/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

[Anonymous No.10493855]

What are your opinions on cosplay photographers?

[Anonymous No.10493869]

>>10493855
I mean what is there to say? Good togs are good. Bad togs are bad.
/thread

[Anonymous No.10493875]

>>10493855
Most of them are fucking horrible at photography. At least in my area.

And some of them are a bit creepy.

[Anonymous No.10493876]

>>10493875
>some of them
most of them are because they think being a cosplay photographer is an easy way to get close to hot girls. but if you're a bad photographer, the only people who will work with you are uggo hamplanets.

[Anonymous No.10493877]

So I have experience in portrait photography and I want to get into doing more cos photos for the extra cash. Any tips to get started? I don’t cosplay, so I don’t know how to get my name out there to the people in my area who do.

[Anonymous No.10493884]

>>10493876
lol yeah that's true... But you are supposed to be inclusive and shoot with all types of people.

>>10493877
Do you have a portfolio?

[Anonymous No.10493900]

>>10493884
I have a website with some of my work and a couple photos of a friend’s old cosplay from years ago that I don’t think I would want to show off now. I’ve significantly improved since then, and that friend doesn’t cosplay anymore.

[Anonymous No.10493903]

>>10493900
I would recommend doing maybe a couple of free to cheap shoots to build a current portfolio; post in your local convention groups or forums or whatever you have. The more you build your portfolio, the more you can steadily increase your prices. Those initial cosplayers you work with will be the best bet to get the word of mouth going and build your audience as well.

[Anonymous No.10493908]

>>10493900
what >>10493903 said basically. do tfd. a lot of people like that, and it means you and the cosplayer both can do what you want with the photos so it's a win win.

[Anonymous No.10494060]

I wish more women did it because the men seem to be creeps

[Anonymous No.10494093]

>>10493900
Search around the internet to see what the competition is like. I.e. how good are the other cosplay photog. You will want to be at least above average.

[Anonymous No.10494167]

A lot of male photographers in my area have recently been getting called out after years of shitty and creepy behavior. My best advice to everyone here is to just shoot with female photographers

[Anonymous No.10494903]

Sucks those guy creepers making us non guy creepers have a difficult time finding models to work with us.

[Anonymous No.10496176]

Only a few decent photographers, most of them produce garbage work.

[Anonymous No.10496205]

A good cosplay photog elevates mediocre cosplays to an incredible level. Between the photoshop and angle gaming, I actually felt really insecure about my cosplays because of how good the photos look.

Then, I saw in person what most cosplays look like (and those before/after photos) and realized how much frauding there is. Absolutely insane.

I just get my friend to take photos, and most of them are with crappy angles and whatnot. I don't think I would really shell out money for a photog anyways.

[Anonymous No.10496226]

>>10496205
Have fun looking like shit and reveling in mediocrity

[Anonymous No.10496236]

Anyone having some tips and tricks they wished to know sooner about photography and editing?

[Anonymous No.10496247]

>>10496226
Your craftsmanship is shit and you need help to cover it up

[Anonymous No.10496252]

>>10496247
What are you on about?? Even the most well crafted cosplays can look like crap with a bad photographer. Why would you want to go out of your way to choose a photographer that makes you look worse?

[Anonymous No.10496257]

>>10496252
I personally dgaf about the photos and my social media presence, I just like making costumes and goofing off in character at con photo shoots with other cosplayers. People getting impressed at cons and complimenting then matters more than compliments from online. Sorry for being brusque in my past comment

[Anonymous No.10496372]

>>10493855
Creeps have ruined the whole thing. It used to be fun, and 10+ years ago there was a good social relationship between photogs and cosplayers, but the scumbags in the photog community totally drove a wedge into it. I also think that charging for cosplay photos is bullshit 99% of the time, especially when the shoots are done informally at a convention, and most people out there charging couldn't make a cent in the "real" photography world.

t. former pro photog who shot cosplay for free on the side until the community got toxic as fuck and I no longer felt like I could have a decent rapport with the cosplayers I worked with

[Anonymous No.10496401]

>>10493877
I won’t say I’m a “former” cosplay photographer, I’ve just kind of moved on from chasing clout and the non-existent cash to be made from it.

My biggest advice is to take inspiration from cinema. Learn how to light a scene instead of a person.

Next, and this is similar to portrait, you’re selling the experience. You need to make the client feel special.

[Anonymous No.10496446]

>>10496236
Learn the red signs on finding problem clients and avoiding them like the absolute plague.

[Anonymous No.10496468]

>>10494167
There have indeed been a lot of photogs that have been called out for shitty (sometimes flat out illegal) behavior, but sadly it ends up being pointless almost every time. There's pretty much a flowchart for it now:
1.) Photog gets called out for behavior
2.) People leave a bunch of comments on the photog's most recent posts on social media letting people know what happened.
3.) Photog temporarily closes their social media accounts.
4.) Photog opens up their social media accounts a few days/weeks later, generally with no significant loss of followers.
5.) Almost no one ever mentions it again, and cosplayers continue shooting with them like nothing ever happened.
Shoutouts to Paoimages that followed this flowchart to a T not that long ago.

