that lighting is awful OP
also if you were going to have the both of them there, you shouldn't have cut the other off

Lolita/cosplayer/photographer & cinematographer here.

What gear are you using? For portraits, invest in a nice portrait lens (50mm 1.8 / 1.2 if you can afford; 100mm macro is really nice for this also, 85mm..). For full body shots, you might like a wide angle lens to capture the scenery if it's a good setting.

Lighting is important. Your pic is in harsh sunlight - in this case, invest in a diffuser (you can buy reflectors with silver/white bounce, gold bounce, lisa-marie (gold+white), negative fill (black) and transparent (diffuse). It will soften incoming light or fill your shadows so it's more flattering. You can also buy speedlight flashes and fill that way.

Think about your framing. Do you want to show off one or two people? Is it about the face/character, or outfit details?

Self posting some of my work. Not the greatest (lols focus T_T) but it's orrite.

This is probably obvious, but as a cosplayer I feel uncomfortable when people take photos unexpectedly unless it's just to test their camera settings. Candid photos are really unflattering. If you're doing a shoot obviously this isn't a problem, I just mean for conventions and stuff.

i'm a photographer and I would post some cosplay shot's i've taken to be critiqued, but I don't think the cosplayers would be too happy with me posting their photos here.

>>4197244
The composition and colors here are very nice! You already know about the focus issue, which is unfortunate. This is just a personal thing, but I find veiny hands distracting so if you wanted to get rid of it, next time tell the model to put her hands over her head for 10 seconds or so and then put them back down. Repeat if needed.

>>4197244
I actually was aiming to capture both cosplays in this photo, and I have, but something went wrong and the shots are blurry. I can't remember what.

I have a Canon 5D mkII (it's new, that photo is taken with a 450D) with a f/1.4 50mm and my newest lens a f/1.8 85mm
I also have a wide angle adaptor on the way which comes with a reverse macro and also a cheap fisheye adapter to experiment with.

However, I live in a bit of a hole, and reflectors cost a shitton. I had a nice one, but my god tore it apart after stealing it from a cosplay shoot in my garden (I have a large garden, haha).

Also, that photo was meant to be dynamic. We chose under a tree especially to capture the dappling. I have a few photos that have better light on the Borris cosplayer's face, but worse light on the Alice. It's a compremise. But that photo isn't up anywhere except facebook (hence the quality)

How about this? Harsh light, but I think it works.
that one IS a candid shot, actually.

>>4197270 post photos, keep quiet

>>4197270
do it!
I assure you we won't do anything bad

>>4197293
Cheers. Haha, I hadn't noticed her hands before now, CANNOT UNSEE :P

I am looking towards combining my bigger interest in film with my lolita/cosplay photography and doing some short film / outfit videos. Hard to think of anything particularly creative when it comes to cosplay however (scene re-enactment?..). No original content yknow.

>>4197300
Try doing CMVs? (cosplay music videos)
I've always wanted to attempt one, and now that I have a 5DmkII...

>>4197270
from what i've seen in probably 90% of threads on here, cosplayers are kind of sad when you don't post them. i've seen a lot of "i never see myself online :("

>>4197296
ebay, $9 for a cheapo collapsible reflector disc
if you need a trifold you're going to have to ghetto-rig three of those together or pay big bucks though. apparently china can't make generic trifolds. i didn't see you mention a flash so pick one up. big aperture isn't everything. if you don't want to put out for a 580 then get a yongnuo ttl or a sigma (although i've heard the sigmas can underexpose).

not really too keen about the wide angle adapter. preferably you get an actual lens for that. there aren't any really cheap wides/ultrawides. canon 17-40, sigma 12-24, tokina 16-28 or even a nikon 14-24 (lol expensive, need adapter and have to use it manual) are your general choices outside of the stuff at 24. i use a 24-105 on a t1i and it serves well. the bit of extra range and the is are nice.

>>4197296
Ah cool. I shoot 7D/5D for films and stills all the time. Check your histogram, the pic you posted is rather blown out and makes the colours go weird. Nice framing, and the /1.4 looks sweet for the background. I do enjoy harsh light (dappling is cool) but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. (depends on the tree? ;P)

Hrrr lens envy, I can't afford any lenses right now (I just spent a shittonne on a new dress, and i'm about to buy a fluid-head tripod) but my wishlist atm (for my poor lil crop sensor) is 11-16mm tokina 3.5 and the 85 or 100mm.. ;_;

Got my fleccy off ebay for like $20 yo. It's effective.

