. The event staff will be able to guide you. Have your ticket always readily available. I like to flag the confirmation email with the ticket in it in my email so I can easily access it.

If your photo op or autograph time is at, let’s say, 11:30 a.m., make sure you get there at least 30 minutes early. This way you can make sure you’re in the right spot and hop onto line early. I always like hanging around the photo op and autograph areas about 45 minutes early for this reason.

You will have to go through security to get into the photo op and autograph spaces so make sure you’re all set to go through. It’s typically a much shorter process than the security check into the comic-con but it’s always safe to help out the staff and clear your pockets and open your bags ahead of time.

Now you’re going to wait on line for a while. Luckily for you, you are able to bring a friend with you on line even if they don’t have a photo op or autograph pass themselves. But here’s some more good news, if you and your friend want to pose together in a photo, you don’t need two photo op passes. Depending on the comic-con, multiple people can pose in a photo at a time and that is typically up to two adults and two children in a single photo. Check with your comic-con on this.

When it comes to photo ops, your interaction will be very quick. Pick out a pose ahead of time. Most celebrities are cool with things like hugs, silly faces, posing like their character does, but be sure to have a back-up pose in case you aren’t allowed to do the one you want. Feel free to bring props with you to spice up your photo.

Always ask the celebrity about your pose when you walk into the photo op booth. If it’s a pose you want to model after a picture, have the picture ready on your phone for when you walk in. You will be ushered in and out of the photo booth relatively quickly, so it’s best not to fumble around and waste your time. If you want to touch the celebrity with a hug, make sure you ask if it’s alright. Just because they are a celebrity does not mean they will automatically consent to being touched. Asking takes two seconds and makes everyone more comfortable.

For your autograph session, I always recommend getting something autographed that can start up a conversation. For example, I asked Tom Hiddleston to autograph a poem I wrote about Loki from Thor (2011). Because the item getting autographed was something personal, we ended up having a chat about the poem and he even read it right then and there instead of just signing it and moving on.

If you want to get something autographed from the comic-con, such as a Funko! Pop you bought or a piece of art, always bring a back-up object to get signed. If your autograph session is on the final day of comic-con and the thing you wanted to sign got sold out, you don’t want to be out of luck! Always bring something just in case. The autograph sessions will have photographs of the celebrity that you can get signed if you don’t come with an item, but it’s always much more fun to get something of your own signed.

Meeting a celebrity is something that often feels surreal. It’s quick and expensive, but it develops a memory that you’ll never forget. And hey, you never know when you’ll strike up a conversation with your favorite celebrity in the middle of one your sessions. It’s a big investment but if you take the time to figure out if you truly want to meet the celebrity and have the funds for it, it will be one of the greatest comic-con experiences you will ever have.