I kinda hate cancel culture for the most part, but it's fucking sad when people don't care when someone is a literal criminal (rape, pedo, etc.).

[soup No.10496579]

thinking about picking up photog for a hobby. don't know if I should pick up a sony a7c or a7III.

[Anonymous No.10496588]

>>10496579
so idk anything about the a7c. But I can sayA7iii is really good bang for buck.

[soup No.10496597]

>>10496588
oof how about the a6400? it's like half the price so I can get more lens. af in vids seems to be better than the a7iii too. only thing is it's not full frame but I dunno if that matters or not.

[Anonymous No.10496628]

>>10496579
>Going straight for big $$$ bodies in a hobby that you just wanna try out
Just go for an older trusty crop sensor body like the a6000 with a 50 1.8. Expensive gear doesn't make a good photog.

[soup No.10496634]

>>10496628
kinda want to take vids more than photos, but also want to take photos too. so I'm on the fence between a7iii and a6400. I talked myself out of the a7c cause of that $$$ (it looks so cool tho). I looked around and the a7iii used is just a couple of bills more than the a6400. full frame is better for photog right? the a6400 is newer I think and for filming from the vids I seen the color and af seems better than the a7iii. the a7iii has in body stabilization which the a6400 does not.

I thought about the a6000 but no 4k vids plus it's olddddd.

[Anonymous No.10496650]

>>10496372
>most people out there charging couldn't make a cent in the "real" photography world.

This is so fucking true. If you disagree, look at what your local cosplay photographers are producing. Compare the photos with portrait photographers in your area.

[Anonymous No.10496651]

>>10496236
Look at your favorite photographer's work and copy their style.

[Anonymous No.10496653]

>>10496634
>kinda want to take vids more than photos

Then I can't help you as I don't take vids. I have heard from my friend that new bodies are better for vids cause of the auto focus. but idk.

[Anonymous No.10496775]

>>10496588
Felix Wong just got an A7C and he won’t stop talking about it.

[Anonymous No.10496788]

>>10496775
Didn't the dude just sell all his gear and abandon his cos account lmao.
I'm guessing you're following his non-cos account/FB?

[Anonymous No.10496789]

>>10496634
Just get the A7C and sell it if it turns out you're not into the hobby.

[Anonymous No.10496793]

>>10496775
>Felix Wong

Who that

[Anonymous No.10496795]

>>10496788
I haven't heard a peep from the guy since shortly after the whole not taking pictures of Black people thing.
Speaking of which, I never did hear who the other people in the group with said person (Maki) were. Does anyone know?
I feel like they're probably people I dislike, and I'd love to call them out at some point under the guise of social justice.

[Anonymous No.10496814]

>>10496793
A nobody photographer who is racist (allegedly)

[Anonymous No.10496823]

>>10493855
The photo shopping gets out of hand really easily and makes it pretty cringe.

[Anonymous No.10496836]

>>10496795
Unless you’re oldfag, none of the people involved would mean anything to you. This is ancient history

Dude only post on his non-cosplay account now.

>>>Maki called him out for not shooting Blacks
>>Felix whined about it and started new “non-cos” account
>only photographed the whitest of white people since

Pretty sus

[soup No.10496869]

>>10496789
If you can find a used one under 1500 I’d be down has to be the silver one tho. shits cute, it reminds me of my Pentax film camera I had when I was smol

[Anonymous No.10496883]

>>10496836
>Unless you're oldfag
Why yes, yes I am. And I would be interested to hear who those people were. I don't even care if they aren't actively cosplaying anymore.
DESU more than anything it would give me personal satisfaction if it was one of the people that I think it may have been, as I loathe said person.

[Anonymous No.10496907]

>>10496883
Post about said person anon.
We love hearing about juicy tea in this house.

[Anonymous No.10496919]

>>10496907
Sorry I don't really have any tea. Just a pretentious, conceited cosplayer that really rubbed me the wrong way.
I think I recall her having some sort of rapport with Maki back in the day. Like they were in a group that cosplayed together regularly or something.
I can't remember the details at this point, like who else may have been in said group, or if it even ever existed. Damn my boomer memory.

[Anonymous No.10496953]

>>10493855

Generally they're creeps, and cucks.

[Anonymous No.10496978]

>>10493855
I prefer female cosplay photographers. Males are usually creeps.

[Anonymous No.10496992]

>>10496823
>skin blurring to the max
>uncanny valley
>warp + heal/stamp tool
>pratically painting over everything to the point it's irrecognizable (again, uncanny valley)
>maximum contrast
>pasted on stock photo sfx

[Anonymous No.10496997]

>>10496992
posted wrong image
shit kek

[Anonymous No.10497009]

Who are some good female togs?