What's your post workflow like? Do you shoot raw? What picture style do you use on your 5D? (As a cinematographer I use phil bloom's, which is turn sharpness, contrast down and sat down a littlebit, so you can grade all the colour and not lose detail in post.)

Me again. Hahah, if my model is on /cgl/ right now i wonder if she'll get pissed off at me posting her.. :DDD

>>4197305
Flash is the next thing on my list. ^ ^
and I am going to ebay one, but the adapters killed my money.

I'm pretty broke, else I would have bought the wide angle lens. And don't worry, I fully plan to actually expand my lenses, these are just cheap alternatives for now.

>>4197296
also that looks blown out
might want to do some highlight recovery on that

>>4197307
thoughts on raw:
if you think you might fuck with it later: raw
if you don't give a fuck: jpg

memory cards are cheap now, especially sd cards. even shooting raw you get a ton of shots on a 16gb.

>>4197307
I should mention, that tokina will vignette like mad on a 5D, it will only work at 16mm with the tiniest vignette in the corner. Still usable/you can zoom less than 10% to crop in post.

>>4197302
I suppose, but i dunno how to do it in a way that isn't SUPER boring (Who's that guy with the steadicam flyby rig who does all the con vids? I like his rig but pop song+360+cosplayers is a bit dull.)

Go ahead and try some filmmaking if you've got the technology, but please do learn some stuff about filming and editing, it is a BIT Of a jump from photography (I worked backwards.). Building narrative and meaning through juxtaposing shots etc. Hitchcock. Eisenstein. etc. /wank :D

>>4197307
I love the colours in your photo, but I would have asked her to either tuck her arms in or do something else with them. They sort of look like they're just hanging, but not in a doll like way.
You have amazing composition, though.

I don't shoot raw, I'm too trigger happy for that. I can fill up a 16 gig in one photoshoot if there are enough people. I'm really terrible. D:
And I'm actually usually really happy with the colours my camera gives. If there's a shot I want and I can't get the colours right, I DO put it into RAW mode, but only then.

I turn down the sat and contrast, and then fix them all up in iphoto (if I'm lazy) but usually photoshop.

>>4197310
lol pretty much. Lightroom is superior if you wanna shoot RAW but if you dont' care and it's just a quick/fun thing (..a con) just snapsnapsnap.

Though this one time, I was inside and went outside (manual settings of course..) and was like WOAH AWESOME BAYONETTA /snapsnapsnap. JPG -> completely blown out beyond recognition -> fail. =_________=

>>4197314
buy more cards
you already splashed 2000+ on the 5d2 so cards should be cheap in comparison

>>4197311
I actually did a course in directing, though it's different to cinematography I at least know what I want if I ever do chose to make a movie thing.
For a while I wanted to work with film.

Also, what about adapting a vocaloid video? you don't have to film at cons. Get a few cosplayers in on it. (:

>>4197322
the 5D mkII was a gift.
OTL
I cant afford that type of camera.
In Ausfalia it cost me 3.2

>>4197314
Yeah, it'd be nice if I had another prop that day for her to do something with. Bit boring otherwise ;_;

I'm grading like two photoshoots tonight and then a film tomorrow, it's funtimes. :3 It's good to know your white balance settings. I want to buy a white balance cap because it's faster than dialing in kelvin/custom white balance but whatever. This one guy I know shot 5D and then expected me to grade this shot that was COMPLETELY YELLOW from crazy tungsten lights to make it look normal, when he could have just used the right setting while he was there ;_; it was blown out like shit too.

I'm thinkingggggg, I'm doing Sailor Stocking cosplay soon, and I will shoot a cosplay-montage-video thing at a pier/wharf/lighthouse/with some sweets and do something fun. y/n?

>>4197324
CPL filter. I think you need one.

>>4197325
oh
okay in that case fuck you i want expensive gifts :(
although ironically i had a good 10k saved up a few years back and burned it on other things between now and then before actually figuring out what i wanted in photography.

anyway, 8gb lexar 200x is about $20 in the u.s. which is still pretty cheap. hopefully they don't rape you too much over there.

