It is completely situational, i look back at all my con photos and realize that I went from being crap to kinda decent but still crap. This is one of the better photos i've taken ;

It's personal for me, but it if had a professional camera I'd be a bit more happier with what I took. I took this off of a 100 dollar kodak digital and squeezed as much quality as I could out of it. She did pose well, (or as best as you could for Yowane Haku) but i feel like i could have done more.. Like, honestly if the photo isn't super blurry and you can capture the detail of an outfit, you know you're not at fault while taking a photo, after all some people don't know how to pose (i'll show this in the next post)

See ; Black Johnny.


Lack of hat, hilt much lower than the sword being sheathed, and the footing is off. In his defense, this was when I began taking pictures at cons, so he could completely call me out for being an amateur. However I work with the nigga, and am willing to retake images any time he so asks.

i found another picture which i'm going to show; show's what i mean by shitty camera.

Here, we have ZEED from Hokuto no Ken.

I honestly think he captured the goon aspect quite well with the expression, and this was a bit after I got more experience with taking photos, so I did the best i could. It's a decent picture, I like to think, but it's held back by the quality of the camera, i still feel like there's more i could have taken out of it, but I wasn't asking for a retake; my hands were not shaking, turned off blur, enabled program and used the proper setting with it.


Blah i'm kind of half expecting to be called out now, but that's my take on it as a camera boy. It's so hard to find people to take pictures on at cons considering they're always in a rush or in a bad mood.

As a cosplayer your job is to make sure that you look your best. That includes making sure there are no extra wrinkles in your costume, your wig isn't super tangled, your props are being held in the right hand and have the proper faces and poses down. When it comes to getting your picture taken you are the authority of your character and you should know them the best out of anyone.

The advantage that a photographer has is that they can see the cosplayer through the the camera and it is their job to make the slight adjustments that are needed. It could be as simple as tilting the cosplayers face so it looks more flattering or having them step to the side so that they're in an area with better lighting. Obvious detail such as badges and a cosplayer wearing glasses should be pointed out as well.

If both parties do what's needed to be done then a good photo will come out of the session.

I went from this...

... to this.

One of my biggest pet peeves with cosplay photographers is when they don't pay attention to their framing and cut off limbs in weird ways. I see lots of awkward joint cutoffs in cosplay photos and it drives me crazy.

This pic is an example. Good looking cosplayer, but that arm is cut off right at the wrist and it makes her look like an amputee. The heavy contrast/desaturation treatment doesn't help any and makes her look a bit corpse-like, in my opinion.

Photoshop can be fun, but try and restrain yourself a bit, dudes.

From the other side of the camera, as a cosplayer, it's important to know what your good angles are. The photographer should be focusing on exposure and framing and might not notice that your nose looks kind of weird. It's the only way to avoid showing off pet peeves you might have about yourself.

For example, I don't like my chin and my jawline is kind of soft and it doesn't take much to make me hate it in a photo. The photographer is probably not aware of this, so it's up to me to account for it, not posing with my head tilted too far down and so forth.

>>4816173
^^This


Someone who has a great camera might not even know how to use it. But both parties should know how lighting can affect a picture. The cosplayer should know their angles and poses beforehand. The photographer shouldn't be shy to ask the cosplayer to move somewhere where there is better lighting or poses, not just one click and that's it
And not all pictures of a 'professional' expereienced photographer will be all good.

1 - I was recently part of a fantastic private group shoot. As cosplayers, all of us had our suggestions and agreed on a lot of the poses and such to get things done quick and knew what each of us was doing. It took us 30 seconds to get into position right and then switched to others. None of us were afraid to throw out suggestions and ideas if some things weren't working quite well. This should also be applied in a public one also or else no one will know what they're doing, they'll go off in their own groups and that's it. If someone is in charge then ask for certain poses and groupings. If there isn't one, then take charge if you feel confident enough!!

