Revenge of the Fifth - Cosplay Meet Up

On May 5^th I hosted a meet up of the Dayton-Columbus-Cincinnati Cosplay Photoshoot group at Oaks Quarry Park in Dayton. We had a meet up last year in this same location, which turned out well. This meet-up was Star Wars and space themed, in honor of “May the Fourth” and “Revenge of the Fifth.” The location overall is very versatile, and can lend itself to a variety of cosplays.

I worked with all 8 cosplayers in attendance, which resulted in me shooting 292 frames. Of the 292 frames I edited 176 images and delivered 128 final images. I shot the whole meet using a light from a single bare off camera speed light on a light stand. I shot with a bare speed light to compensate for the sun. I shot using ISO 100 with an aperture of F8.0. My shutter speed varied from 1/200s to 1/800s with the most common speed being 1/400s. Finally, my focal length varied from 18mm to 60mm, with the most common focal length being 18mm. The use of a focal length of 18mm allowed me to capture the background which really set the tone for several of the images.

Two of my favorite images from the shoot are of Izzyquinzilla as Jedi Belle. For those unfamiliar, Jedi Belle is a mash up Belle from “Beauty and the Beast” and Star Wars Jedi. There are several versions of fan art of this mash up. The reason I like this image is because the wind cooperated for once, thus giving the skirt a billow effect.

Now you can’t have a Star Wars meet up, without shooting a fight scene. Luckily, there was a Rey portrayed by Nonsense Noah and Kylo portrayed by Robert in attendance. In the movie the fight between Rey and Kylo would have happened in the snow; I figure a barren looking quarry is close enough considering it is spring time here.

Overall it was a good meet up, and I think the cosplayers got several good photos from the photographers in attendance. You can see my complete set here.

Comments

Cobwebs Everywhere

On October 7 th , I did a studio spooky session with Coralinx Cosplay . The central theme of this shoot was a pretty goth girl who had a fondness for spiders and decorating with cobwebs, making it a perfect Halloween session. Note: Cobwebs are defined as abandoned or old spiderwebs that have collected dust. Many cobwebs are the result of comb-footed spider (i.e., black widows) that make irregularly shaped webs. Spiderwebs are active structures built to catch prey. (Source: Western Exterminator Company) For these sessions, I used: Photography Equipment Other Equipment Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Westcott FJ400 2 Phottix Strobes 2 strip boxes 2 rectangular soft boxes 2 c-stands 3 light stands Backdrop stand Black seamless 2 Westcott silicon gels Tether cable Laptop Laptop holder Sandbags A-clamps Spyder Color checker Fake cobwebs Table ...

2025 Year in Review and Looking Forward to 2026

This year was a bit interesting especially since during the day, I’m a government employee, which resulted in a lot of stress and a 42-day furlough. I didn’t attend as many cosplay events with the D.C Cosplay group, now Costume and Camera, as I normally would have, due to schedule conflicts. However, I traveled up to Poughkeepsie, New York for two photo events, one of which I was a featured photographer. I attended two conventions, one of which didn’t turn out as expected and the other just confirmed my decision to take a break from it. Though happily I did a lot of studio work this year, which I enjoyed. But on the other hand, I lost my dear “studio supervisor”, my dog Teddy. He liked to great clients and then “supervise” while lying/sleeping in his bed. I also started to work on the business side of my photography work, by investing in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) site to manage bookings, schedules, and payments. No more trying to juggle...

Spooky in the Morning

On October 5 th , I did an on-location spooky session with Rebecca at Claude Moore Park. The theme was Victorian ghost; however, it is hard to be a ghost at 9:30 in the morning on a bright sunny day. I did my best to get a spooky look. For these sessions, I used: Photography Equipment Other Equipment Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Cannon Speed lights 1 30-inch umbrella Light stand Assistant Smoke Genie The setup The set up was relatively easy. I mounted a Canon speed light on a light stand with an umbrella. My assistant then held the light in the appropriate spots as we made our way around the park to different locations. Camera Settings This session was held outdoors in bright morning sun and was intended to look spooky, so I tried to keep the images dark. Thus, I used ISO 100, which is great for sunny conditions. I wanted to maintain a soft background as much a...

The Munchkin's Notebook

Search This Blog