>>4197325
Oh sweet :) Yeah, that's important. I don't enjoy directing myself, so I always have a team to work with so I can focus on the images. Film's bloody hard, I just got my degree and I'm still getting dregs..

Ahh I don't like vocaloid/too many/blargh, but I have seen some nice clips on YT shot on DSLR obviously.

I'm also ausfag =DD My 7D + 24-70 2.8 set me back like almost $4k =___________=

>>4197326
wth? if you're going to use the preset manual settings then you should at least know how to change them accordingly.
B(

Ah yeah, I agree on the white balance cap. I'm trying to find one locally to save paying like $60 for a good one online with shipping.

That's be cool as well, but remember to not make them too boring. There's some user on youpoop that shoots cosplay videos and they're just tiny little asian models with no lipgloss acting all KAWAII

>>4197329
in /p/ it's generally asked to keep 1000px as your longest side when posting
no one likes waiting for the big ass image to load nor the fact that it's huge to begin with and doesn't fit on most monitors, especially if you're using the 4chan addon which opens images in-frame.

>>4197329
Watch the composition. Centre framed is kind of boring but effective if done well. There's a lot of headroom which is boring/nothing to look at. Watch your background - cars aren't very flattering and are distracting to the cosplay. The natural lighting is nice and the pose/expression are good thouhg!

>>4197326

>grading in photos
Shoot raw. Non-destructive colour temp and tint shift.

>grading in videos
Enjoy the crappy non-raw compressed video with terrible bitrate and codecs. Have to get it right in camera. Any shift in post will cause a decent amount of artifacting.

>>4197332
Where in ausfalia are you? o:
I'm a tasfag and we have shit all down here.

I don't trust many people I know to direct. They can help with the composition, but I'm the one looking through the lens. You know?

>>4197338
Well of course you try to get it as right as you can on set, but what good film gets released without going through a colourist first? I'd shoot panavision genesis if I had the monies lol :D

Also yes I'm shooting raw.

>>4197340
Ya sure do. I'm qld. Flood-fucked =D!

>>4197343

Panavision Genesis isn't actually all that from what I've used.
Recently got my hands on using an Arri Alexa. Much nicer, better rendition.
REDs are pretty cheap these days.

>>4197343
I'm coming up for Animania, gonna hang around for a week or so. Was going to come for Supa, but I don't have the funding.

Also, here's another photo. I think the harsh lighting works a little better apart from the loss of detail on the cosplayer's stomach. The light there was just super interesting. Or is it just me that thinks that?

>>4197344
don't be afraid to frame in close then

and if possible scout around for locations in your free time. there's almost always an empty (or at least empty enough to take a clear shot) place in every convention center and hotel, even at a big convention like san diego comic-con

>>4197335
>Any other tips?

read this: http://andy-k.deviantart.com/gallery/26017619
it's great advise for every starting cosplay photographer

for bonus points, business cards and a website! if you go with a service like moo.com you can get business cards that have a different photo on each of them on one side and contact info on the other side.

>>4197346
Ah, I've been wanting to shoot ALEXA but haven't had the chance. Red is cheap but evil ._. I enjoy shooting film and walking around with a light meter, but that's not really cost-effective (unless uni pays for it :D)

>>4197347
hurdur animania is shit awful! I haven't been for like 4 yrs now but I still maintain that fact. :( Shoulda come for supa, so many sweet guests this year! (CHRISTOPHER LLOYD!!!)

I think that streak of light is sweet on the carousel but badly placed on the cosplayer, but that's hard to get around understandably.

>>4197349
>>4197348
Thanks both, and i'll check it out.
The lighting inside the hotel was horrible and it looked skanky inside.

I was just stopping cosplayers where they where (sometimes moving them slightly away from crowds) and asking them to pose then directing them towards the light. I would love to do a photoshoot but have no clue how to go around asking a cosplayer or a group of cosplyers. I have loads of great locations we could go in different towns.

I feel like a creeper if I ask for an arranged photoshoot. Plus i'm not up to scratch just yet

>>4197356
I know, I was there last october.
It's really just an excuse to meet up with my friends, haha.
And Animania is in our school holidays, where as Supa isn't. So it's really three days vs seven.