2 - It's the same as being a cosplayer in a shoot. Ask for ideas and group poses, make sure everyone get their say, and have an idea of how everyone will be placed instead of having everyone mish-moshed having certain characters here and there.

tl:dr; Know your poses. Don't be shy and ask or suggest

>>4816252
Cutting off limbs also bothers me.

I think location is something to consider. The favorite picture I took is really dependent on the background. I'm not a photographer so I don't really care if there are 100x similar images of this RoboPanty. I like how it looks altogether Also, I kinda walked around in an arc around the cosplayer and liked this angle. It couldn't hurt to walk around for a little bit to find the right angle.

I'm super shy so while I practice poses, I end up looking pretty wooden. Any tips on loosening up and getting into the spirit of the character?

>>4816166
>>4816162
>>4816147

tbh looks like the cosplayers are the ones doing a good job here, the photos are absolutely crap. If you honestly can't seem to take a single focused shot with the camera you're carrying, you shouldn't be using the camera at all - let alone calling yourself a photographer while you're at it. You have absolutely no sense of light, you don't know how to use it, or even know when it's present or not. I want to be easy on you about the background because I know how hard it is to come by a good backdrop at a con (for an amateur), but just a little bit of angling and perspective could've made these photos acceptable. Not good, but acceptable. your photos and posts are actually so facepalm inducing I'm starting to wonder if you're just a really good troll. If not, know that I'm not calling you out because i want to be mean, I just think it's important for you to understand how absolutely crap these are if you want to take photography a little more seriously.

>>4816289
Depends on the mood. When I do shoots, I try to get a friend to come along and assist. One of my favorite people to get to come along is a former theater geek. She's really good at getting the cosplayers into character by bouncing warm-up techniques or silly things off of them.

For example, we were trying to get a cosplayer to look angry, but she kept cracking up. So she started a scenario in which the other cosplayer in the photo had broken her favorite figurine EVER and was dancing on the pieces with a pair of tap shoes. Even though it was funny imagery, it worked to get her into the right mood.

Coming up with little scenarios like that to keep in the back of your mind when they ask for a particular "type" of pose helps. So does having a photographer whose assistant isn't afraid to make an ass of herself for the sake of loosening up the photo's subjects. lol

>>4816299
Your theater friend sounds awesome. I will try to look up some warm up techniques and think of some scenarios. Thanks for the advice!

Can we do a bit of Photo Critique?

I'm usually the model in cosplay photos, but I recently picked my camera back up (it's my dad's old Canon AL-1, so it's not digital) and have been taking pictures of friends for fun. I'm not looking to go pro, but I'd certainly like to improve.

This one, for example. I was trying to make the best of shooting in harsh sunlight. The flare coming from the upper left was in the exposure itself, so I tried to work with it a bit in post-processing. Mostly, though, all I did was a bit of color correction. What could I have done better? (Aside from focusing better, it's 100% manual and very finicky, so I'm working on practicing with it. I know it's an obvious weak spot already)

most 'con photographers really fuck up with the lighting. if I had a dollar for every time a cosplay photographer framed a shot with a giant sunlit window behind the subject, I would be shooting with a 1Ds mk. III instead of my rabble xsi.

ideally, you want light to fall across the subject, not directly in their face or at their back. the shadow on the subject's body will give them depth and form, and the lack of a giant fuckoff lightsource in frame will allow it to meter properly.

most conventions, frankly, have really shitty lighting conditions, and using the pop-up flash just makes things worse. Either use an off-camera flash or go without.

while setting is always important, and I would always take steps to at least bring relevant backdrops to a paid photoshoot. Random Cosplay Photography like this one works fine in the standard convention setting, because you can't exactly bust out the backdrops if you want to take a picture of someone you saw in a panel line.

>From the other side of the camera, as a cosplayer, it's important to know what your good angles are. The photographer should be focusing on exposure and framing and might not notice that your nose looks kind of weird. It's the only way to avoid showing off pet peeves you might have about yourself.

no. no. fuck no.