[Anonymous No.10497169]

>>10493855
cringe, all of them are either racist asian fetishists or creeps that just wanna get within close proximity to females

[Anonymous No.10497205]

>>10497169
>>10496978
Pretty much. All the male photographers are either racists or predators. Stay away from them. Just pick up a camera yourself and do self shoot.

[Anonymous No.10497218]

Why are so many of them asian though?

[Anonymous No.10497243]

>>10497009
Bunnytuan

[Anonymous No.10497256]

>>10497009
Solita, amiephoto, alee studio, sorairo days, con mom, headphone studio

[Anonymous No.10497281]

>>10497256
>Headphone
What happened to them? I can't find their insta and they seem to have dropped off the planet.

[Anonymous No.10497286]

>>10497281
I had to threaten headphone studio with a PayPal dispute to get my photos back last year. Heard lots of people paid friends and family and never got their photos.

[Anonymous No.10497292]

>>10496788
>>10496795
Deets? Guy just dropped off social media. How bad did he fuck up?

[Anonymous No.10497305]

Who are the good (non-creepy) men to watch?

[Anonymous No.10497329]

>>10497205
Sadly shooting (by) yourself seems to be the most viable. At least and especially in a pandemic. Shoot and even if you're not confident in your editing skills just pay someone to do that post-processing.

Some tips if you want to do so.
>no need to get the xtra ultra turbo latest best gear. even the shittiest basic smartphone picture can be refined into an "acceptable" to "great" category with enough work.
>use one of those bluetooth timers to avoid moving and pressing the shutter each pose
>if possible, get a camera that allows you to connect to your phone so you can watch the camera monitor and settings on your phone
>get a tripod/selfie stick with some kind of reflection mirror to watch yourself on and/or light
>LED rgb and ring lights can be purchased dirt cheap from aliexpress/taobao/dongxingwangchingchong, don't fall for those instagram resell overpriced scams
>use greenscreen or actual background/pattern fabric on the wall behind you at home
>look into renting equipment and spaces rather than purchasing it permanently/going there
>try multiple types of lenses (wide-angle, ultra-wide, etc) for different types of shots, especially for selfie-type of photos
>phone editing apps like SNOW, Meitu, VSCO etc. have fun assets, filters, and basic tools, and can work in a pinch, but be very careful.
>phone/tablet screens are fairly small and prone to hide pixelated mistakes others might notice if you're editing.
>No, slapping on a preset filter and slim-warping your dysmorphic body isn't properly editing a photo. People can tell.
Have fun and make creep photogs cry REAL photography is dying and they have no jobs

[Anonymous No.10497335]

>>10497329
>REAL photography
What does this mean? What is real photography?

[Anonymous No.10497339]

>>10497256
Alee is so hit and miss, her editing is crusty as hell

[Anonymous No.10497354]

>>10497305
None, either pick up self shooting or stick to fem photogs.

[Anonymous No.10497395]

>>10497335
REAL = photos taken with $1k camera. Not a phone.

Everyone is going to be selfie expert when the lockdown is over. All these creeper togs can gtfo

[Anonymous No.10497404]

>>10497395
Fuck off gearfucker

[Anonymous No.10497409]

>>10497395
>Random guy/girl talks to me about their multiple thousand dollar setup, good body, stuff like Zeiss lenses and lenses that can hit 1.4 or 1.2, expensive lights, etc.
>Their pictures are harshly or poorly lit, sloppily composed, no sense of imagination or concept to the picture apart from "just look at the cam and smile lol", or have the cosplayers look obviously uncomfortable. >maybe they're trying out trendy smoke bombs, prisms or whatever the hot shit in insta is
>Sometimes they tell me "haha I didn't even use lightroom or Photoshop" as if it were a badge of honor

Why is this so common?

[Anonymous No.10497410]

>>10497305
Vontog, worldifgwendana, maison hikari are some of the male togs I follow. No creep vibe from them.

[soup No.10497418]

I watched a couple of videos on how to take photos for the past couple of days so I would like to take this chance to announce that I am a pro photog now. the name of my studio is “can of soupdio” if you would like to reserve a time slot please reply to this post and I’ll find a way to squeeze you into my busy schedule.

>p.s I only have a camera body atm (in the process of bidding on it actually) so you need to bring your own lens ty

[Anonymous No.10497423]

>>10497418
hi :) a re you available to shoot my demon slayer group of 12 at 7am? we can only keep it below $25 though :((

[soup No.10497427]

>>10497423
damn I can charge people $25 to take there pics?

[Anonymous No.10497429]

>>10497427
no lol ur paying us $25 each for the privledge of being able to shoot us :))

[soup No.10497448]

>>10497429
I’m sending you an invoice for trolling me and making me waste my time.