I'd LOVE to get Tom Felton's signature... but I'm not going to go to a con for that sake. D: Though, Supa would have more amazing cosplayers, ahah.

Our con is on this weekend,
we are proudly ~the~ smallest con in australia.
and probably the world

>>4197357
in all honesty you just go up and ask and if they say yes you go to your secret spot and fire away. build up portfolio a little and then you can do some arranged ones.

>>4197357
Practice with a friend.
Remember, you can just do model photography. There's a bit of a difference, but it'll help you with composition and stuff, IMO

>>4197356

Heh. I shot some portra 400 (the new stock), 120 at a con recently. Kinda comes out nice with the colour rendition. Not very cost effective but I've managed to stockpile quite a bit of 120.

Pic related.

>>4197360
lol sounds so wrong. Another question, do you mean I should print out the best on glossy paper and file them or continue using on-line sites to showcase? I have a DA account, but I'm not to sure where others store theirs. I've heard of Model Mayhem but I see no cosplayers. I'm only interested in shooting cosplyers or alternative fashion.

>>4197362
Sweet.

/cgl/ holding hands with /p?

Ohboyherewego.jpg

>>4197357
There are a multitude of attention whores in this world - just offer them a little TFP.

>>4197307
The biggest challenge i have in stills photography for myself is getting dynamic angles/poses. In cinema its moving, it's easier..

>>4197369

No. If this was /p/, this would have devolved into someone raging about someone getting gifted a 5d2, then something about Nikon rendering better images, then someone laughing because someone used something other than manual, then something about Leica M6 TTL, then a bear, then some more gear discussion.

>>4197362
I like this. It looks like a skeezy anime nurse is gonna give you some TLC in a dark alley XDD

>>4197362
>MFW that's a horrible picture.
>Model is ugly as fuck with porridge oat skin (Fucking learn to retouch)
>Stray hairs Mother fucking everywhere.
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHRHRHRHRHRHHR

Firstly) Where the hell was this shot? i need to slap a bitch
secondly) TOUCH UP YOUR GOD DAMMN PHOTOS

>>4197369
i think i'm the only one who goes to both regularly
most guys on /p/ would troll you to death

>>4197372
think of it in a silhouette kind of way then? what reads well, what looks dynamic, etc

>>4197377
I thought the same thing as you at first glance but upon thinking about it, I really like her un-prettyness (my comment is right above yours). The model might not be too happy with it though...

>>4197377
>mfw you don't know how mfw works

>>4197377
Some people are against touching up too much. I always do though cuz roritas gotta be purdy at all times.
>>4197378
Problem is lolitas are usually very diminutive and shy in their posing. I suppose cosplayers would be more fun and action posey.

>>4197377

If I wanted plastic perfection, I would have shot for it.

Intentionalism, do you speak it.

Fyi, it was shot in a dark scummy alley. AND HEY, AT LEAST I REMOVED THE DUST ON THE NEGS. <3~

>>4197380
forgot pic derp

>>4197383
>>4197379
>>4197376

I don't think she's going to be happy with looking like a crack whore, somehow.

>>4197387

>mfw I am.

Though I do appreciate how most cosplayers do prefer the flawless look. It works well within the medium.

I only have an 18-55mm lens what one would you guys recommend next for cosplay photography?

Take photo's from complementary angles and avoid myspace doe-eyed shots, it's cute but no originality.
Also make sure the cosplayer's outfit is straighted up, especialy with regards to wigs if shooting outside, bangs can fly every-fucking-where, so bring a decent sized mirror for your models.

I find the angle in my picture is affective for a good photograph 110% of the time...

>>4197390
50mm f/1.8 is good for beginners, because it's ass cheap and nice for portraits.

Good sites to showcase your gallery?

>>4197390
canon: 50 1.8 ($100)
nikon: 35 1.8 ($200)
only because they are cheap and give you variety. learn how to do the basics with the 18-55 and one of those cheap lenses (which will still be useful even when you are more advanced) and only then once you know what you're doing and what you really need should you start spending a lot of money. photography is not cheap when you start buying new lenses and even with cheaper things you can still take good photos if you know what you're doing.

