Cosplay
by Adam Sebastian West
Recently, The Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art hosted their first ever Cosplay event. For those who might be wondering what Cosplay is all about, the following photos should give you a clear idea.. but to sum it up in a few words, Cosplay is short for Costume Play. People who are devout fans of comic book hero’s and villans, movie/tv characters and video game icons take their fandom to a new level by dressing up as their favorite Warrior, Assasin, Princess, Angel, Robot, Animal, Alien, and soo much more. One of the most amazing thngs about this culture is the devotion Cosplayers have to their costumes. The detail in some of these is just astonishing. Some people spend years crafting their outfits, weapons and props, and they wear them with enormous pride.
When I found out anbout this event I was immediately interested to shoot some portrats. I had been to a couple of Supernova events in the past and like so many others took a gazzillion shots of caracters wondering about the place. I wanted to approach this shoot from a difernt angle, which was to shoot in a way that really emphasised the work and effort that had gone into their costumes. So I shot the majority of portraits against a black backdrop using 2 strobes, 1 Octabox and 1Beautydish. The results are exactly what I had hoped for.. a beatiful series of colourful, quirky, playful portraits!
A lot of planning goes into an event like this, and without the help and support of a whole bunch of people, it just wouldn’t be possible to capture these sort of images. A massive thanks goes Dan and Amanda from QAG/GoMA for allowing me to setup a temporary studio for the day. Big thanks also goes to Erin Lea for assisting and her ever present eye for detail. And most of all, I’d like to thank all of the people in these photographs, your efforts are inspiring and it was heaps of fun hanging out with you for the day. May your hearts be filled with Cosplay for many years to come!!!
When I found out anbout this event I was immediately interested to shoot some portrats. I had been to a couple of Supernova events in the past and like so many others took a gazzillion shots of caracters wondering about the place. I wanted to approach this shoot from a difernt angle, which was to shoot in a way that really emphasised the work and effort that had gone into their costumes. So I shot the majority of portraits against a black backdrop using 2 strobes, 1 Octabox and 1Beautydish. The results are exactly what I had hoped for.. a beatiful series of colourful, quirky, playful portraits!
A lot of planning goes into an event like this, and without the help and support of a whole bunch of people, it just wouldn’t be possible to capture these sort of images. A massive thanks goes Dan and Amanda from QAG/GoMA for allowing me to setup a temporary studio for the day. Big thanks also goes to Erin Lea for assisting and her ever present eye for detail. And most of all, I’d like to thank all of the people in these photographs, your efforts are inspiring and it was heaps of fun hanging out with you for the day. May your hearts be filled with Cosplay for many years to come!!!
To view the full set, please visit http://lightinsight.com.au/?cat=46