[Anonymous No.10497467]

>>10497286
That sucks, anon. Too bad the photog gave female togs a bad name. Sure you won’t get creeped on by female togs, but they will still take your money and run

[Anonymous No.10497480]

>>10497467
Not exactly creepy but I had a female tog get me to pose more sexy not because she was a lesbian but because it got more views

[Anonymous No.10497671]

I use a A7iii and a fancy zeiss 1.4f 50mm lens when I go to comiket and other conventions in Japan(I live in the damn country). Upgraded last year from a a6000 with a 24-70mm lens.
I got other godox flash equipment and tighter lenses for portrait(see pic), but you obviously can't use that shit in cons. I use that for my Tokyo night photography.

I have bad anxiety too(even though I'm a 67'" blond hair blue eyed male in Japan), and have trouble with the language, so approaching cosplayers for me is always a pain. Despite all the cosplayers wanting their photo taken. I also have no idea how to find or book studio sets to take photos here.

Building a profile here is pretty much impossible too, while in the west, uploading somebodies photo from a convention is normally OK after you ask for a photo. Japan is different, you need their permission for the photo, but then you need ask for more permission to upload it. Why people want their photos to be taken but then not shared? Because not everyone can take good photos and the whores understand this.
I've seen twitter drama where thousand follow whores complain about some random uploading a photo onto twitter because it wasn't shooped so hard it made their face look like plastic. Ever noticed how the photographers of Japanese cosplayers get barely attention, but the whores do? That's why.

[Anonymous No.10497841]

>>10497671
Anon are you ok? Maybe stick with night photography if you feel so negative about the whores, I mean cosplayers.

[Anonymous No.10497894]

alright photog fucks. a6400 used for $830 or wait for black friday?

[Anonymous No.10497906]

>>10497894
6400 used
Black friday is a maymay

[Anonymous No.10497907]

>>10497894
That’s not that good of a deal. Wait for Black Friday unless you need the camera right now.

[Anonymous No.10497935]

Do you guys judge people based off their best work or worst work?

[Anonymous No.10498154]

>>10497841
While I was bitching pretty hard(thanks alcohol), it's quite frustrating. Cosplayers would rather take a trashy photo of themselves and pass it through a billion filters. And not have people who know how to and have the gear, take photos of them.

[Anonymous No.10498163]

>>10497935
Both.

>>10498154
cry harder gaijin low-angler creeper lole

well, in a sense it's true though, east-asians are way more obsessed with image and whatnot. It's not limited to just cosplay, definitely a culture thing. it's insane.
Not exclusive to them though, that type of thing is becoming more and more common with narcissistic cosplayers even worldwide.

And in a way, I guess I can sympathize a little. Even if I authorized someone taking a photo of me, I'd like them to show it to me before they showed it around to everyone. If they took a creepshot or I was making a weird face I wouldn't want it shown around.
It's a little bothersome but that's what I always do (ask for explicit permission) with everyone I photograph before I post it.

[Anonymous No.10498194]

>>10497935
I don’t judge a photographer based on just one image. I look through many of their photos and judge what their photos look like on average

>>10498154
>And not have people who know how to and have the gear, take photos of them

Lmao who’s the narcissist now? I’m both a cosplayer and a photographer. I’ve been approached by photographers for shoots who have more expensive gear than me and thought why not? Only to have them take the most garbage photos of me I’ve ever seen. And every time I encounter a photographer like this, they either use wayyyy too much photoshop or literally no photoshop at all. Some of you photographers really think having expensive gear suddenly makes you knowledgeable about how to make good photos and that’s just not true. Especially when you actually consider the fact that cosplay is all about pageantry and fantasy. You might take a photo that could be considered good for a regular situation, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a good photo for cosplay.

I’d much rather just hand my camera off to a friend, give them a quick tutorial on how to use a dslr, and then edit my own photos.

[Anonymous No.10498195]

post actual good cosplay photography
what kind of musts are there for a photo to be considered decent and post pet peeves you have

[Anonymous No.10498202]

Is taking "sexy" pics a bad thing and will blacklist you even if you otherwise have good content?

[Anonymous No.10498205]

>>10498202
>probably circumstantial desu

i am not an expert on these things but there are various and diverse sorts of ways humans interact with one another. people interact online a certain way, offline another way

[Anonymous No.10498207]

>>10498202
good content is good content no matter what. integrity is good content. again i am no expert

[soup No.10498242]

>>10498202
as an expert on the subject (I photographed the iconic “sexy pikachu” for miss Jessica nigra back in the day) i can safely say no it’s not a bad thing and if you’re cute enough it’s a way to gain a fast following.

