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Cresson Sanatorium & Prison Photoshoot

On July 8th, I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots’ meet up at the abandoned Cresson Sanatorium and Prison  in Cresson, VA.   The group shot here last in year in April, you can read about that experience here.   This time it was warm and sunny as compared to cold and snow of the last time. 

For these sessions I used:

  • Canon 80D
  • 2 Speed lights
  • Trigger
  • 2 Light stands
  • 18-200mm lens
  • Gels
  • Smoke Genie
  • Headlamp
  • Sunscreen
  • Bug spray

Camera Settings:

This was an indoor/outdoor event, however most of the shots I took were inside the buildings. Note since this is an abandoned space there is no electricity meaning there was no indoor light except for window light. Thus, I used flash for all my images. For this event I shot using ISO 100 to ISO 1600, but mostly using ISO 200.  My aperture ranged from F5.6 to F9 with most shots being taken at F8. While yes it was extremely dark in several areas, especially the tunnels I kept at F8 and F9 for the depth of field to better tell a story using the background.  My shutter speed ranged from 1/13 to 1/320s with most shots being taken at 1/100s. My focal lengths ranged from 18mm to 135mm with 18mm being the most common.

The Photos:

The nice thing is since I have shot here before, I knew what to expect thus was fairly prepared.  I had a headlamp with me this time which helped light the way in some of the buildings and tunnels and also acted as a modeling light to help my camera’s auto focus.  Auto focus is important to me since I wear glasses/contacts.  The headlamp also let me see what I was doing and read the displays on my equipment.   The only thing that is hard to prepare for is what the cosplays the cosplayers will be bringing, while there is pre-shoot thread for people to post to not everyone does so photographers need to prepare for anything.  Now lets talk some images.

One of my top images from the shoot is Meivix as 2B from Nier Automata. This was taken inside the modern prison section using two speed lights, a teal gel, and smoke from the Smoke Genie. I place one speed light, with a gel under the stairs with the Smoke Genie.  Smoke only shows up in the image if you hit it with light.  Then almost directly in front of the cosplayer I places the second speedlight to light them and the stairs.  In post I did basic adjustments, added a teal split tone, and increased the brightness of the model’s face slightly. I then finished with a crop and vignette.

ISO 200, Aperture F8, Shutter 1/80s, Focal Length 18mm

This second image I consider a crossover between a cosplay image and a styled fashion shoot.  I just loved Peachblossomjumpcosplay’s Nanami from Jujutsu Kaisen outfit.  It gave me a bit of a seventies vibe, and I just loved it.  Since the character is supposed to be a ghost hunter, I added some drama/mystery to the shot using smoke and a blue gel.   The smoke machine with the dry ice simulation attachment  is in front of the cosplayer to their left.  Also to their left is the main speed light, providing the side and front light.  Behind the cosplayer in the doorway on the ground is a second speedlight with a blue gel attached.  I went with blue as I felt it went with the color of the shirt.  I then shot up from the lower landing of the stairwell. In post processing I removed the leg of the light stand that was in the frame, did basic adjustments, cropped, and then finalized with a mild vignette.

ISO 200, Aperture F9, Shutter 1/100s, Focal Length 32mm

This next image is of Goodbyemidnight as Ellie from “The Last of Us”.  I felt the tunnels were a perfect location for a character that battles zombies/monsters.  I also used my headlamp as a modeling light here so my camera could focus.  For this shot I place a speed light with a lime green gel and as the Smoke Genie with the dry ice simulator attachment behind the cosplayer. I then placed my second light off to my right in front of the cosplayer.  In post processing I removed a leg of the light stand that was in the frame, then did basic adjustments.  From there I added a green/yellow split tone, then bumped then significantly bumped up the clarity and shadows to give the image a grungy look. I then finished with a medium vignette.

ISO 200, Aperture F8, Shutter 1/125s, Focal Length 24mm

This final image is of the fabulous Lokelicious as Pap Emeritus IV of the band Ghost.  To get this image I placed the Smoke Genie and a speed light with a red gel directly behind her. In front of her was a small fan.  Then I had her assistant stand in between the pews to my right hold my lightstand with speed light at about a 45-degree angle to get a nice side light.  Her assistant did a good job holding the light. In post processing I removed the fan, cropped the image, did basic adjustments, cleaned up small wig line, cleaned up some noise, and finalized with a vignette.  If you were wondering, yes there is incense burning in the thurible, you just can’t see the smoke so well since the smoke from the smoke machine drowns it out.

ISO 800, Aperture F6.3, Shutter 1/100s, Focal Length 40mm

Overall shooting at Cresson was enjoyable, a lot better than last time in the snow and cold. It was also more enjoyable because we had longer to shot 6 hours instead of 3 hours which makes a difference when the location is so large.  It was also easier to move around above ground using the map then using the tunnels to go between buildings.  It is a good location, that can support a several different types of cosplays, especially if you want to do some juxtaposition between the site and the cosplay.  You can see all the final images from the shoot here: Cresson Sanatorium & Prison Event.

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