You are the cosplayer, not the photographer. you do not know what you look like in the viewfinder. you do not know where the framing ends. you don't know how the lighting falls. You have no way of knowing what you will look like in the photo. The Photographer (hopefully) knows his shit and will pose you accordingly, you trying to put your own spin on things is just going to hinder the shoot. If you think it's important, TELL THEM and let them work it out.

>>4816352
>You are the cosplayer, not the photographer. you do not know what you look like in the viewfinder.

While I agree that it's up to the photographer to make sure that the cosplayer looks good, since they're the one looking through the lens, I've got to say that having some idea of how you look in photos does help them out. I've shot cosplayers before who weren't comfortable in front of a camera due to a lack of experience, which also resulted in having to adjust their poses over and over again. They also had no idea that doing certain things was unflattering for them (ie: lowering their heads for a "smoldering" look that gave them a double-chin or coming at the camera head-on such that they looked twice as wide as they really are) and it can get tiresome to say over and over "put your chin up, shoulders back", etc.

Having a general idea of postures and poses that are flattering to you will help the photographer in the long run, since he'll just have to adjust minor things, rather than the entire posture/pose every single time.

>>4816352 flashes

bluhhhh

At night you don't have a lot of options. When I bought my K-r I wasn't able to get a flash for it before Acen, so all my night photos were REALLY washed out. I might have been able to get a pop-up filter, but I didn't know they made them at the time. :<

Protip: Use the 'no flash' setting during the daytime! Your photos will meter a lot better. All my day photos came out perfectly.

>>4816367

oh god I'm sorry but I can't stop laughing at the chain-link marks on her stomach.

>>4816367
Her 'fish scale' stomach bugs me in that picture. I can obviously tell she had just been laying down on that bench.

>>4816370

Oh, me too - otherwise I wouldn't have uploaded it to begin with!

>>4816367

also I would suggest not using a full automatic setting for photography. Manual is nice but it takes too long if you aren't extremely practiced, and greenbox/auto-no-flash take too much away.

The best setting to use if you want to control DoF/shutter speed but don't have enough experience with manual to do quick shooting, imho, is Program/P. It automatically zeros your exposure but allows you to adjust your aperture/shutter ratio to get the combination you want, and allows quick exposure compensation.

>>4816380 Program/P

Oh, I have that! I'll have to play with it. Thanks!

>>4816391

oh, almost forgot. Program will set your ISO for you, but you can change it too.

ISO is the light sensitivity of your sensor. a higher value means that the sensor will pick up light better (for shooting in darker conditions), but high ISO comes with the drawback of visual "noise" in your picture. ISO usually does not need to be monitored as much as shutter speed and aperture, but it's something you want to keep an eye on as well.

Tricks I've learned for cosplayers to use in hall settings/for fast snaps:

- Suck your tongue to the roof of your mouth. It'll tighten the muscles under your jaw, reducing the "loose" look that sometimes shows up in people with round faces who are otherwise thin.

- To prevent veiny "man" hands if you're a girl, hold your hands over your head and wiggle your fingers for about 10-20 seconds. This will cause the blood to flow out of your hands and flatten the veins under the skin, making them look smoother and more feminine.

- Instead of looking straight into the lens, direct your gaze a few millimeters above it or at the top of the lens hood. This helps reduce red-eye should the photographer be using a flash and also helps "open up" your eyes a bit so that they're not so dark/hard to see.

- If you feel the urge to lower your head in a photo, tilt your chin slightly to one side. Like the tongue trick, this tightens the muscles in your jaw/throat so you're less likely to end up with a double chin.

- For girls, cocking one hip slightly higher than the other will make your waist to hip ratio look wider than it really is/make you appear curvier. Posing one leg (generally your front leg) pointed at the camera and the other perpendicular to the camera will lengthen your legs and make them appear more shapely.

- Unless your character is a ghoul or somehow deformed into a slouch, have good posture. It tightens up your belly, legs and throat muscles, making for a much more flattering appearance. Don't tilt your chin UP, though. Keep it level as if you had propped your head on a shelf just under your chin.

- If your character IS a ghoul or monster, exaggerate your pose. Don't hunch slightly, really get down into the posture so that you look grotesque rather than lazy.