[Anonymous No.10498247]

>>10498242
>(I photographed the iconic “sexy pikachu” for miss Jessica nigra back in the day
you should be demanding royalties

[Anonymous No.10498254]

>only really relied on cons to shoot
>always wanted to do more location shoots

>Location shoots are now the only option
>I barely know anyone who cosplays around me, people I've met from cons are all states away
>The ones around me only cos stuff like BnHA/western capeshit/whatever is trending etc. which I'm not the most enthusiastic about shooting

Suffering

[Anonymous No.10498282]

>>10498254
Two options:
-pick the best one from the local shitty pool and use them as practice

Or

-contact the ones from other states and meet somewhere in the middle

[Anonymous No.10498799]

>>10497329
I'm someone who can pretty much do the postprocessing shit. Is it alright to self-advertise here?

[Anonymous No.10498816]

>>10498799
No and your post-processing is shit. But it's sadly the norm look nowadays. Unironically top looks better than bottom one.

[Anonymous No.10498841]

>>10498799
What did you do to her face??? You completely changed her facial features to the point where that doesn’t even look like the same person

[Anonymous No.10498966]

>>10498841
>Doesn't even look like the same person.
Welcome to cos retouching.

[Anonymous No.10498980]

>>10498799
Despite what the average gull or p/issfag says, you'll probably get a positive reception outside of here desu.

[Anonymous No.10499077]

>>10498799
please stop
This is really bad pp bro
You have a lot to learn

[Anonymous No.10499078]

>>10498799
Congratulations, you made her look like a corpse.

[Anonymous No.10499081]

>>10498799
the chip editing is fine, but your color editing is awful. less contrast and less saturation/vibrance. your color editing is emphasizing the wrinkles on her hands, face and eyes, so she looks even older than she did in the before.

[Anonymous No.10500173]

>>10498816
>>10498841
>>10498966
>>10498980
>>10499077
>>10499078
>>10499081

I appreciate the critiques, now I see why it's shit. I guess I went overboard with the skin retouching and colors. As for the face, I made her smile and the face thinner. Is it better to just not use liquify? Most of the time in sets, we can't really nail the right expression

[Anonymous No.10500175]

>>10500173
personally i would ask the cosplayer about whether or not they prefer that you liquify their face-- i've had photographers do that to my photos and it looks horrible. what you don't like about their face or feel needs to be fixed may not necessarily be what they think needs to be fixed.

[Anonymous No.10500192]

Cosplay photographers are not comedians. Martin Wong please stop making covid jokes and start taking photos of Black people. What’s with all the Wong’s being assholes.

[Anonymous No.10500556]

>>10500192
They aren't people either just stfu and take my picture

[Anonymous No.10500825]

With Katsucon canceled, how are you fellow photographers dealing with the loss of income? I made $1000s every katsu.

[Anonymous No.10500913]

>>10500825
>Soulless guy with camera only in it for the pennies
lmao get fucked

[Anonymous No.10501449]

>>10500825

Only one I see still working by me in spirts between 2 week windows cause of the covid but he don't rely on cosplay solely, as was goona skip Katsu this upcoming year anyway, cause he don't trust there be one idiot getting everyone sick

[Anonymous No.10501458]

>>10494060
yea to bad women don't even know how to point a camera

[Anonymous No.10501680]

>>10501449

[Anonymous No.10502052]

>>10496634
grab a a6400. If you do get into log it's there. Buy something like the 16-55mm F2.8 and your set.
Fuji X-t4 and 16-55mm F2.8 is almost the perfect setup for most cosplay photography and video. However indoor it can still will be behind most full frame offerings.

[Anonymous No.10503550]

With no con until 2022, guess I will start booking location shoots. How are you fellow photogs booking shoots? Looks like the stigma of doing photoshoots during a pandemic is gone, but I don’t want to trip and get dragged for it. Got some tips for poor old me?

[Anonymous No.10503874]

>>10497305
Some good Alabama photographers:JND Photography mainly does weddings and portraits now, but still does some cosplay photography. SMB/Photographics is really good too.

[Anonymous No.10503875]

>>10493855
I'm one.

A lot of them have inflated personalities and a few who aren't get bunched up with the predators because of hearsay and stupid rumors.

I exclusively photograph guys as a result. I've been pretty happy with it.

[Anonymous No.10503879]

>>10500825
One way is to do shoots outside of cons, and to do shoots outside of what you normally do. I made $30 doing a shoot for a animegao/kigurumi cosplayer.Personally, I like animegao cosplays, but for those who don't , consider expanding your horizons and you can expand your wallet a bit.

[Anonymous No.10504116]

>>10503550
Ads on cosplay groups. Provide rates. Say you will wear mask during the shoot.

[Anonymous No.10504730]

Why the FUCK is there so much drama surrounding the photog scene in the US?
Why can't we just chill out and have fun?

[Anonymous No.10504761]

>>10504730
Men and women are inherently incompatible. They cannot form relationships or be around each other for extended periods of time. Read Foucault.

