Last week, a cosplay photoshoot involving a large fake rifle caused quite a stir on the public Seacliff State Beach in Monterey Bay, California. The costumed model was seen carrying the huge replica gun at the beach, and judging from the photos, nothing indicated that it was fake. Some beachgoers reported the photoshoot to the police, and the whole case prompted a public warning from the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office.
Six more reasons why I don’t shoot at fan conventions
Last year I had written an article about why I don’t shoot at conventions. A lot of it was for logistical reasons (not enough space, the time pressure, no guarantee that the spot you wanted to use won’t be taken up by others when you want to shoot, etc). But some of it was for creative reasons. The primary one being that when you have all of these factors that are forcing how exactly you have to shoot it doesn’t leave a lot of leeway for creative interpretation. Secondly when there’s so many people around doing the same thing it’s a lot more difficult to stand out as an artist if everyone from that event is putting out work that looks similar.
I’m a photographer and I don’t shoot at fan conventions, here’s why
OK… so the title is only mostly true. I rarely con shoot. But the reasons for that still come from the same place.
One thing I’ve discovered in all my years of paying attention to cosplay photography is that how much of it is very similar in nature. A lot of it tends to happen at various conventions, or at least in the US anyway. Quite a while back I started noticing this… and I knew I didn’t want my work to be the same way.
This photographer recreates the movie worlds you always wanted to be in
David Byrd is the genius behind Reality Reimagined, a photography business that focusses on cosplay, fantasy, and storytelling.
Ian Tessler’s amazing cosplay work
Ian Tessler is a cosplay and fashion photographer from the Netherlands. In his own words, he says ‘ “I am a passionate photographer loving alternative art, cosplay and fantasy photography”. I got to speak to Ian a little about his work.
This photographer turned himself and his daughter into Wolverine’s Logan and Laura for this photo shoot
It just started off as an idea while thinking about what to shoot next. And as he’s been working hard at the gym the last few months, and is a big fan of Wolverine, it hit him. Sometimes, you just get a desire to do something, and then you have to go and do it. And that’s how photographer Rahim Mastafa felt about this Logan themed photo shoot with his daughter. Rahim posted a behind the scenes video of the shoot to YouTube, but after we saw him post images to Facebook reccently, we got in touch to find out more.
Photographer brings Wonder Woman, Queen of the Amazons to life in this cosplay shoot
It is not rare that a fictional character gets a dedicated fan photo shoot. Deadpool, Batman and Assassin’s Creed are some of the hardcore characters we’ve featured before, and brave was on the softer side.
With Wonder Woman being such a hit, it’s no wonder that this character is getting some action. We’ve already featured a $1,500 shoot of a young daughter, and now comes the adult version. Digital artist Antti Karppinen put quite a realistic shoot with Mae-rye cosplay and it is stellar and very much true to the movie. Hit the jump to see what some killer cos-playing and photoshop wizardry can bring to life. (+plus you get to see some before and after photos).
How I turned my wife into a shield-maiden for this Vikings photoshoot with a half-blind horse
It all started as a joke. When watching Vikings (History channel’s hit show on HBO Nordic) together with my wife, I pointed out several times that she seemed to share both the looks and a similar attitude with Lagertha -surprisingly similar considering that the other one is a scientist / mom from Finland and the other one a shieldmaiden from 13th century.
This photographer shot in overgrown abandoned buildings for this cinematic cosplay shoot
Sometimes we get an idea for a shoot that needs just the right location to do it justice. Sure, you could try to shoot it just about anywhere, but you don’t get what you really want. For Singapore based photographer, Mervyn Lim and his Nier: Automata themed shoot, he needed not just abandoned buildings. He needed abandoned buildings that the wilderness had begun to reclaim.
And, boy, did he find them. There’s one particular photo from the set (the first one below) which really caught my attention. So, DIYP got in touch with Mervyn to find out more and get some insight into this work.
This amazing powered cosplay armour took 518 hours to create
Cosplay, fantasy and photographing it has become huge over the last decade or so. At comic cons around the world, people show up as their favourite video game, TV and movie characters. And every year they just get better and better, closer the originals that inspire their creation. In the last few years, developments in technology and electronics have allowed some to take it up to the next level.
This particular suit of “Sovereign” armour from Melissa Ng at Lumecluster is a perfect example. Combining 3D design, 3D printing, electronics, and a lot of skill and ingenuity it took 518 hours to create. And that doesn’t include the time that the 3D printer was making parts.
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