It is known, when we are proud of our hard work, we want to immortalize it. Sew, paint, mold, build, cosplay is a very hard working hobby. For certain people, this amount of work is like climbing the Everest; it’s physically and mentally demanding. How many of you have easily passed dozens of hours looking for the good fabric, the good pair of shoes? How many of you searched on the web to find the perfect wig? How many of you had to think so hard for something that was meant to be easy? If the costume is simple or extravagant, details are important if you want to incarnate the character.

When everything is finally done, you search for a photographer that would give you the opportunity to keep a nice memory of this costume for which you have worked so intensely. After giving your 100%, you start to pose for the camera and can sometimes forget that the details, more than anything, are worth a lot at this precise time. A lot of people that are not used to be a model for photographers tend to forget important things. It can be very frustrating for both sides. I am giving you my guideline for beginners, based on events that really happened with a friend of mine that is herself a photographer. I think that so many bad situations can be easily avoided and it’s all a matter of organization.

1-Photoshop is great, but not magic!

You can’t deal with all the problems. Keep in mind that it’s not all photographers that have the knowledge to do amazing compositing. Some are still inexperienced and it is necessary to inform yourself with the skills of your photographers. There is a limit to what a person can do with edits.

2-Wigs

Wigs, ladies and gentleman, can be brushed and styled! Retouching hair can be very messy and frustrating! Always bring a brush for your wig while doing a photoshoot to be able to maintain your wig! It’s an easy trick to make sure your hair will not look messy on photos! Yes, it sucks to stop a shoot once in a while to fix your hair, but it’s a must! You can also bring a tiny hair-spray bottle with you! Just be careful not to use any type of hair-spray on your wig! Some might damage it!

3-Makeup

Characters that are not real do not have skin flaws (with little exceptions). Frustrating, but it’s like that. Foundation is, when talking about cosplay photography, a must for women AND men. Why? Because the camera will capture what the human eye can’t see. Thus, all the small defects of the skin as pimples, redness, dark circles, beard hairs (unless your character is wearing a three-day beard) are twice more apparent than what you see in the mirror. CAREFUL: It is important to choose the right foundation. Guyz, don’t be scared to ask for advices. It is more rare to see a men search for a foundation, but you are not the only ones to do so.

-Get the right color: We do not all have the same skin color. Get one that fit YOURS.

-Get a matte foundation: To avoid having a shiny skin.

If you are not sure on how to apply makeup, YouTube is your friend! Millions of makeup tutorials are online, waiting for you to find them!

4-Nails

Mostly for girls, please take off your old nail polish! It might seem stupid, but editing nails can be REALLY painful! Unless your character is supposed to have colorful nails, it’s normally better to get them clean!

5-Organization

When you are portrayed as

a character, normally it’s because you should know the character or that you probably made some research. Be organized! The photographer might not even know who is your character, how is he suppose to act, move, where does he live, what are the kinds of expressions he would normally make? All this is basic information for a model! It’s your job to get this knowledge to your photographer to get him to see your vision! You can even show him reference photos for locations ideas! The more you know, the easiest the job will be for you and for the photographer!

6-Attitude

The photographer must respect your preferences; if you have precise instructions, he must do what he can to get to your likings. Thus, understand that a photographer is also a person. During your photoshoot, he’s there for YOU. Do not make him wait unnecessarily, stop posing for cell phones photos. It’s precious time that you are losing and most of these photos are generally horrible. Also, most of photographers do charge for their services. So if you lose time on your own shooting for bee taken in photos by people walking by, you are losing money too. It’s all a big question of RESPECT and LOGIC.

7-Communication

While doing a photoshoot, communication should be an obligation. If you don’t communicate with your photographer, he won’t know what you want and DON’T want. What are your comfort limits? What kind of poses don’t you want to do? What can you do with a big armor? Is there a piece of your costume you’d prefer not to be in the shot? What parts of your body can’t you move to a certain limi

t? What are the face expressions you can’t get right? There are many different things one person could have difficulty to do. It’s important to be warned and to know these things to make sure your time will be used better.

8-Posting

Finally comes the time to post your photos! You are using them for Facebook’s profile photos? No worries! Just make sure to CREDIT your photographer! No matter WHERE you post your photos, you should ALWAYS credit your photographer. It’s common sense! It’s the only way to make sure that he gets recognize for his hard work! I am not someone that knows much about laws for photographers and models, but just make sure to get a clear agreement with your photographer before doing anything with them. Communication is a big necessity.

9-Waiting

It’s pretty rare for photographers to finish your photos set in two days after the con. Most photographers have lives outside of cosplay, photography and conventions. Note that it normally takes about three weeks to most photographers to get your photos ready AND IT DOESN’T MEAN IT’S FOR EVERYONE. If you need the photos for a specific date, make sure to warn your photographer BEFORE the shoot! It’s all a question of common sense! These details are IMPORTANT! So be patient and wait! Of course after a month I might suggest to get news just to make sure he did not forget about your photos. But keep polite and calm. You don’t know what could have happened. Maybe he had the worst month of his life. Just keep civilized and wait.

photo credits: Katya Perin-Cosplay photography