Wide open. All day, every day.

>>4816409
Tongue trick sounds awesome. I'll have to try it. Thanks!

Vouching for the tongue trick. I practice it in the mirror and it makes a surprising amount of differece.

>>4816409
I love you. Seriously, this is some of the best advice I have heard in a LONG time. If you have ANYTHING else, please do share it!!

>1. As a cosplayer how can you better a photoshoot both private and group shoots

Make sure you're comfortable with your photographer right from the beginning. Introduce yourself, tell them your name and if they're not familiar with your character, briefly explain your character's personality. Tell them to be open and forward with you, and to tell you if you're posing in a strange or awkward way and don't be offended if they say you need to adjust yourself.

Ask to see the photos afterwards and point out things that you might not like and offer to change your pose to retake the shot.

If you're not friends with your partners in the photo, and you're trying to take intimate photos (even things as simple as putting your arm around their shoulders) ASK FOR PERMISSION FIRST. We have a lot of socially awkward turtles in the cosplay scene, so just say something like "Hey, your character and my character are best friends, would you be alright with me hugging you for a photo?" That way they're not taken off guard and they won't end up looking stiff and awkward.

2. As a photographer/shoot leader what would be the way you can know you left with the best pic possible?

Introduce yourself. Ask about the character if you're not familiar with the series. Be aware of the cosplayer's comfort levels - make sure to ask them if they're alright if they look cold, tired, sore etc.

Don't be afraid to suggest poses or ideas for photos. This might be easier for me since I'm a short female photographer (no offence boys), but ask if the cosplayer is willing to walk with you to a location with a nicer background/lighting and explain to them why you want to change locations. Ask them if they want to bring a friend with them if they might be nervous.

Show the photos to the cosplayer after they've been taken. Ask them if there are any photos they don't like (offer to delete them) and offer to retake them if they want to change it slightly.

Finally, produce business cards with your website or contact details on and give it to the cosplayer so they can find your photos afterwards. The most frustrating thing ever is taking out 30 minutes of your convention to do a photoshoot and to never see the photos afterwards (...although saying this I'm terrabad for uploading pics after cons... so slow...).

Pic related I guess... I didn't know this cosplayer at all before this convention. I built up rapport with her by doing a short shoot with her the day before, and then was able to get a photo I was really happy with the next day.

Photographer here.

If it's a private shoot there is no reason that the photographer and cosplayer should not be able to make some awesome photos. The biggest two strikes against cosplay photos are the time aspect and background distractions. If it's a private shoot then you've got time and hopefully no one has to run off in five minutes to go do something else. Please, cosplayers, if you're at a con and you want a shoot, allocate some time. The other thing refers to the sheer number of people around or other unwanted things. Nothing kills photos like there being fifty people in the background or having twenty people all crowding around a cosplayer so the primary photographer can't do his job. Preferably you find somewhere where there isn't a lot of people.

The cosplayer's job during photos: look pretty. Not have derp facial expressions. Know a few poses that work for you and your character. If you've got stuff you particular want to show off (because you are proud of the work you put into it) then know poses for that too. Make sure you don't freeze in front of a camera whether by shy nature or because you're always shields up around people you don't know or whatever. Stiff cosplayer = no. You want to look natural.

FIELD TOO LONG

The photographer's job: take lots of photos because some of them are going to suck. know lighting and have tools around to utilize it. that means external flashes and modifiers or at the very least a reflector to help bounce sunlight around. Be able to talk to the subject so they are more comfortable. Be able to direct the subject. If the pose sucks, you say so, and you tell them how to fix it. Know your composition and basic photo rules. Know how to use your camera and how not to use your camera. Don't get close with a wide angle lens. This leads to perspective distortion and will make things like noses look huge, something your cosplayer probably doesn't want.

FOR BOTH: BE ON TIME. IF YOU SET A TIME, STICK TO IT. OR CALL EACH OTHER IF SOMETHING POPS UP. BE READY. DON'T SHOW UP AND SCREW AROUND FOR 30 MINUTES BECAUSE YOU "HAD TO FIX SOMETHING REALLY FAST."