[Anonymous No.10504834]

>>10504730
men finna men
smdh

[Anonymous No.10504838]

>>10498799
wonderful job with the chips, but as some other gulls have pointed out the colors are a bit off.

[Anonymous No.10504873]

what is your opinion on skin retouching? you guys like the total natural, nearly untouched look or rather like the more airbrushed and perfect looking look?

[Anonymous No.10504959]

>>10504730
>in the US
don't worry, it's a natural human worldwide phenomenon
I live in a small cuntry with like 1 con per year and even then there's 3 characteristic creep cosphotogs always bothering everyone.

>>10504873
I think it depends on
>original media's style (is it moe anime, shounen manga, tv series, etc)
>are there any references as to what the character's skin texture is like?
>how shitty is the cosplayer's skin?
>how shitty are your skin retouching skills/how much time are you willing to spend on it
Overall I'm honestly tired of seeing creepy, uncanny, out-of-place overly blurred and airbrushed skin unless it's really stylised photography on purpose.
If I wanted to look at a latex emotionless doll I'd just look at fanart from a 3d artist or illustrator.

[Anonymous No.10504961]

>>10504873
Literally why tf do so many photographers act like it had to be one or the other? You know there’s an in between option right? You know you can edit skin without completely destroying facial features right?

[Anonymous No.10505437]

>>10504730

Too many hobbyists turned professional without actual professional experience teaching them proper etiquette.

Too many men that were just horndogs and saw it as an easy way to fill their spank bank and hopefully get some thigh from the naive ones they can trick or blind with delusions of fame.

[Anonymous No.10505577]

>>10505437
>Want to stay hobbyist and do free shoots
>I already work full time and don't want to turn this into another job, just wanna take it ez
>People get mad if I turn them down
>Photogs get mad or annoyed that I steal clients from them and start devaluing the market as a whole
>People just use me for free photos then get mad or start ignoring me if I don't want to shoot one of their costumes despite seemingly clicking fairly well during the shoot or hanging out after the shoot
>Despite being upfront about turnaround time, hey still sometimes complain about the quality of returns or turnaround time even though they didn't pay

I just want to take pretty pictures of shows and games that I like along with making some buddies through it all.

[Anonymous No.10505632]

I am ashamed to say I once thought in becoming a photographer just to be a creep
Nowadays I realized I just want to go to cons and eat ramen

[Anonymous No.10505636]

>>10493855
every time i seen photos like the one on the left i wonder if this really happens at events
do they really circle cosplayers like that?

[Anonymous No.10505661]

>>10498799
I just wanted to say
Holy fug did we really need a 3mb jpg?
Resize that shit goddamn

[Anonymous No.10505662]

>>10505577
Just keep at it bro. Fuck the haters. You're not here for them you're here for you and your enjoyment. I do the same thing. People like my work, I do it for free, and I only shoot with costumes I like. They get the photo when they get the photo. It was free dwai. Work as much as you feel. I schedule people around panels and events that i want to see

Then again I'm in California and no one pays anyway because no one charges. Too many guys with camera money (I'm part of the problem)

[Anonymous No.10505706]

>>10503875
Do you get as many likes and shares shooting just guys?

[Anonymous No.10505721]

>>10493855
You should not photograph cosplayers as a male unless you are gay. Creepy male photogs are the worst part of cosplay.

[Anonymous No.10505723]

>>10505721
speak for yourself, bitch. i do not give a fuck how creepy they are if i get my shit for free. hold your own and let em simp.

[Anonymous No.10505814]

>>10505577
You sound like that Felix Wong cuck. Just keep on shooting them skinny white chicks. Don’t whine about it every time people call you out for being racist. Get that clout.

[soup No.10505820]

>>10502052
rn I'm torn between the a6400 and the a7iii. I'll probably come to a decision before next week so that i can take it with me on my trip. thinking about getting a dj mavic mini too cause we're getting a cabin and flying a drone in snow sounds nice and comfy.

[Anonymous No.10505848]

>>10505820
Keep in mind the price difference between apsc and ff lenses too

[Anonymous No.10505850]

>>10496468
I hate cancel culture, but being in the cosplay community myself and being event staff to help out, and not being a photographer, I've observed that cosplay culture is a generally vain and toxic environment at conventions. It's starting to become a thing where cosplayers fight for territory with regular con-goers on organizer's event grounds and start being overly entitled. It's even worse when they start accusing non-photographers falsely for assault, when there are actual real creeps and pedos cases that I had to assist in handling. It's become really unwelcoming to the point that EVEN I got falsely accused of assaulting a fellow staff by someone who wasn't even in the picture. yikes cosplay SJW
But you have to accept that cosplay is a vain field and the average cosplayer isn't a very intelligent person either and they'll buy anything negative that anyone says, and especially in a toxic environment where people feed on negativity which in turn makes competition really ugly and even illegal(criminal harassment, vandalism, and defamation). Social issues don't really get resolved when the average person is a retard spreading the mentality that everyone is a rapist and abuser, which takes away attention from actual criminals and makes it more difficult for staff to take people seriously. I know a lot of memers get falsely reported at these events because of offensive jokes which really sucks for these people, and believe it or not false reports actually take up a lot of staff resource, and it's a lot of work for nothing.
Photography is a generally unsuccessful business; the ones who are successful reach out to weddings and even start partnerships with digital talent and offer other services aside from shoot and burn, but in cosplay community, it's a meme that doesn't bring in money, and I can tell the ones who just do it as a scheme for jackoff material and don't really care about the money. But that's entertainment culture and it will always entail drama.

