As a photographer, I have been shooting for years and love it! My passion is cosplay photography, and I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience with others, especially if I can inspire someone else to pursue this awesome hobby! I am currently doing research to start a website and blog dedicated to cosplay photography (and hopefully many other topics, such as makeup, hairstyles, etc.), so I thought I’d ask you guys! So, I would love to hear your answers to the following questions:
How do you shoot cosplay photography?
- What camera(s) do you use?
- Which lens(es) do you use?
- Which lighting setup do you use?
- Do you use filters?
- How much do you spend on gear?
I’m really excited to see what you guys have to say!
Cosplay Photography Tips
A beginner cosplayer usually has no idea how to pose in front of the camera and doesn’t have much experience in photography. I’ve been doing cosplay since 2007 and have had many years of experience. In this article I will share some tips with you to help you get started with cosplay photography.
Make sure your cosplay looks good from every angle.
The first thing you need to do is ensure that your cosplay looks good from every angle. So be sure to make sure you take photos from different angles, including side, back, front and from above. Be sure to get the perspective of the costume’s details. This means that the eyes must look straight ahead, the hands must be in the correct position, the head must look straight, the feet should be level and the hair must be in the right place.
Don’t be afraid of a little bit of editing.
Another important step in photography is to avoid too many edits. If you use Photoshop, you should only touch the images a little bit, for example by using curves to lighten the shadows and darken the highlights. Don’t apply changes that would change the character’s expression or pose. Try to capture a candid photo, don’t try to make your cosplay look perfect and unnatural.
Make sure your camera is set correctly.
To take proper cosplay pictures, you need to make sure your camera is set properly. The settings for shooting cosplay include aperture, shutter speed and iso. Take photos at the right exposure by adjusting the ISO. The aperture size (f number) is usually between f/2.8 and f/22, but in general, the smaller the aperture, the better the picture. Aperture can be adjusted manually by changing the camera’s lens. You should choose the shutter speed that can capture a moment with correct exposure, and you can set the shutter speed to 1/4000 or 1/60 seconds.
Take Your Time
If you’ve ever shot a cosplayer before, you know that they’re not always going to stand still. They’ve got places to be, people to see and so on. That’s why it’s important to take your time when shooting them. The best way to do this is by having them pose for you; don’t just ask them to stand there while you snap away.
Use Natural Light
Photography can be made or broken by the quality of light used in an image, but it’s especially important when shooting cosplayers. If your images come out too dark or too bright, it will ruin the whole effect of your photo shoot. That’s why it’s important that you use natural light whenever possible; it can easily be manipulated with reflectors and other equipment if necessary (more on this later).
Know your camera.
Knowing your camera is really important. When you are shooting cosplay, you need to learn to use the correct mode. For example, if you shoot in RAW, the photo will not show any noise, which means you can get more details, while the JPEG mode will not be sharp.
Keep an eye on the light.
The light plays a very important role in photography. Be sure to have bright light and avoid backlighting. Backlighting is when the sun is directly behind your subject, which causes harsh shadows on the face. To avoid this, you can ask your subject to stand in the shade.
When you’re shooting cosplay, it’s important to pay attention to the lighting. You should have bright sunlight to light up the subject’s face. You can also use a flash to fill the subject’s face with light. However, if you use the flash, make sure it’s pointed towards your subject.
Get a close up.
You can use a telephoto lens to get a closer photo. This will let you get a clear image, while the background will be blurred. You can also use a wide angle lens to get a wider perspective.
Use the right props.
The props you use will determine the quality of your cosplay. You can use things such as hair ties, headbands and wigs to make your cosplay look more realistic.
Take lots of photos.
If you don’t take enough photos, you will never have enough to choose from later. Therefore, it’s important to keep taking photos until the right photo comes out.
Do not edit too much.
Even though you are a beginner photographer, you should know how to edit your pictures. The most important thing is not to be afraid to remove unwanted elements. You should edit pictures by using a layer to easily remove unwanted parts of the image, such as the hands, feet, background or hair. If you don’t know how to do this, you can go to Google to learn more about Photoshop.
Do not overexpose.
When you are shooting cosplay, you should pay attention to the brightness of the scene. You should also make sure the skin color and color of the clothes are not too bright. You should keep your subject’s face slightly open to avoid the image looking black.
Keep the lighting the same.
You should adjust the lighting of the whole scene at the same time. To make the lighting consistent, you should take a photo of the scene with the light source turned off. You can then use this as a reference when you take the actual photo.
Use the right background.
You should use a plain white background to avoid distracting elements. However, you can use colored backgrounds, for example, pink to make the cosplay more colorful.
Know your camera’s features.
You should know what your camera’s features are. You should know what settings the various modes require and what they do. You can also adjust the various functions of the camera, including the exposure, focus, aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
Don’t use too many filters.
You can add filters to your photos. However, you should only use them in the right situation. For example, if you want to create a dramatic photo, you should not use a soft focus effect. It will make your subject look unreal and not natural.
Learn to see colors.
Before you shoot, you should know the basic colors that you should be looking out for. You should know how to see the colors of the costumes, so that you can add these colors to the image. For example, if your cosplay has a blue dress, you should add a blue background to your photo.
Have fun.
You should not take cosplay photography too seriously. The most important thing you should remember is to have fun. If you are having fun, you will take better photos.