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Belle Island with Central VA Cosplayers

On October 19th I drove down to Richmond, VA to attend a Central VA Cosplay Photoshoot meetup on October 20th 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 aperture being F9.  My focal length varied between 24mm to 85mm with the most common being 24mm.

The Photos:

Let’s start with one of my favorite images from the shoot; unfortunately, I do not remember the cosplayer’s name or character.  I like this shot because it is moody.  I like how the window light and the light from the flash work together, so you can see the gritty background and the hard light on the face.  The pose is relax but the facial expression shows gives off the vibes that this man will “just let the world burn” and not care if he started.  This was one of the images taken on a high ISO, ISO 6400 to be exact.  This explains why I had to drop the flash power to the lowest setting and bring my aperture up to F10 to get the shot.  Anyway, in Lightroom I adjusted the white balance, up the exposure slightly, and up the clarity.  I used a medium contrast tone curve.  Now I was expecting to have to bump sharpening and luminance up significantly to get rid of grain, but I didn’t have to.  I only went slightly higher then higher than a normal image.  Normal images for me sit around 10 to 15 on the luminance slider while this one was at 25 on the slider.  However, I had to bring the color slider under the luminance slider down from 50 to 25 to smooth out the color in the blacks.  I also added a heavy vignette to complete the image.

ISO 6400, Shutter 1/250s, Aperture F10, Focal Length 24mm

This next shot of Beena as Aunty Entity from Thunder Dome was taken using two speedlights.  The first speed light with a steel green gel on it was behind the model and pointed towards the wall.  Subsequently this light was edited out during post-processing.  That is what provides the glow of light behind the model.  The second speed light was placed straight in front of the model.  I basically sandwiched the model between two lights.  In post processing I adjusted the white balance and up the exposure by 2 stops.  I also added some clarity and adjusted the vibrancy slightly.  I also used a medium contrast tone curve and finished with a heavy vignette.   I like this image because it is strong and powerful.  I also like the color of the light behind her I think it goes well with the chainmail.  The gel light also gives it a bit of a rockstar feel.

ISO 100, Shutter 1/250s, Aperture F8, Focal Length 24mm

This final image is of the Tiltedcatlady as the nurse from Silent Hill.  I like this image because I feel like it looks like a statue or one of those resin figures that are popular.  For this image, the light was placed to my right.  The sun was coming in from the far left in this shot, and it worked to fill some of the shadows.  In post-processing, I adjusted the white balance slightly cooler and up the exposure by a quarter stop.  I then applied a medium contrast tone curve and a heavy vignette.

ISO 100, Shutter 1/250s, Aperture F9, Focal Length 29mm

Wrap Up:

I’m still trying to figure out how I changed my ISO setting to “Auto” ISO, but I am glad I eventually caught it.  Reminder to check all settings when the image isn’t turning out how you expect it to.  I really enjoyed this shoot, and I got to meet some new people.   The meet-up was really laid back.  The location had a nice balance of gritty and forest, so it works for a lot of different cosplays.  The drive down from Northern Virginia wasn’t too bad, about two hours.  Thus, I’m glad I went down Saturday evening and spent the night in Richmond to be at the location at 10:00 AM on Sunday.  I think I’ll try to go to some more Central VA Cosplay Photoshoot meet-ups if they work with my schedule.

You can see all the images from the meet-up here: Belle Island

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