Active cosplay photos

[Anonymous No.10287302]

Can we please have a thread with cosplay photos where characters actually intetact with each other or with their environment?

I'm so fed up with cosplay photos where the cosplayer just poses against a cool background or has chosen a stiff fighting stance. My problem is, I can't really find photos that would spice this up, where the characters would actually do something related to their series.

So cosplay photos that are like still scenes, where characters e.g. have a tea party, actually emote an react to things, scenes from their series, mpve with a purpose etc.

The most general I can find are duel and fighting photos or dancing, but anything beyond that would be highly appreciated!

Pic related was the "best" I could find in a pinch.

[Anonymous No.10287305]

>>10287302
Ah, seems I can't type.

Gonna still post the very few photos I have that are even remotely close to what I mean.

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>>10287311
This is so wholesome wtf

[Anonymous No.10287566]

>>10287565
Yep, and as the OP I crave for more cosplay photos like this, that actually tell a story!

[Anonymous No.10287634]

>>10287311
lmao i love this

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>>10287640
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>>10287783
OP here! These are exactly what I wanted, thank you anon(s)! Now, what did you search to find these?

[Anonymous No.10288079]

[Anonymous No.10288297]

I can't contribute sadly, but does anyone have suggestions for how to do active photos like that when you usually cosplay alone?
I find it hard to draw the line between "active" and "just posing" when it's just one person - like when you have a prop and pretend to use it, is that just posing or is that showcasing an activity/a scene?
I wanna do better with my cosplay photos and I dislike glamour poses anyway, any suggestions?

[Anonymous No.10288328]

>>10288297

Think of your environment as something to interact with, not just a fancy background. Think like, peering around a pillar, or lifting a branch, or leaning on a table. Think about the story you're trying to tell via posing and expression

[Anonymous No.10288441]

>>10287309
This is precious

[Anonymous No.10288447]

>>10287763
I love the accuracy of the eye-obscuring bangs but I feel for that poor cosplayer. Great photo though

[Anonymous No.10288724]

>>10288079
I can't imagine being overweight, below average face wise, completely unskilled with armor-making, and still having the confidence to do such a skimpy cosplay.

[Anonymous No.10288731]

>>10288079
off topic but man I hate those Playboy Bunny version of x character 'cosplays' so much

[Anonymous No.10288772]

>>10288075

Anon here from 60-83. Sorry, but I've been saving cosplayer pics from all over for well over a decade so I'm not a great source on search terms. I'm not gonna lie, for every one of this type I have like 30+ simple pose pictures saved. Looking up specific series you like on image sites can help. Many of these are from /cgl/ from various threads- "cosplay of x series" or "cosplay in x environment" or "cosplay pictures you really like" threads.

Sidenote but it feels like there are less like this lately. Thinking up good dynamic poses is hard, and just because it looks cool in your head doesn't mean it's look good on a camera. Finding a photographer who can capture things WELL and wants to do more than simple glamour shots is hard. Finding people willing to (and with time to) cosplay from the same thing is hard. Setting up trips to places with neat environments is hard. And the level of effort put into the cosplay itself has a major effect on how nice pictures look. Just my two cents.

[Anonymous No.10288777]

>>10288772

Searching in generes is good too, you can even find dynamic animal cosplay pics.

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[Anonymous No.10289011]

>>10288297
As >>10288328 said, interact with your environment. Why would your character be there? What would they be doing if it was them really in that location? Try to get some inspiration to get more 'in character' shots if you're unsure of how to pose. And if you can find something interesting about your surroundings, use it! In this photo, there was a very still pool of water along the forest path we were shooting on. My photographer angled to make sure she could capture my face/helmet in the actual reflection so it looks more like I'm watching myself, making it more dynamic than just me looking down at the water.

If you are shooting against a building or tree, touch it in some way (though be careful with leaning as it can lead to awkward angles/weight balance). If you are shooting in trees/flowers/bushes, get partially behind them. Physically put yourself into your surroundings so that your photo conveys depth vs you standing against a landscape like a backdrop.

[Anonymous No.10289017]

>>10288297

same anon continuing from >>10289011: if your photographer has a lens that allows it, actually move! If your costume or outfit has a skirt, cape, long hair, or anything you can swish around a bit, use it to give that implied movement. If your photographer don't have a lens fast enough or enough light to make it work, you can fake it in several ways. Standing still with your upper body, you can gather a skirt in your hands and twist it around you to one direction. Then 'throw' it with your hands and quickly freeze your arms into position for the photographer to snap a photo while the skirt is still moving (tip: decide how you want to pose your hands first/actually put them there, memorize how it feels, then grab the skirt and have the photographer count down "3 2 1" before you toss it and move your hands into place). It's best if they can take multiple shots through the sequence to select the best frame as well. You can also do this with cape tosses--or even have someone stand just off frame with their arm holding a cape and throw or drop it/draw their arm back quickly while the photographer takes the pic. The best natural looking drape effect of material in motion happens when you drop it from up higher, not throw upward, so if you can have someone hold it high and let go that works best (I do some bridal modeling and this is how you get veil/dress train shots).

Besides moving the costume, move yourself! Walk from spot to spot, keep your arms/hands engaged and in motion so they're never hanging flat, and move where you angle your head. Physically keeping up some slow but steady motion helps you avoid 'unnatural' poses that look uncomfortable on camera after.

I have lots of other tips but I think I'm getting rambly, whoops! Hope some of this helped. This was a costume for the Raven Queen that I made based on The Adventure Zone (though sometimes it only vaguely feels like cosplay... she has no visual media reference so I made it all up but, it was fun).