[Anonymous No.10505856]

>>10505577
>befriending cosplayers
NGMI
these people aren't your friends, they're just using you to get closer to cosplay fame while competing against other vain uggos. Your real friends should be met through parties, significant life events, and better networking, not clients. I know a drug dealer who made this same mistake, and eventually he told me he doesn't hang out with clients, unless he's already friends with them before they knew about his business.
Plus, photography is a shit business, and normally photogs don't get taxed, so they shouldn't have a good reason to bitch and moan about a shitty business with shitty clients. It's business, bitch.

[Anonymous No.10505866]

>>10496446
this
always have a blacklist for bad clients
anyone I do research on who's said something bad about someone without any merit, I cut them off immediately. It's just bad for business, and you're just asking for trouble if you let them in, chances are they're going to be stingy too, so generally they won't make you money at all.
The good photographers I've come across(very rare) treat it like a business and cosplay shoots are a very small minority in their clientele, the bad ones are just people who drift around the cosplay community mostly with unsuccessful and awkward motives, or just doing it as a hobby more than anything.

Generally photography in cosplay community is a meme. My friends and I would crack jokes about a funny friend of ours who has a pretty mixed reputation in the cosplay community for trolling all the time but he's actually a chad, we'd be like "10 years from now when we bring our kids to anime conventions we'd see a photographer and point 'eww a creepy photographer', and when we recognize it's our friend K, we'd tell our kids 'oh wait, it's K. Wave to uncle K!'."

[Anonymous No.10506025]

>>10505856
Depends on what a photographer is doing to get taxed, but a legit one, trying to write off expenses, will indeed be taxed, as long as they are being honest in their expenditures.

[Anonymous No.10506390]

>>10505577
it's always the one that is not paying for shoots that complain and trying to tell you what to do

cosplayers like telling photographers what they should shoot but people are not allowed to tell them what to cosplay

[Anonymous No.10508158]

good advice in this thread, i'll kinda share too.

I was a staff member and cos photog
>yeah talk about the fucking worst combo in existence
absolute hell. Cosplayers don't want to be your friends, just take the goddamn photo and pray to god they're not going to tell their friends about how shit you are. also, dont. I repeat. Don't fucking date cosplayers.
p.s usually ero-cosplayers tend to be the chilliest people ironically.

[Anonymous No.10508599]

Any good Black Friday/cyber Monday deal? Almost ready to pull the trigger on A7 iii

[soup No.10508639]

>>10508599
are you getting the one on amazon?

[Anonymous No.10509503]

>>10508639
Why? Do they have better deals? I’m waiting to see what happens on Cyber Monday and go from there

[Anonymous No.10509558]

My biggest photog pet peeve is inconsistency. If you charge good money and you turn out shit photos for nobodies and really nice one for your costhot simp crowd then 1. You'll never get my business again and 2. Now all of China knows you suck.jpg. also none of my friends are costhots.
Anyway what the fuck is up with the # of photog fuckbois Canada churns out just fucking stay up there with the moose.

[Anonymous No.10509576]

>>10509558
>Canada
This is surprising. I haven't heard of many fuckwads from there actually, just US photogs.

[soup No.10509733]

>>10509503
I dunno are you getting just the body or a kit? let me know if you find something nice

[Anonymous No.10512677]

>>10496997
thats pretty hilarious, ive seen him complain about untextured doll skin recently but he also does shit like this.
>>10496372
this
the cosplay side has also changed. 10 years ago it was a pretty small photog to cosplay ratio so taking photos together and hanging out was normal. now youve got a few costogs with ridiculous prices and some cosplayers with their choice of 15 different people to shoot with.
also like to add "real photography world" prices blow cosplay out of the water but they are also shooting in studios not at a con floor

[Anonymous No.10512845]

>>10509558
>>10509558
Toronto has a photographer that will take months to return images and hardly work on the images unless your her friend.

[Anonymous No.10512861]

>>10512845
Drop that name anon.

[Anonymous No.10513027]

>>10508599
Nah this years' was total shit.
>>10509576
Oh believe me, there are some real characters up here too.