Hammer details out ahead of time. When you're meeting, where you're meeting, how much is expected of both parties and at what speed (number of photos, if there is any post-processing, etc). Depending on the photographer you may be asked to sign a model release which is like a "please let me use this" thing. If a photographer has model releases and you're not going to let the photographer use the photos he took for other purposes (website, business cards, etc) please don't waste both his and your time by arranging a shoot to begin with. Clear this up ahead of time.

If you've got more questions, ask away

As a cosplayer who's not been at this long, practice is key. While I know photographers what you to know what your best poses are and to have somethings known at the same time I'm finding I'm learning as I'm going. For one, do know about your character's personality. Don't act sweet when you're a villain. Props are wonderful tools. I find that I photo better with props and I have a lot of fun trying different poses with them, do be aware of them being pointed in the right direction.

There really isn't a lot of resources for cosplayers as far as posing and information about modeling. I've not looked too much into modeling tips, but the biggest thing I've gotten from photographers is direction. I'm not saying that they are telling me how to sit/smile/what not... Telling me where to look, tilt of the head, move of the hand. Subtlety is a great tool. Photographers, please don't expect us to be professional models. I know some of you are amateur/hobby photographers. I have no idea what you are seeing through the lens, help me help you in the composition of the image.

i'm not a bigshot photographer, but here's a story i think you'll be interested in.

>Anime Nebraskon Day 2
>Morning
>Tag along with friends headed for Hetalia photoshoot
>SO MANY GOOD COSPLAYS
>GOOD POSES
>IN CHARACTER
>FUNNY
>TASTEFUL
>AWESOME PHOTO OPS
>nearly all of my photos are bad, because they had their backs to the sun
>NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

it's a shame. if we had turned one direction or the other, we could've gotten some flattering shots. hopefully next year, we can get better pics. work with the light, lighting is key to a good picture. Mr. B from Photo 1 engraved that so hard into our heads, i wouldn't be surprised if the words are actually carved into my skull.

Might as well contribute to this thread but I take a lot of photos as a cosplaying cosplay photographer.

When dealing with one cosplayer, it's best that you take the image as a portrait image instead of a landscape. For groups, it depends:

- Small groups: You can get away with taking images in a portrait mode.
-Large groups: It's best that you take the image as a landscape one.

>>4817834
Buy a cheap reflector. They're like $7 for the Chinese 24" circle 5-in-1 ones on Amazon and you can fold them down to a 9" circle. They're a little puffy when folded but you can squish them down to about half an inch if you had to.

>>4816455

Hit me with that 24-70 f2.8.

Most regular con-goers don't use a DSLR or if they do, have a 24-70mm f2.8 or a 50mm f1.4.

>>4816367
That said, you CAN use a flash in daytime, I use mine to fill out any harsh shadows caused by the angle of the sun.


>>Okay-ish photo, bad background clutter, lack of DoF to isolate the subject. God I hate doing con stuff but I keep going back year after year.

>>4818640

I dunno what kind of "regular" con-goers you know who use a 24-70 2.8, or a 50 1.4, but those are a thousand dollar lens, and a 400 dollar lens respectively...those aren't common among "regular" con-goers (most I see are kit lenses).

In terms of a shoot...the photographer needs to direct the shoot. He/she should know certain angles to shoot and a decent knowledge of lighting...they know what looks good and what doesn't. You can't put a cosplayer in a position of power unless they are versed in photography...or else you get lackluster everywhere.

This isn't saying you can't ask them for pose suggestions and such, but the composition needs to be on the photographer 100%.

Are most photographers open to pose/shot/location requests (as long as they're not ridiculous)?

The one and only time I paid for a "private" con photoshoot, the guy was an absolute tyrant, making me do stupid out of character generic poses, and when I tried to suggest something ("Oh hey, I've had this idea for a pose...") he flipped out, screaming "EXCUSE ME WHO IS THE ARTIST HERE!? THAT'S RIGHT, IT'S ME, NOW SHUT UP." I ended up walking away fifteen minutes into a half-hour shoot. I was too mad to even demand my money back.

