CAPE 2018 Cosplay & Photo Shoot-Out

Cosplay and photography are visual mediums. They can convey emotion and tell stories.

For CAPE 2018, I wanted to do something that would highlight the storytelling that happens when photographers and cosplayers work together. Something fun and inclusive that would encourage photographers and cosplayers to collaborate.

So, we brought back a panel/workshop I created last year at Granite State Comic Con: the Cosplay & Photography Shoot-Out.

We randomly paired a cosplayer and a photographer by picking names from a Sorting Hat. We then announced the theme that the teams would be trying to visually capture in their photo: Summer Vacation. No guidelines or rules beyond that — teams could enlist helpers, use whatever props or photo gear they wanted, but they had to turn in an unedited image in 45 minutes.

The judges for the Shoot-Out included myself, @Wonderllama Photo, along with award-winning cosplayer Lucky Grim Creative and well-known photographer Dave Yang. Our main criterion was “does the photo convey the theme ‘summer vacation’?” We critiqued the photos on their effectiveness, highlighting what worked especially well, as well as some things that, with a few tweaks, could improve the shot.

While all six teams turned in beautiful shots, a few were especially effective at telling the story. Our overall winner was the team of Zephyrlynk Productions (Photo) and Petry Cosplays (Cosplay). They had the notion that, for some people, summer vacation means being indoors, catching up on TV shows and video games. In close second was West Street Studios (P) & @Skyvlis (C) with their poolside cocktails and pizza party.

The images below are in the same order as the list of photographer/cosplayer below:

Zephyrlynk Productions (P) & Petry Cosplays (C)
West Street Studios (P) & @Skyvlis (C)
K Brophy Studio (P) & @lvl1kat (C)
Deina Lambda Photography (P) & Lyte-tech Cosplay (C)
@KBaiPhoto (P) & Bulletdancer Cosplay (C)
Luminous News (P) & Savanna Celeste (C)