[Anonymous No.10513033]

>>10509558
>you turn out shit photos for nobodies and really nice one for your costhot simp crowd
tbf i find that 60% of the time when people complain about getting "shit photos" the photos look the same as the photographers usual pictures. the only difference is the subject within them doesn't know how to pose or angle themselves to the camera.

[Anonymous No.10513056]

Google these Cosplay Photogs :

1) Michael Benedict
2) Richard T. Bui
3) King Lin

[Anonymous No.10513127]

>>10513056
lel do you have a more current list? These guys left half a decade ago.

[Anonymous No.10513412]

>>10509576
novii
Lostdumpling
Amplefire
Itspyron
Whitepecs

[Anonymous No.10513817]

>>10513412
>novii
heard he wasn't around after he fucked up.
>>10512861
Alex Rose
Dreamland will work fast if he wants to fuck you. Said to be the next Novii.

[Anonymous No.10513950]

who's the photographer at c2e2 and katsu with the pink shirt with his name on it? anyone know? I think he's greek or hispanic, got that tanned complexion and a goatee. Heard he's been hitting up girls thirsting ever since he started working out

[Anonymous No.10514447]

>get photos in some small cosplay magazine that accept basically any pics
>puts "published photographer' on their profile
lol

[Anonymous No.10514607]

>>10513412
Lostdumplings and WhiteSpecs are infamous fuckwads. Good luck getting nice photos out of them unless you're Asian and popular. I don't know why they still accept shoot requests from anyone else.

[Anonymous No.10514672]

>>10514607
>I don't know why they still accept shoot requests from anyone else.
$$$

[Anonymous No.10515097]

>>10514447
Almost every cosplay photographer in existence! Hell they'll post that shit just for being reposted on reddit or tumblr

[Anonymous No.10515517]

What's your excuse for not charging $10 per minute for someone to take photos of you that they can't upload?

[Anonymous No.10515659]

>>10514607
So true. One time my (white) friend shot with them, and the photos were garbage tier. She’s not a fatty either.

[Anonymous No.10515696]

>>10515659
Post 'em.

[Anonymous No.10515753]

>>10515696
The photos were so bad she never posted them.

[Anonymous No.10516479]

>>10496468
i imagine the literal criminal is literally getting arrested? What the hell is everyone else supposed to do?

[Anonymous No.10516656]

in general with how much photoshopping one's face are you okay are you all? i usually make my nose and chin a bit smaller and sharper and ees bigger but recently i asked some friends and they told me it is not too subtle and so i am thinking maybe i don't perceive it as much because so many other cosplayers do similar stuff. On another note they really prefer the total natural look. What do you think how much changing the face would cross the line for you and with what things are ou okay?

[Anonymous No.10521618]

Directed towards other photogs, how do you get over impostor syndrome?

[Anonymous No.10521678]

>>10516656
I think it’s fine to get rid of eye bags or acne, general skin smoothing as long as you don’t take it too far, changing eye color, and adjusting makeup. But I feel like actually changing all your facial features like you described is a bit much. When I see people I know doing that all I can think about is how sad and insecure they must be.

[Anonymous No.10521928]

Photographers, how do cosplayers usually get in touch with you? I moved to a new area and don't know any photogs here, and since I used to meet them at cons I don't really know where to find them now.

[Anonymous No.10522544]

>>10521928
Easiest way is to join groups on fb. Look for cosplay groups for whatever state/region you’re in as well as groups for the cons in that area

[Anonymous No.10522619]

>>10521678
This was basically my policy too when I was still shooting cosplay. I'd do "digital makeup" but not "digital plastic surgery."

[Anonymous No.10522666]

i personally don't care how much people edit their photos as long they don't reach an uncanny level of looking deformed and that they admit that they shoop themselves

[cglthrowawayfordresses@gmail.c(...) No.10522670]

>>10505636
yes

[Anonymous No.10522902]

>>10521618
honestly you just deal with it. like if people like your work, keep using your services, pay you, then that means you're doing right

[Anonymous No.10533227]

>>10496468
but generally the people being called out aren't doing anything illegal, and if they are the accusers don't go to the police or have zero evidence. cancel culture is mostly bullshit

[Anonymous No.10533229]

>>10496372
>how dare photographer charge money for their time
>photographer want to do free work to get gfs or hook up with models?
>how dare they, they should everything for free

[Anonymous No.10533231]

>>10497305
what makes a male photographer creepy? I'm assuming being ugly or sexually harassing a girl doing a shoot.. what if you date models you shot

[Anonymous No.10533232]

>>10505437
>and hopefully get some thigh from the naive ones they can trick or blind with delusions of fame.
that sounds like their problem for believing them

[Anonymous No.10533235]

>>10508158
>dont. I repeat. Don't fucking date cosplayers.
why not

[Anonymous No.10533256]

Ayo gurrrrrl, let’s do a collab, hmu on insta lololol