Is that normal?

>>4818689

No...it's not. At all. The two need to work together, but like I said in my last post, let the photographer basically direct where he shoots from...if that makes sense. For instance, shooting down with a wide-angle will give you that "uguu" angle which a lot of people like, so if you have a pose suggestion, try combining ideas.

Sounds like the guy you worked with was a fuck out to make a buck off of cosplayers...not like I've never discussed this before or anything...

>>4818689
Depends on the photographer. You should get on the phone and talk it out ahead of time if only to get a feel for each other. Ask questions like that and if he sounds like a pompous prick you don't even bother to schedule.

Personally I'd say "okay." I'm open to suggestions. I will still guide you but I will accept your input. Side effect of being in a collaborative industry as my day job.

>>4818660
This. Most congoers have the kit lens, be it a 18-55 or a 28-135 and the popup flash on their camera. Even the press group isn't foolproof at having expensive gear. Then you've got idiots like me with two bodies and four lenses. It looks a little ridiculous.

>>4818707
>>4818726
Yeah, I had a feeling it was uncommon, but I had to ask.

And I totally get the whole "let them direct you" thing. Neither one of the participants should be a pushy asshole, but the cosplayer shouldn't be "OMG YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME" when the photographer asks them to do something (which I'm going to guess is depressingly common).

>>4818660

I meant that if they did have a DSLR, don't have a 50mm f1.4 or a 24-70 f2.8. Should've phrased it better.

You can get cheap Nikon 50mm f1.4s for on the cheap. The D version iianm.

>>4818748
There are bad apples in both bunches which is why I advocate pre-screening.

Or hell, making friends with photographers at conventions. Idiot with giant setup? They'll probably be willing to answer questions and chat a bit. If they've taken your photo, ask to see it (most will unless they are only taking creepy shots). If you like it and they sound reasonable enough in conversation, ask them if they want to do an impromptu shoot with you. This kind of goes against the prescreening bit but at least you'll have a few minutes of talking with them face-to-face to get an idea.

OK, so I learned alot from this last con, and am totally in love with this kinda shot. I want to get into doing photoshoots and such, but I'm afraid that EVERY one of my pictures will turn out to be in the same style as this

>>4818764

Do you want critique on that photo/style?

>>4818764
It's a phase. You'll grow out of it.

>>4818780
sure

i'm a cosplayer that's done two shoots with two different cosplay photographers.

i brought along one/two friends respectively on the shoots and the following happened:

-flipped sleeves/skirts ruffled etc
-armor slipped down/out of place (ruined an otherwise good photo)
-wig moved slightly

etc etc. if you are assisting a photoshoot or if you're the cosplayer make sure they know what you're supposed to look like!!!! three people standing there staring at you is useless unless they know what to look for.

also, i never know what expression to make. i do the stupidest derpface. do not be afraid to say 'i think it'd be cute if you slightly moved your head' etc.

as for the shots, i normally leave the photographer to largely dictate pose and location. he's the pro.

>>4819007
This brings up a good point: any friends you bring with you may be utilized by the photographer as reflector stands, flash holders, or walking softboxes, depending on if the photographer is willing to ask people to help. I imagine most photographers don't go balls out with the lighting gear to begin with though. They should. Lighting is king.

Also smile. Smiling is good. Practice smiling and not looking creepy when you smile.

>>4819007

You should tweak that to say, "friends who cosplay and know what to do as assistants or are otherwise familiar with the cosplay you're doing".

I find that having someone who knows cosplay but not the series is still a great help as they can and will point out things that you or the cosplayer may have missed in the shoot. Wigs, out of position clothing etc.

>>4818834

I just wanted to say to be careful shooting up at a low angle like that, as it will give you the up-the-nose shot, which looks bad. That angle works the best with masked characters, but if you want to use it, make sure to tell your model to look down at you...it doesn't work all the time, but with some people it will.