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DCC Meet Up Review


On January 27th I hosted a meet up of the Dayton-Columbus-CincinnatiCosplay Photoshoot group at Something Old Dayton Vintage Rental studios.  This was the first meet up of the new year, and I’m glad we had a nice indoor space for the meet up.   This meet up was held in the loft studio space, and easily fit the group and provided interesting space and props to use during the 3-hour shoot.
I worked with all 8 cosplayers in attendance, which resulted in me shooting 242 frames. Of the 240 frames I edited 153 images and delivered 118 final images. I shot the whole meet using a mix of natural light and light from a single off camera speed light on a light stand with an umbrella. I shot using ISO 100. My aperture varied between F4.5 to F7.1 with the most common being F5.6.  My shutter speed varied greatly from 1/50s to 1/250s with the most common speed being 1/125s.  Finally, my focal length varied from 18mm to 50mm, with the most common focal length being 18mm.  It does not surprise me that 18mm was the most common focal length since I was close to the models while still getting full length shots.

ISO 100, Focal Length 40mm, Aperture F4.5, Shutter 1/125s
My favorite image from the session is of Izabel Cortez as Captain Marvel.  To get this image, Izabel sat on the stairs while I sat/lay on the floor directly in front of her. The light was positioned directly in front of her, with a slight downward angle.  I relied mostly on the light from the flash for the image.  When I brought the image in for processing, I used a tight crop to get rid of the distracting elements to her right, and bring the focus more towards her face and eyes.  I then brightened the light on her face slightly to more closely align to the light on her gloves. I then put heavy vignetting on the image to further darken the background.  Finally, I add a slight hint of color grading, using an orange/teal grade.    Izabel was great to work with and I can’t wait to work with her at future events.


ISO 100, Focal Length 40mm, Aperture F6.3, Shutter 1/80s


















Another of my favorite images from the session is of Bochan as Bride Bowsette.  Since Bochan was doing bridal version of Bowsette, I went for a more wedding/bridal look.  This shot is very high key and accomplished by blowing a lot of the highlights and whites out. I specifically blew out the light coming from the windows and used the flash to fill in the light on the model. In post processing I ran a high key filter on the image, reduced the clarity some to give the image a dreamier look. Finally, I applied a reverse vignette to the image. I’m pleased with the overall high key look of the image.


ISO 100, Focal Length 18mm, Aperture F7.1, Shutter 1/160s
















Finally, never trust the innocent sheep.  Gleume Cosplay did Bellweather from the movie Zootopia.  (Spoiler) If watched the movie you know it is Bellweather, who is a sheep, is the evil mastermind and villain in the movie, but you don’t find that out till the very end.  I played off the last pivotal scenes in the movie where it is dark and Bellweather reveals, like all good villains, her plan while lording over the heroes of the movie.  I think this photo really captures the evil genius of the character in those final scenes.  The capture this image I had the model stand on the raised stairs heading out to the exit. I shot from the model’s right side with an upward angle.  I had the light raised and set to her left.  I then took down the ambient light with my settings and relied mostly on the flash to light the image.  In post processing I added a bit more light to the model’s face due to shadows from the wig. I also darkened the background some while leaving the main light highlighting the model bright.  Finally, I added a dark vignette to finish the image.  I’m pleased with how dark and sinister I made the image to capture the villainous traits of the character.



You can see all the images from the meet up here: https://bit.ly/2Sqe7Sv
If you are interested, you can join the group on facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/DCCcosplayphotoshotos/


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