Katscuon 2020 Wrap Up

Time for the annual Katsucon Wrap up.  This year I only shot in the morning and afternoon,  I determined doing evening shoots was just too much for me. Yes, I’m getting old.  So, this year I booked 17 sessions,  of which four canceled the day of the convention due to flight, health, and prop issues, thus I did 13 sessions total.  I shot 1447 frames across two days. The most prevalent focal length used was 18mm, which was used on 55-percent of the shots.  The most prevalent shutter speed used was 1/250s which was used on 26-percent of the shots. The most prevalent aperture used was F5 which was used on 37-percent of the images. Finally, the most prevalent ISO used was ISO100 which was used on 45-percent of the shots.  Of the 1447 shots, I edited 1,069 images which is about 73-percent of the total shots taken.  Of the edited shots, 213 images were hall shots, which is an increase from last year due to canceled sessions and being able to shoot the “Met Gala” group shoot.

I want to talk about the “Met Gala” group shoot briefly. The whole idea of the “Met Gala” for cosplay was great, these were amazing cosplays that I could easily see walking the red carpet at the Met.  The artistry and the work that went into them was impressive.  My only complaint is how Katsucon handled it,  since they group treated it like a red-carpet walk, it would have been better if Katsucon put them in a ballroom on a stage.  This would have allowed the group to do it more like a fashion show, and photographers to do the cosplays justice in their pictures.  While in front of the fountains is a nice area, it is just too crowded and a distraction from the actual cosplays.  I hope they do it again next year, in a better location. You can see all the images in the first part of the hall shot gallery, here.

I’m only going to talk about a couple of photos.  This first one is from the shoot with the lovely Sara go Bragh as a regency version of Rey from Star Wars Episode VII.  The first image I took was to copy the piece of fan art I saw of regency Rey.  It is a simple ¾ length portrait.  The white marble walls in the Gaylord work wall for these simple portraits.   The second image from this session I like just because we got lucky and had the whole hallway to ourselves.  The image is very simple and elegant, with the little BB8 reticule.

      

ISO 100 Aperture F4.5, Shutter 1/60s, Focal Length 32mm

ISO 100 Aperture F4.5, Shutter 1/200s, Focal Length 28mm

        

This is the second year I have shot someone portraying a character from a Broadway play.  In this case it was the lovely Darling Cosplays as Roxie Hart from Chicago.  This session just called for glamourous poses and locations.  My favorite from the session of her in front of the large chandelier, it exudes confidence and sex appeal.

ISO 200 Aperture F4, Shutter 1/125s, Focal Length 18mm

This last photo from the set with ChknFri as McCree from Overwatch.  This cosplayer brought a lot of energy and I love Valentine’s Day spin they put on the character.  I love this photo because it is a nice mix of natural light and flash.  The natural light creates the shadows on the wood wall to provide ambiance to the image and I used the flash to light up the face and the bit of the body.  Overall, I feel the photo gives off that old west bar vibe.

ISO 100 Aperture F4, Shutter 1/50s, Focal Length 18mm

These shots were my favorite. But I have to say overall I wasn’t feeling Katsucon like I normally do.  I just did not have my normal energy or enthusiasm, and that was NOT the fault of the cosplayers. I think I was just a little tired and burnt out going into Katsucon this year, due to trying to finish a Master’s degree in less then a year,  moving into a management position at work, and running the Dayton-Columbus-Cincinnati Cosplay Photoshoot Group.  It was just too much.  Usually, I’m itching to shoot, but this year I just was not feeling it.   So, while I shot the convention, I don’t feel I was putting my best foot forward this year.  I’m hoping after I finish my Master at the end of May and I take a little time off, I’ll be ready to go for next year.  

If you would like to see the all the galleries from this year’s Katsucon click here.