Lately I've been really fascinated with photographing people, and there is something about grabbing the reality from a fantasy cosplay shoot, or creating a fantasy from reality that is so unique. I had never done a cosplay shoot before, but really wanted to pull the human element out of each character, and give them an opportunity to be that character.
I played around a lot with the lighting to get different looks, trying to focus on defining the details in their costumes, and the expressions of their faces. Some just showing the outlines of their form, to create a real dramatic look, and I think they speak loud. Check out the images below.
So it started Saturday night, I was browsing for a fun photography idea to do Sunday and happened to check out Meetup. Near the top of the day was an event "Cosplay DragonCon Shoot" - and I hadn't ever done a cosplay shoot, let alone really knew what it was. But the photographer hosting it, John Mason, had a few of his examples in the description and I was immediately hooked. I didn't even take the time to think about it, I signed up for the event immediately.
It was definitely a worthwhile event, showed up at 11am to meet with other photographers to setup 4 areas with different lighting & backdrops, and about 1pm had models start arriving to get in their costumes until we finally finished about 4pm.
The location was great, and had the amazing opportunity to learn from other photographers, their style and their lighting setups - which is my main reason for attending group photo shoots.
