AnimeUSA 2015 Wrap-up

I am considering this AnimeUSA 2015 a success. I had ten photo shoots scheduled but only did eight due to cancellations. Overall, I thought most of the shoots went well, however the construction going on at the venue limited some photo opportunities outside in the garden area. I found that early Sunday morning is the best time to shoot in the “fancy” area of the venue including the long brick hallway. Because the area was empty, I was able to get some nice reflection shots using the mirrored walls in that area of the venue. Also the other area that I enjoyed shooting in was in the upper levels of the venue near the elevator bays, were they have a sitting area with curved couches.

Aurora by Cassimonee Cosplay

Daiya by Lina Lin Cosplay

Now every year I have some lessons learned, and this year is no exception. Again, pre-shoot questionnaire really helped with the shoots, allowing me to plan the shoot, select locations, and get a better understanding of the character. I also determined ten shoots is about right for this convention, and I prefer if possible to shoot in the early morning and in the evening when there are fewer photographers jockeying for locations. Next year I may consider moving off site a bit for some of the shoots if the cosplayer is willing. The other thing I will be doing is instituting a cancellation policy, due to people showing up late for shoots. I understand being stuck in elevators or getting out of session late, but 15-minutes late is too late for a 45-minute shoot. Thus, next year I will be instituting a 5-minute rule. In addition, I think I may be limiting people to two sessions during the convention.

Now for the photo breakdown. I was using a Cannon 70D with an 18-200 mm lens and 430EX II external flash unit. (While this convention allows you to use tripods and light stands, I did not use any.) I took a little over 900 pictures and kept 598, which is approximately 66-percent. Based on the analysis of the photo meta data (I love analyzing data) my shutter speed ranged from 1/400 to 2 seconds with the most common speed being 1/250 seconds. My aperture ranged from 3.5f to 9f with the most common aperture being 4.5f. The focal length statics I found most interesting, my focal length ranged from 28mm to 147mm with my most common focal length being 28mm.

In conclusion, it was a good convention, even if I had to deal with construction. I look forward to next year. You can see all the photos from AnimeUSA 2015here.

Comments

The Pumpkin Barron

On October 12th, I had the pleasure of working with the marvelous SunnyRae . The general theme for the shoot was pumpkins but with coordination on outfits with SunnyRae theme evolved into official portraits of an 18 th century Pumpkin Baron. For this session, I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Phottix Strobe 1 Westcott Strobe 1 rectangular soft box 1 strip box 1 6x6 silver reflector 2 C-stands 1 light stand Boom arm Color checker clamps Sandbags Backdrop stand Rough canvas backdrop Pumpkins Rough canvas drop cloth Flowers Old trunk Books Letters Wooden crate Fake leaves Chair Tri-level plant stand The set up I wanted to keep this set up a bit rustic yet give the feel of staged aristocratic painting of the time. I started with a plain rough canvas backdrop then placed an ol...

Night Queen

On September 28th, I did a session with May. This session’s theme was designed around a Halloween headpiece I made a couple of years ago but never got to shoot. The vibe of the overall shoot was dark queen. For this session, I used: Photography Equipment Props/Miscellaneous Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Phottix Strobe 2 rectangular soft boxes grids 2 C-stands Sandbags Backdrop stand Fuzzy grey backdrop Spyder Color Checker Card A-clamps 2 trilevel plant stands Fake candles Goblets Fake flowers Black fabric Silver fabric Large Styrofoam block Dowel Rods Skulls Fake moss Dry ice The set up I tried to keep this setup simple in nature. I started with the base of a fuzzy grey backdrop to which I added a “throne” made from a large Styrofoam block, some dowel rods, and a piece of black fabric. To that I added two flower pot hol...

Belle Island with Central VA Cosplayers

On October 19 th I drove down to Richmond, VA to attend a Central VA Cosplay Photoshoot meetup on October 20 th at Belle Island. I wanted to go to this event because it was in an interesting location, and I wanted to meet some new cosplayers. For this session I used: Canon R6 2 Speed light Trigger 1 Light stands 24 - 105mm lens Gels Camera Settings: For this shoot, I was transitioning back and forth between being inside an old, dark, abandoned building to bright, sunny woods. Due to the transitions, my settings varied greatly. I mostly shot at ISO 100 except for when I accidently bumped the nob to “Auto” and didn’t notice, so I also took shots at ISO 2500, 3200, 4000, and 6400. The shots at the high ISO actually look fairly decent, and not as grainy as one would expect. My shutter varied between 1/100s to 1/250s with the most common shutter speed being 1/250s. My aperture varied between F5 to F11 with the most common ap...

The Munchkin's Notebook

Search This Blog