Rachel Powell - Final Project

As a cosplayer myself, I am constantly inspired by how photographers can bring your character to life. By utilizing setting and light, cosplay photographers can make you appear as if you are this other person, rather than simply someone posing for a photograph. Inspired by talented cosplay photographers such as “MUZE” and “Photography by Amie E.,” and after such a positive reception of my photographs of my sister Grace in her Shiro armor on social media, I decided to dedicate my portfolio as a showcase of Grace's cosplay.

I wanted to incorporate my new skill set I learned from this semester into each planned photoshoot, and focus on mainly in-camera editing rather than depending on Photoshop. With this mindset, each shoot was planned out with a time of day and setting in mind.

For our first shoot with Quorra, I wanted to capture the light of the sunset and twilight. Because of the light, I had to play with ISO and white balance. I also played a little with aperture to make the city lights less focused. This was the hardest of the three shoots, as it was a challenge adjusting my settings to capture the city lights and sunset.

The second shoot with Shiro was the most fun. The lighting was perfect as we headed into town later in the afternoon. We went into the Old Port with very specific spots in mind- the alley and the fire escape. Since Shiro's character was more of a punk, the city was where it was at to capture the character's attitude.

The Asami cosplay had to be appropriately timed. The cherry blossoms by City Hall had just bloomed, so they were a perfect addition to the backdrop. I played around the most with environment in this shoot. I adjusted aperture and experimented with the cherry blossoms in the frame—trying to make Grace look part of the setting. I also wanted this shoot to be the most feminine and colorful, creating a nice contrast from the other two.

Grace was an excellent model for this shoot. I was happy to be able to provide photos of her cosplay for her social media accounts. Over these past few weeks, Grace has gained over 500 followers by posting these photos. I cannot deny that I feel proud, and my minimal editing in Photoshop gives me confidence in what I have learned in this class.