Quick Tips to Improve Your Cosplay Convention Photos

Quick Tips to Improve Your Cosplay Convention Photos

Lately, I have been attending more events to cover as a photographer, especially anime and comic conventions. My approach to most of my convention coverage is walking around the event and trying to take as many photos as possible of the cosplayers there, kind of a run and gun approach. Sometimes the cosplayers are on a tight time frame so I don’t want to take too much of their time, or there is just a lot of things going on and I want to try to capture as much as possible. Some of the cosplayers outfits are just amazing, so it's best to slow it down and take the time to give the cosplay and their outfit justice with the photo. So where do you start?

Mark Rigsby shares four quick and simple tips on how you can improve your cosplay convention/event photos. The first tip is simply to build a rapport with the subject, which is great for any type of portrait, not just event portraits. The better you connect with them, the easier it will be to get their participation for the photo. The convention can be a pretty hectic event, and the next tip is to isolate your subject so you don’t see all the clutter in the background. As a photographer, you should be paying attention to lighting. Search the venue and use the lighting to your advantage or provide your own light. The last tip is to use creative angles or perspectives. The venue can be a very interesting place, use it in your work.

These tips shouldn’t only be used for cosplay event photography, but you can easily forget to use them in all the chaos when you're running around. Slow down, uses these steps, and see how it can improve your photos. You can read Rigsby's tips more in-depth along with a few photo examples over at Spekture.

Do you have some tips of your own? Share them in the comments below.

Photos used with permission of Mark Rigsby.

Alex Ventura's picture

Staff writer Alex Ventura is a professional photographer based out of the Houston area that specializes in automotive and glamour with the occasional adventures into other genres. He regularly covers automotive related events for Houston Streets & Spekture with some publications in the United States.

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8 Comments

As a Cosplay photographer that shoots with a lot of popular female cosplayers the term "isolate your subject" is not something you want to try. They get hit on and have every guy with a cheap camera trying to shoot upskirts or down shirt shots all day. And most want to get them to walk off with them which scares them. Most will stop for a quick pic while walking around or a selfie but as for photoshoot, only the new cosplayers looking for free pics are into it. The others are tired from visiting with fans all day, have no place to check makeup or adjust their costumes, etc. I shoot in my home studio where they can and there is air conditioner. Most have photographers they trust and they go to them for images.

I think you took "isolate your subject" too literal. Who said you have to take them to a private room away from everyone. The full context was to isolate your subject from the busy background, it could be as simple as changing their position and the way you are facing. Instead of shooting in a full hall, how about a few steps over to the side and shoot with a corner behind them so you don't see the full con and the hordes of people in the background. You could isolate your subject by lighting them and having the background go dark. It wasn't to get the cosplayer alone but to clear the background of clutter.

Understandable. Most find some tall grass or a wall outside. Trying to find a spot away from the crowd on the con floor is a nightmare. I see some using small softboxes on a speedlight but usually the images are overly contrasted and they are rushed. Any images I shoot at a con are behind the scenes that cosplayers can use as filler. I get asked to shoot at cons all the time but I want all my lights and better locations than hotel carpet and lousy convention lighting. And no shouting over the crowd. Helps to show the character in their world.

Agreed, I have followed you for a while. Love your work. I take cons as more event coverage versus trying to create art pieces as you have shown. however, I plan on trying my hand at it soon.

I shoot cosplay almost exclusively, and these are good basics, but they're really just the basics of photographing people. I'll add a few key things I've learned (specifically for convention photography, planned shoots outside of the main con space are a whole different deal)

1) Don't use a long lens. I stick to a 50mm prime (on a full frame, 35mm when I'm shooting on a crop sensor). You want more than a head and shoulders shot for most costumes, and if your shooting with an 85mm (or longer), you need to be quite far away from your subject to do this, which is hard to do in a busy convention center or hotel, and if you do manage it, you're being a jerk and blocking the hallway, people have every right to walk right through your shot.

2) Don't take 'candid' shots of people. A lot of street photographers struggle with this one. While convention policies and such are generally tolerant of this, the community IS NOT. It's considered disrespectful to the costumer, they worked hard on that costume and probably have a few poses planned to go with it, they should be able to present it the way they intended. You will get better shots by asking politely and letting them pose, and you won't get a rep for being "that creep who takes pics without asking".

3) Don't look for the coolest costumes, look for the best photos. A really complex costume with stilts, lights, and sound effects might be really impressive in person, but if they are in a low-light situation, crowded by people holding up their cell phones, the photo you take will be pretty weak. Find a spot, or a few spots, with decent light (or a wall for flash bouncing), and more room / fewer people, then wait for cosplayers to come through.

Also, above all else, don't be a jerk and don't be creepy. The scene has rampant issues with jerks and creeps coming in and using some rudimentary photography skills as a way to get "in" with cosplayers. Distinguish yourself by being polite and respectful, you'll get nice photos and meet nice people.

Long before the word "cosplay" was adopted from anime fans F/SF cons had costumes. There were - and still are - both formal masquerades and what we old-timers call hall costumes. There are many examples of both here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/116299515@N07/sets

Note that these albums are for entire conventions, and have much which isn't costumes.

That was a very cool look back through some of the conventions of the 80's and 90's.

Best tip I can give to new cosplay photographers... avoid the dutch-tilt trend, usually it doesn't work at all! :)