>>4197396
I have a f/1.4 50mm and it's great for portraits! but you may find one side of the face blurs or something when you first start. I can reccomend the f/1.8 85mm as well, however.

>>4197397
flickr, devart

do you guys ever charge for photoshoots and how much? do you charge per decent picture what's the deal?

>>4197399
>>4197400
I went to Philip Bloom's DSLR cinematography workshop the other day and he showed us this clip he shot on the GH2 on a f/0.95 lens in a club. Freaking amazinggggg. Hard to focus obviously =D

Finding the best feature of a cosplayer, how do you know what part of the face looks the best. Straight forward, at an angle ect?

>>4197404
most people don't and just do it for the love of it and anime/manga
those that do don't charge that much (usually a set price because of the number of photos) but not that much

you don't get into cosplay photography for money. if you want money, get into things like weddings but it's a long road and not that fun.

>>4197389
>>4197389


OHAI.
if you're going for scummy, IMO it's better looking darker.

>>4197406
it varies. some people have nicer faces and figures than others. i tell my sister to go at an angle to the camera whenever she wants me to take her photo because she doesn't want to look fat (her words. straight on and it'll be "i look fat!")

>>4197408
Well, good for you.
*pat*

>>4197410
Fatty's gonna fat

Good ol' liquify

>>4197270
Good choice. A most cosplayers won't even talk to you if you even mention that you post on 4chan or similar hate sites.

>>4197407
How do you go about finding a free photographer, everyone I ask charges around £30, only reason i'm asking why the hell do they charge so much?

>>4197408
This is scummier obviously but this style of desaturation/vignetting is somewhat overdone so I think I prefer the original.

.... and is that a Squirtle tatt?

>>4197416
ask around on the forums
if you can't find someone who is decent/good and yet will do it for free or for not that much then your community must be sadly lacking. on the whole 30 is very cheap if you're getting quality work in return. then again, convention goers don't really like paying that much in general.

>>4197416
>>4197404

I wouldn't ever charge for cosplay photos unless I'm a con's official 'tog.
I have been before, but our con is tiny and it didn't go down well as a funraiser, and we ended refunding everything.

charging is silly.

Silverstar from the UK charges around £30 for photos and they are very sadly lacking
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silveritis/collections/72157623190850769/

It's the same everywhere I look. disappointing photos ranging from £30-100

>>4197421
charging makes sense if the photographer is giving you good work and he does a lot of postprocessing/touchup/etc which eats up time. if it's just giving you straight out of camera stuff with minor color correct etc then that i would expect to be free or cheap but if they're giving you the whole package then at least buy him lunch.

>>4197412
NOOOOOOOO!!! I BEAT YOU FOR ONCE YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!!!!!!!
>>4197421
Free shots and post online and charge for prints?

I don't even own a dslr and a friend offered to buy a print from me, so long as you don't too much more than the actual cost of printing.

>>4197424
this is going to vary per person but for the love of god if you're a photographer don't do the photo vomit where you post everything. post your best from the set. even if it's three good photos of three hundred i think it's better than having every mediocre or even bad photo out there for people to see.

My greatest dream as a cosplay photographer for every set I take is to prove to my friends/client/whoever that they can look amazing in photographs with the right lighting, mood, angle, etc.

I like to incorporate the character well into the shot, with proper setting, pose, and especially expression. The expression sells it.

I also like shots that aren't straight on. Angled shots, and I'm not a huge fan of staring at the camera shots.

>>4197428
She's got some Grave-sitting-on Pics too.
I'm sure theres a thread on /cgl/ about that.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/silveritis/4317250836/in/set-72157623190897257/

Lol at that watermark and the grave that says "MARTIN" in big-ass letters, Totes ruins any serenity that photo had potential for.

cosplayer here
this might seem like a stupid question but im not sure... do you guys when do photoshoot give the pictures back to cosplayer with or without editing them?
just wondering cause i have worked with two different people and they both did that different so i wasnt sure

>>4197673
I never give unedited pics. I'll take like maybe ~300 in a set and only give you 30.

>>4197702

I absolutely hate this. If I'm with a photographer for hours taking shots and I only get to see a handful, I feel cheated. Especially since the shots that I like and the shots the photographer sends me usually vary greatly. Seriuosly, send us the fucking raws.

