I was shopping with my family at Suntec City on Sunday and chanced upon a cosplay gathering during the ANIME FESTIVAL ASIA XI 2011. Only armed with a point and shoot (P&S) camera, I decided to join in the fun. My wife and daughter were very nice to give me permission to “neglect” them while I go around a shooting spree with Xiao Mei Mei in costume. Thank you dear.
There were many photographers around and it was really packed with many people in a confined space. It was very challenging to get a good shot especially when you only have a P&S camera with you. Certain areas in Suntec City where the cosplayers gathered were not very well illuminated. I had to use lots of natural lighting for my pictures. I like my subject to be in focused and background clean. As such, I decided to frame for more close-up shots with focus on attitude, mood and expressions of the cosplayers. When I got the chance and the background is not too messy, I went for a full body shot. It was fun.
Hope you will enjoy these pictures.
What is cosplay?
Cosplay is a hobby increasing in popularity over the years, which involves making and wearing costumes from various sources. The term "cosplay" was coined by combining the worlds "costume" and "play" by Nobuyuki Takahashi of the Japanese studio Studio Hard while attending the 1984 Los Angeles Science Fiction Worldcon.
In cosplay, people re-create the outfits of manga and anime characters. This has since grown into a worldwide hobby that encompasses all sorts of media, with people making costumes from video games, movies, TV shows, cartoons and books. Even figures such as Ronald McDonald have been cosplayed!
If you scan the Internet, you will realise that cosplay is very much a culture today. I can observe that more young people in Singapore are into cosplay. From my Internet research, I found out that different people treat cosplaying in different ways, depending on what they wish to get out of it. There are those who place large amounts of time, effort and funding into creating very elaborate and accurate recreations of their favourite costumes, and treat their hobby very seriously. There are also those who are happy to do things on more of a budget, or buy their costumes pre-made. There are some who like costuming just to pose for pictures, and a huge number who love the process of getting into character, and acting the character as well as costuming it. It is indeed a photographer’s dream to see the cosplayers acting out their character. I love their attitude and expressions when they do a good job! The cosplayers I met were really a joy to work with.
Origin and history of cosplay…
Japan is generally credited as the origin of cosplay, but there are no actual facts of when the cosplay culture started. For many years fan costuming was confined to science-fiction and fantasy conventions, mostly in North America. Then, Nobuyuki Takahashi coined the term "Cosplay" as a contraction of the English-language words "costume play". He was inspired by hall and masquerade costuming at the 1984 Los Angeles SF Worldcon, and his enthusiastic reports of it in Japanese SF magazines sparked the Japanese cosplay movement.
The idea took hold in the minds of the Japanese readers and they in turn adapted the idea by dressing as their favorite anime characters. In a matter of a few short years, fans began to dress up as characters at comic book and sci-fi events in Japan. Then in the mid-1990s, as anime, manga and all things related started to catch on in America, cosplay was reintroduced, this time on a much large scale. This has led to many North American (NA) cosplayers being totally unaware of their hobby's history, believing it was invented in Japan.
The fact of the matter is that the general approaches and attitudes towards costuming are very different in Japan and North America. North American costuming is still run primarily along the Worldcon model, in which people make their own costumes and compete at local fandom conventions. Original concepts and designs are welcomed and creativity is encouraged.
In Japan, for the most part, 'cosplay' is more about 'being' a pre-existing character, so the aim is to look as much like and act like the character as possible. To this end, there is not as much emphasis on making one's own costume, and there are not the same kinds of competitions as in NA. The aim is more to just have fun with your friends and have pictures taken. Cosplay is also more of a young women's hobby in Japan, whereas in NA costuming is practiced by people of all ages and walks of life.
Sources:
Why do people cosplay?
I was trying to understand this “hobby” as I went around shooting the various interesting characters. Obviously, people do it for the fun and attention. But were there other reasons? Spoke to a few of them when I had the chance and these were some of the possible reasons (besides fun & attention),
They love the creativity process involved (Personal achievement)
To meet people & have their pictures taken by others (Social)
To show their love and support for the character (Passion)
Show off their handmade costume. It’s a hobby. (Passion)
To be someone else once in a while! (A way to escape?)
My experience with cosplayers on 13 Nov 2011
I had a great 30 mins of fun with these cosplayers. They were a wonderful bunch of subjects to work with as far as photography is concern. The cosplayers were very willing subjects. When you ask them for permission to take a picture, they will do their best to give you a good pose. For example, when I spotted 2 cosplayers making their way home after their ‘cosplaying’, I asked them for a shot. Immediately, they put down all their stuff, suited up and gave me their best pose. Fantastic! (See Below)
What will I do differently the next time?
Well, I will keep a lookout for the next cosplay gathering. Next round, I will be ready with my DSLR, prime lenses and flash. Care to join me?
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