10 fast and simple techniques to improve your cosplay photos
1
Fill the frame!
Eliminate as much distracting background as you can by moving or zooming in and making your subject fill the fame as much as possible. You’ll see more detail, too.
2
Portrait or landscape
Shoot individuals with the camera held in the ‘portrait’ format (a tall frame, rather than a wide one), that way you can get them in, full-length. For larger groups, frame-filling close-ups or to get a whole weapon/prop in, you may need to shoot in landscape format.
3
Background checks
Always try to keep your backgrounds as clear as possible, avoiding distracting shapes, colours, people, etc. If people are walking behind the subject, let them pass. Use foliage as a backdrop or a plain wall, alternatively, get down low and use the sky, or trees like this shot. Using a wider aperture (like f/2.8 or f/4), and a longer lens (above 100mm) helps to throw backgrounds out of focus, and give a great perspective for portraits.
Finally, run your eye around the outline of your subject to ensure there are no trees or flag poles sticking out of their head.
4
Freeze the motion
If you’re shooting a saber-wielding Jedi or a dagger-toting Anck-Su-Namun and want to freeze the action, choose a shutter speed of 1/125sec or faster. The faster the movement, the quicker the shutter speed required, eg: 1/250sec or 1/500sec.
5
Face focus
Focus-lock on the subject’s face. It’s easy. Point the centre of the screen at the subject’s face. Press the shutter button halfway down and hold it. Then reposition the frame as you want it, before pressing the shutter all the way to take the shot.
6
Composition
It’s normal to position your subject centrally in the frame, but the best shots often have the subject off-centre. The best position is one-third of the way across or up the frame. This is called the ‘rule-of-thirds’.
Rem and Ram pictured using the rule-of-thirds. If they were centred in this shot, there’s a danger the camera would focus on the gap between them, and they’d be out of focus. MCM Birmingham Comic Con November 2016. ©lezanophoto/worldofcosplay.com
7
Avoid direct sunlight
Despite what most people think, bright sunshine is not great for photographs. It creates ugly facial shadows and strong contrast that can hide the detail in a costume. It can also flare in the lens. Choose a shaded spot to shoot for the best results.
8
Zoom in
Portraits generally look better if you zoom the lens in slightly, as the perspective is improved and it creates a tighter composition. Stand a little further away from the subject and zoom in so they fill the frame. This has the added benefit of throwing the background more out of focus, so it’s less distracting.
9
God is in the detail
The lengths that cosplayers go to to perfect the detail in their costumes is staggering.… make sure you capture it all by getting in close with a zoom lens.
Also ask your subject to remove their lanyard and put their phone away, etc, before you shoot. Keep valuables by your feet so they don’t ‘disappear’.
10
Flash happy
Fill flash – using a burst of flash, even when there’s enough ambient light to get the picture – is a great way to add drama to a photo. Fill flash removes or reduces ugly shadows on sunny days and can really make your subject ‘zing’, especially if they’re colourfully dressed. The ⚡︎symbol on your phone or camera will turn on the built-in flash. Remember flash will only be effective up to about six feet.
10 more photo do’s and don’ts
Colour boost
Use software to boost the colour saturation in post-production. Photoshop, Lightroom and iPhoto are all ideal softwares for tweaking your shots for more drama, or do it ‘in-phone’ using editing apps or Insta.
Plan your shots
Before you approach a cosplayer to pose for you, have a think about what poses you might like them to strike… then you can get straight down to business.
Perfect tense
When people are posing for you, say in a superhero landing or battle pose, ask them to tense their muscles. It’s a small thing that makes a big difference, especially if they’re wearing a lycra body suit.
Shooting for Insta
Remember that Instagram has a square-format frame and aim to shoot images to fit that ratio.
Height of good taste
Don’t always shoot from head height, try getting down low or up high to alter the angle of view.
You can make a diminutive superhero cosplayer look much bigger and more powerful by shooting from waist height, ie: you kneel down.
Shooting groups
Small groups are relatively easy to shoot. If you’re indoors (lower light) try to keep their heads a similar distance from the camera or some may drop out of focus.
Angle of dangle
Think up some interesting shooting angles, and poses that work with them. Straight-on shots are all well and good, but you can add drama and interest by trying something different.
Colour or B&W
Some costumes will look better in black and white, as it can create ‘cleaner’ images with no distracting colours. Colour shots can easily be turned monochrome in post-production.
Shadow play
Take care not to get your own shadow in the shot. If your subject is facing into the sun, your own shadow will be cast towards them.
Reflections
Take care not to appear in the picture yourself when your subject has mirror glasses/visor (get them to look away) or chrome elements to their cosplay (shoot from a lower position). Experiment.
Remember, rules are made to be broken!
Happy shooting!
Click here to see our advanced photo-technique guide
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