>>4197708

Hahhahahah oh wow.
Lets safely assume 100 photos are taken, averaging 23mb an image (average for 5d2s, I find). And the average cosplayer knows how to raw process a DNG file?

I assume if you paid them enough, then sure; send a disc or mem stick. But really; no.

>>4197708
thats how i feel also... i would like to see all the shots to
i know not every shot is going to be perfect but still...

Cosplayer: I just want to look sexy

>>4197708
either you don't know what the fuck "raw" means or you are full of shit.
nobody in their right mind would give away the raw files of their photos.

>>4197760
wait im not sure on what "raw" would mean for pictures i think... and so why would they not want to give them?
actual question btw i really dotn know....

One of my biggest pet peeves with having my picture taken is not getting to chose which photos/angles etc I get to have. When its for personal use, anyways.

I suppose its not easy to properly share/discuss which you want to receive, though. Unless you have time to go through every file with them, which is really unlikely.

I've met far too many a photographer who has a really different idea of what looks good for me than I do. I prefer a sharper more angular look to my face, and a lot of people try to make it look.. round? which I don't even understand, considering I'm male.

also, please FOR THE LOVE OF GOD do not pre-shoop my photo. I am tired of receiving air brushed to hell and back looking shit when I didn't ask for that. I prefer to shoop my own if I've got the choice, instead of looking like a blurry mess.

I do cosplay &really small time modeling. I have no fear of the camera, but I can't get over that in a lot of cases the only reason the person can claim 'rights' to mon visage is because they shelled out the cash for a high quality camera. high quality camera /=/ photographer.

and please, please, if I say I don't want a photo of me up because I think it is unflattering, don't put it up. thats just common courtesy. unless it was previously agreed upon that all photos taken are yours to do whatever with or you paid me to model for you.

>>4197718
>>4197766
This. RAW files are gigantic; they are because they take in a lot more detail than your average JPG. And so a photographer doesn't want you to see the RAWs because they haven't processed everything nicely, the highlights, the blacks, the colour temperature, there might be some lens aberration to correct or beauty touch ups, or some crap in the background.. and they can do this because the resolution is also gigantic.

We only ever pick a handful to go through the RAW editing process most of the time. never will you see a photog process every single shot. Also, if using high-speed continuous shutter, you'll get what's more liek an animated gif except every frame is 25mb! You'll have 12 of the same pose, with minute differences. We try to pick the best ones so you don't have to.

>>4197774
If that's the case then isn't it simply a matter of telling the photog DURING the shoot "I look better from this angle" and then in post "Don't do any shoop, I'll do it" because it saves them time not having to do something you never even wanted.

As a cosplayer, I like to at least be able to see all the thumbnails of the photos taken if we did a long session. Otherwise, I'm pretty much happy with most photos. I do agree that photographers should only post the best of their set. That can be anywhere from 1-30 photos, just depends on how picky the photographer is.

Ideal set for me is roughly 5-10 photos.

>>4197785
Unfortunately a lot of photographers have their own pushy way of doing things, and will in the end go with what they want and not what you asked for.

I'm not saying everyone is like this, I've just worked with some really retarded people. Just listing the pet peeves, not saying I haven't found my own solutions.

>>4197774
>do cosplay &really small time modeling. I have no fear of the camera, but I can't get over that in a lot of cases the only reason the person can claim 'rights' to mon visage is because they shelled out the cash for a high quality camera. high quality camera /=/ photographer.

Sounds like you need to get a different photographer

>>4197766
a raw file is the equivalent to a negative in analog photography.
it is exactly what you'd expect from the name: a raw version of the image with tons more of information than your standard *.jpg file. you could say it is the "original" photo. one raw image [on full format cameras] is about 15-25 MB (!) in size. the typical cosplayer wouldn't even be able to open a raw file, because the file format is not meant to be viewed but to be processed in a raw converter.

the biggest problem with giving out raw files is, that it is the one and only proof most of us photographers have, that we ourselves shot the photo.
it would be careless to give this file away because basically anyone could claim to have the rights to this photo.

if you are trying to earn money with photography, giving out raw files would be a typical career-ending move.

>>4197797
Again, I'm not stating every photographer has been like this.

I'm naming the uglies.