There are many things that photographers will tell you while taking your picture. “Stand here,” “look there,” “turn your eyes this way but your nose over here,” “tilt the top of your head this way,” “pose this way,” etc etc. but have you ever wondered WHY they are saying this or HOW to make it easier for a photographer to take better photos of you? Well guess what, you’re in luck! There are some easy things, as well as some more advanced techniques that you can master in order for you to guarantee better photos of yourself. I find that there are 3 things a cosplayer can do with small effort that yield a high payback. These 3 things entail practice, light and attitude.
First thing’s first: PRACTICE! You may know that you need to practice but you don’t know what to practice. Like any other form of art, photographers are really trying to tell a story with the photos they are taking. In my experience, it’s been the people who really get into character and act that make the best images and are easiest to capture emotion with. The more you research your character’s personality and the more you practice acting like them, the better your photos will be. Study facial expressions of your character, study how they move, practice jumping or crouching like they do, practice laughing or scowling like they do. All of these things will make it SO much easier for a photographer to capture a good image of your character. Many people will tell you to practice poses in front of a mirror but I say practice being your character in front of a mirror. Another good idea resource comes from manga and anime. Take a few pages from the manga or a few minutes from the anime that your character is from and (again in front of a mirror), try and re-enact that short scene. By doing this, you can simply act out that scene again with the photographer and they can capture the moment that stands out to them the best. Just because the photo is frozen in time, doesn’t mean you have to be frozen when getting the photo taken!
It is very important to understand why a photographer is asking you to pose in a way that makes your neck feel awkward or making you twist your head one way while your eyes go the other. It’s all about getting the right angle with the right lighting. A photographer needs to know where the lighting is coming from and needs to look at how it is hitting your face. How the light hits your face and how the shadows look make a huge difference on the outcome of a photo. You don’t need to know how the flash and setup and all those things work, just be mindful of where the light source is coming from and how it is hitting your face/body.
In this photo, for example, the cosplayer knew where to stand and how much to turn so that her face would just barely be lit. If she had turned too far to her right, her face would be one giant shiny spot and too far to her left and her face would be as dark as the curtain behind her. Remember, light always goes in a straight line so it’s all about predicting when that straight line will hit you, even if it is reflecting off of many different objects.
In this shot, the light was coming from directly in front of her, reflecting off of the buildings. It was a very bright day outside so I put her under the shade and turned her head just a bit so that the light/shadow was just glancing off her face.
And with this one, if you guessed that the light was coming from camera right, you would be correct. I wanted her face illuminated and only part of her body in the light so I had her turn her body kind of sideways instead of straight on.
Having a basic understanding will help your photographer catch you in the best light. Study some photos from photographers like Joe McNally and paintings from classical painters and you will get a much better idea of where the light is coming from. Photographers generally (I understand there are many artistic impressions) want your face and key elements of the costume illuminated so make sure you keep that in mind when posing!
Lastly, and I think most importantly, is the attitude of the cosplayer. Sometimes it is very hard when a cosplayer and photographer don’t know each other because there is a certain awkwardness there. The more the cosplayer (and photographer) simply open up and be themselves, the sooner you will get really great shots. Be willing to do what the photographer asks (within reason of course) and go to the shoot with lots of enthusiasm. This attitude of course also has to be shared by the photographer but sometimes you may encounter a photographer who doesn’t seem like they want to be there or may even be tired. The more excited, enthusiastic and even talkative you are during your shoot, the better the chemistry will be between the cosplayer and photog and the better the photos will be. Sometimes it may be very hard to break the ice but it’s key to having a smooth shoot. The more emotion and excitement you put into a shoot, the more you will be able to be in character and the more the photographer will be into the shoot. Hopefully that means better pictures!
Following these guidelines won’t necessarily give you the best pictures EVER but what it WILL do is help you develop a more comfortable situation between you and the photographer and allow the creativity to flow! When both parties are more comfortable, the photographer gets into the shoot a lot more and it becomes easier for them to be more creative. When the cosplayer is more comfortable, they will be more likely to act like the character, put themselves out there and create some unique images. Again, these things are not the be all and end all but if you keep working on these things, you can have a bit more control on how the photo shoot turns out. Good luck and happy shooting!
p.s. Feel free to ask for any advice, for any tips or any questions about what helps photographers create better images and I will be more than happy to answer!
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Good stuff! Basically the long and short of what I’m understanding here is to trust that the photographer’s goal is to make us cosplayers look good by directing us, so we don’t have to worry about that. I personally like a bit of direction during a photoshoot; I have an idea of what works in my head, but I’m not looking through that lens, and what I’m visualizing in a pose just might look weird or awkward in a photograph if the photographer doesn’t bother to ask me to adjust my pose.
It’s also worth noting that we cosplayers can be a bit twitchy ^^; Let’s face it – being in cosplay is, for the most part, pretty uncomfortable physically. So keeping a friendly stream of conversation during a photoshoot can really help the cosplayer forget about that bobby pin that’s been poking them in the head for the past five hours and relax into the process, which makes for better photos, in my experience.
Thanks! On the basic level, you’re right, it’s all about trust not only to to photographer but also the other way around. The cosplayer trusts that the photog will take the most flattering pictures of them they can and the photog trusts the cosplayer to communicate difficulties, visions or things they’re uncomfortable with. Things like lighting help give the cosplayer an understanding of why a photog is asking certain things (hopefully helping to build trust). Practice not only helps the cosplayer and photog to be looser and more comfortable but also gives the photog more ideas with less direction.
Haha, very true. Costumes are sometimes very complicated and very fragile and both parties knowing the boundaries of a costume is very important. Conversation is one of the best ways to help both parties relax and (as an added bonus) you usually make a new friend afterwards because you’ve been asking about the other person and learning about their life. ^_^
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