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>>10288328
>>10289011
This is super helpful! Thank you! You're gonna save my ass from many terrible "don't know how to act in front of a goddamn camera" moments. Also >>10289011 I love your cosplay and the shots!

[Anonymous No.10289828]

>>10287763
LEGENDARY

[Anonymous No.10289836]

>>10289575
someone needs to add flower petals or water at their feet

[Anonymous No.10289839]

>>10288297
I think even a lot of active shots like in this thread are still posed, but it's all about making them look natural. maybe instead of trying to pose ask the photographer to take candid photos while you are doing an action/interacting with the environment, or bring an object or prop somewhat related

Don't be afraid to obscure your face/not be turned directly towards the camera

[Anonymous No.10290256]

[Anonymous No.10290506]

>>10288297
>>10289839

I mean, the thread is just asking for pictures that look natural, in character, and at least minimally dynamic. Too often pictures end up being the cosplayer just standing around looking at the camera, and even if they're making an in character expression it can get bland. Anon is right that it's about trying to look natural, but it still 100% involves thinking about what could look good and striking a pose or setting a scene.

You can look up "expectation vs reality" type pictures and other behind-the-scenes type pictures to see how cosplayers or photographers get certain effects, and the silly level of effort or unexpected things that go into it. Sometimes there are threads about it on here, but there are also lists on clickbaity sites like "you won't believe what these cosplayers did to achieve photos" or general "behind the scenes of cosplay shoots". See example picture.

[Anonymous No.10290508]

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[Anonymous No.10290716]

>>10287302
This is an ancient photo that a friend and I took back when Kuroshitsuji was actually relevant.

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>>10287311
please stop blackwashing everything

[Anonymous No.10290931]

>>10290921
go back to /pol/

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>>10290870
>>10290872
we were able to go without thots for a good while here. oh well.

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I'm uh, not actually sure if this is cosplay or something I got from a lolita thread. Enjoy anyways.

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>>10291106
I like this shot a lot except holy SHIT iron your cosplay if it's going to be a focal point.

[Anonymous No.10291176]

While most of the costumes are good, none of these photographers can photograh for shit, nor can they colorbalance in a non cheesy way. Most of them follow beginners composition rules way too strictly so they look boring and none of them convey the dynamic action properly. thats partially the cosplayers being weak actors though

[Anonymous No.10291326]

[Anonymous No.10291331]

>>10291326
lol, is this a greenscreen?

[Anonymous No.10291446]

>>10291331
from my understanding no probably just edited to look that way the cospalyer nad her firend traveled to a bunch of different locations and did alot of different shots. asian cosplayers love to edit their stuff to look like cut scenes from a video game or eve na screen capture from a movie

[Anonymous No.10291449]

[Anonymous No.10291455]

>>10291449
I love how this woman is clearly naked, yet it's still so accurate.

[Anonymous No.10291459]

I like these kinds of photos more than any of my posed ones. Unfortunately, a lot of cosplay photography seems to be focused on showing off the costume rather than telling a story. I really want more of the storytelling pictures in my 'portfolio' though.

However, this was a nice moment and really made my night, and I hate that it's not 100% sharp and in-focus. But these girls were so lovely and would come in for hugs. And I think this is possibly the best, candid and even in-character shot I've got out of this Chun-Li shoot (which I also posted in the self-post thread)

[Anonymous No.10291460]

>>10291459
you must be talknig about western cosplay photos in asian ppl tell stories through cospaly photos all the time so do the russians

it almost feels like a mini picture book or something

[Anonymous No.10291471]

>>10291460
Yeah, I did. I also have a small selfie of myself in that costume in a chinese restaurant (though no food served yet) but those moments are fun. But western cons and congoers as well as photographers are more likely to have 'posing' shots. I, for example, love these:

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I wish I had more of those kind of pictures myself.

[Anonymous No.10291523]

>>10291446
i dont mind too much but this just looks like crap. the pods are so jarring

[Anonymous No.10291594]

>>10291523
lol the picture looks great, you sound mad as hell

[Anonymous No.10291895]

>>10291078
can u plz give me some names, like damn this is some good work and i just wanna know who is responsible for it lol

[Anonymous No.10291898]

>>10291176
well thats because most cosplay photographers are not actually pro photographers or well trained at photography at all.

the best cosplay photographers in my opinion are in asia even if ppl say the asians abuse photoshop the photos are way more dynamic and interesting than photos shot by martin wong , mineralblu and the other popular photographers here.

i've literally seen vogue magaine level work on the asian cospaly scene this is nonexistant in america even when it comes to the professional cosplayers .

i think this happens because one in asia you have cosplay photogrpahers who have backgrounds in doing high fashion/editorial work and they bring that to the cosplay scene alot of my favorite cosplayers in asia work resemble photography you could seein high fashion magazine .

[Anonymous No.10292077]

>>10291895
Anon from >>10288772 again, been dumping a lot in this thread since it speaks to me. As with many posted, this was from /cgl, you can Google the picture name number to get the warosu archive >>/cgl/thread/9828930 but the name there isn't much more helpful. Same process can be used on a lot of these, old /cgl was really into cosplay and the threads still exist. Real talk, nitpicking and crossboarders have driven a lot of people who used to share things away.

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>>10292077
>old /cgl was really into cosplay and the threads still exist. Real talk, nitpicking and crossboarders have driven a lot of people who used to share things away

I feel this and it's telling that most of the photos in this thread feel like they're on the older side.
I'd love to see more "general cosplay" or fandom threads since posting good photos to the photography threads quickly gets derailed by infighting.

[Anonymous No.10299951]

>>10293351
Oh I really love this

[Anonymous No.10300109]

I think this counts for what you're looking for.
That hammer was my first ever try at a prop and I'm working on a 2.0 right now.