Katsucon 2025 didn’t seem as crowded as 2024, but I still wasn’t
feeling it. Katsucon will always have a
special place in my heart, but I think I’m just bored with it, from a creative
perspective. While I still love working with cosplayers the
location itself no longer excites me and I’m tired of fighting the crowds. If I return to Katsucon 2026 I think I’ll
just set up a studio in my room and do studio sessions. I can be a lot more creative with a studio
session, and I get to use all my lights.
So now let's talk about photography.
For Katsucon I was shooting with my Canon R6 with an 24-105 Canon
RF lens, and I had a fisheye lens on me as well, but we will discuss that later. I had two speedlights, one on camera which
acted as a trigger 90-percent of the time and one on a light stand which my
husband would hold during shoots. This year I booked 11 cosplay sessions and
shot 869 frames. I shot a range of ISOs
from ISO 100 to ISO 800 with my most common being ISO 200. I shot a range of apertures from F4.0 to F11
with the most common aperture being F9.
My shutter speed ranged from 1/80s to 1/250s with the most common speed
being 1/250s. Then my focal length
ranged from 24mm to 105mm with the most common being 24mm.
First let’s talk about the Cosplay Met Gala. I always like shooting the Cosplay Met Gala,
but I picked a bad location to sit this year as I was not centered enough. This year, they improved by having people walk
across a stage, which was good because it made it a bit easier to see the
cosplays. However, they didn’t have the
stage well-lit, and a lot of the darker-colored cosplays blended into the black
curtains at the back of the stage. My other issue that they could potentially improve
for next year is that they needed chairs put out so you could sit in chairs
instead of sitting on the floor; it really puts you at a bad angle to
photograph the runway walk. I wish they
would have a photographer pit as they do for fashion shows. You can see all the images from the cosplay Met
Gala: here.
I want to start with this fun shot with Denny (IG: @Alaskawanderlust) as a
very cute Jester from the Mighty Nein of Critical Role. We did a lot of the shoot outside because it
wasn’t super windy like in past years, and it was a reasonable temperature if
you had layers on. I like this first
shot because I was able to line up the Ferris wheel to make it look like a halo
around her head. The second shot would not
have been possible without Adobe’s remove tool. I was able to remove all the lawn chairs and people
from the background quickly and easily. In
the past, I wouldn’t have even bothered with the shot as it would have been too
much of a hassle to clean up and remove the distraction. Yay, improved technology. Overall, I loved working with Denny, and I
hope to work with her again some time as she was bubbly, and her cosplay was on
point.
 |
| ISO 100, Apeture F/8, Exposure 1/250s, Focal Length 39mm |
 |
| ISO 100, Apeture F/10, Exposure 1/125s, Focal Length 29mm |
I also worked with Syd (IG: @orchids.cosplays) who
was Lady Gyokuyou from the Apothecary Diaries. Normally, I try to show the whole face, but I
really like how the fan adds a bit of mystery to the image. In the second image, I went for a more
reflective look with the downcast eyes and an overall lower-key image. Syd was a pleasure to work with and I would
work them again.
 |
| ISO 400, Apeture F/6.3, Exposure 1/100s, Focal Length 53mm |
 |
| ISO 200, Apeture F/5, Exposure 1/125s, Focal Length 47mm |
I also had the pleasure of working with Rumaxa Cosplay (IG: @rumaxacosplay), who was
doing Rindo Kanade from “The World Ends with You: Neo.” I approached this shot more like a streetwear
shoot rather than cosplay due to the outfit.
For this shoot, I went out to the parking garage to get a grittier
look. In the image below they just used
natural light because I like the play of the shadow and light in the window. In
the second image I added touch of fill flash to bring out the details in the shadows.
Rumaxa was good to work with. While I’m usually not a fan of cosplays that
are based on everyday clothes, this cosplay had some edge to it, so I felt like
I was doing a fashion shoot and could really work the outfit rather than the
character.
 |
| ISO 200, Apeture F/9, Exposure 1/250s, Focal Length 47mm |
 |
| ISO 200, Apeture F/9, Exposure 1/250s, Focal Length 25mm |
Finally, let's talk about my large group shoot. I had the pleasure of working a group of eight
(❤️ @breathleassair_designs,
♣️
@gabby_kun13 and @sophia___khan, ♦️
@angelsamui and @_ellystar_,
♠️ @nocapescosplay,
💙
@ashtonreneecosplay,
👑
@alliedesantison) an
Alice in Wonderland shoot. Normally, I
wouldn’t take a booking with a group of eight; my limit is usually 5 or 6, but
one, I wanted to work with this cosplayer because I think their cosplays are
great; two, I wanted to add to my Queen of Hearts images, and three they seemed
like a fun group. I must admit it was a
little chaotic but incredibly fun and we got some great images. The
first image is a great overall group shot that we did in what I call the mini
garden that everyone tends to use, I picked the location because it reminded me
of the garden in the Disney animated “Alice in Wonderland.” The
next image honestly should be an album cover the Cards, honestly, they brought
the chaos and fun. The final image involved
the use of a fisheye lens. (See I told
you we would discuss it later.) I
decided to use the fisheye lens to get a unique perspective on the group
instead of the standard group shot. We did
this image last as it required me to change the lens and involved some trial,
error, and luck.
 |
| ISO 320, Apeture F/6.3, Exposure 1/250s, Focal Length 24mm |
 |
| ISO 100, Apeture F/9, Exposure 1/125s, Focal Length 30mm |
 |
| ISO 100, Apeture F/9, Exposure 1/125s, Focal Length 9mm |
Overall, this year’s Katsucon was ok. I did get the chance to work with some great
cosplayers, but the venue no longer inspires me. I honestly can only shoot the gazebo,
ballroom doors, and wavy wall so many times and it is becoming harder and
harder to find new interesting locations. I still love working with cosplayers, but I
think I’m going to shift to studio sessions where I have more control of the environment
and can develop sets that match the cosplay instead of trying to find a location
that works. So, if I attend Katsucon
next year, I will be booking mini-studio sessions, via setting up a studio in
my hotel room. You can
see all the images from Katsucon: Here.
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