I found this article on Chase Jarvis’ blog and it just makes a lot of sense. I think a lot of cosplay photography lacks creativity (my photos included). You see the same things all over the place. Here’s the method most follow:
Take a photo at a convention with a wall behind it or some place that is obviously a convention center (or find a “forest area,” “water area,” or “futuristic looking area” for a private shoot) move contrast slider to the right a bit, move saturation slider to the right, sharpen, overly smooth the skin, lighten eyes, publish. This of course is a generalization but that’s because that is what generally is done. I’m sure most ppl will say “I don’t do this” but guess what, you have. Either right now or at some point before, this has been your method.
Of course, sometimes this is unavoidable. The convention sucks for photos, you don’t have time to learn more photoshop or don’t have the money to buy more lights. However, there is always room for improvement. What you need to keep in mind is that what is good isn’t always convenient and what is convenient isn’t always good.
Push yourself to do something different and not look the same as all the other regular jack-offs. Of course the first step to this is to realize that you’re just a regular jack-off and push yourself to be different. We’ve all been there at some point or are still there.
The only thing that will keep your photos from becoming better is if you say “I’m already awesome and don’t need this crap.” Say that and your photos really ARE doomed to be crap ^_^
Here’s Chase’s post about creativity in photography. Great Read!
