Cosplay & Photography Shoot-Out at Megacon 2023

For the first time, we brought the Cosplay & Photography Shoot-Out to Megacon in sunny Orlando. Fan Expo’s fantastic programming team gave us two hours to run the Shoot-Out in the dedicated Cosplay Workshop space. Turn-out was excellent, especially for a new panel. We had nine teams, and the amazing photographers were happy to have three cosplayers on their team (we usually have two). And every team came up with some genuinely creative, beautiful photos.

Quick recap: the Shoot-Out randomly pairs up to two cosplayers with a photographer; the panel gives them a theme, and the teams have 30 minutes to create a photo that captures that theme. Panelists pick one winning team; the audience picks their favorite team. Sound easy? Trust me, it ain’t, especially in a crowded convention center with weird lighting and tons of people.

We gave the audience two choices for the theme: Heroes or Villains. And — no surprise — they picked Villains. Way more fun to make villainous photos! Teams could interpret that however they liked, and create a photo they felt best expressed the concept. And they came up with some gorgeous, expressive shots. Teams went outside, used function rooms, stairwells, and any space they could find, to create their photos.

I love it when the teams make the panelists’ jobs difficult! Fortunately, I had two talented, experienced local friends with me on the panel: Avera Cosplay and Andrew Walt of Photography by Andrew Walt. The decision was really tough, with two photos that were neck-and-neck for the Judges award. The winning choice came down to small, subtle details that we thought gave it the edge for the “villain” theme. And the Audience Choice award was just as close; it took four rounds of audience applause to pick a winner.

Everyone from both winning teams got a fantastic prize from our sponsor, Fan Expo – a Friday pass for Megacon 2024.

Below are all of the wonderful photos created by all of the teams. They are unedited straight from camera. Enjoy!

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Judges Choice: Team 3 – Photographer: parzzival1408; Cosplayers: blueevanescence, toxique0, Ava