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[Meekee]

Another question!
God, i HATE it when the photographer is using flash, I look away in reflex or else i will squint my eyes automatically by the bright light while i try my best with looking in the camera! (sorta.) How do you people usually deal with it? Ask the photographer to turn the flash off or is there a trick for it to keep your eyes open?

[Access]

Originally Posted by Meekee

Another question!
God, i HATE it when the photographer is using flash, I look away in reflex or else i will squint my eyes automatically by the bright light while i try my best with looking in the camera! (sorta.) How do you people usually deal with it? Ask the photographer to turn the flash off or is there a trick for it to keep your eyes open?

Some people are more sensitive to bright flashing lights than others, there isn't much you can do other than practice and practice some more. If indoors, you can try looking at bright objects like out a window for a minute or two in order to dilate your eyes a bit, then take photos before your eyes adjust back, but that might not help anyways.

On the photography side you can turn off pre-flash by shooting in manual flash mode, or something similar, make sure that first-curtain sync is being used, and keep shutter times as short as possible (ie. 1/125 to 1/200, not the 1/60 that some cameras will default to). Also bounce the flash off the ceiling so that it's not going directly into your eyes. For DSLRs, turn off flash focus assist and different features like that. For digital cameras, put something like a kleenex or a thin piece of paper over the flash to try to diffuse it a bit. Or like you already said, just ask the photographer to turn the flash off, or that they take several photos of the same scene so that at least one you will have your eyes open.

[DarkCloudInc]

Originally Posted by Meekee

Another question!
God, i HATE it when the photographer is using flash, I look away in reflex or else i will squint my eyes automatically by the bright light while i try my best with looking in the camera! (sorta.) How do you people usually deal with it? Ask the photographer to turn the flash off or is there a trick for it to keep your eyes open?

I usually just focus on the pose or the directions the photographer has and... for lack of better words, leave my body.

Originally Posted by Jia Jem

As a *sometimes* photographer, I must ask.

Do cosplayers get embarrassed or offended when photographers photoshop out certain traits? Distinguishing moles, scars, birthmarks, tattoos, piercings?

What about when it goes farther, such as skin blurring and body morphing?

I wouldn't mind it at all as it's an expression of artistic creation.

[Ashurachan]

Originally Posted by Meekee

Another question!
God, i HATE it when the photographer is using flash, I look away in reflex or else i will squint my eyes automatically by the bright light while i try my best with looking in the camera! (sorta.) How do you people usually deal with it? Ask the photographer to turn the flash off or is there a trick for it to keep your eyes open?

If you're light sensitive avoid looking directly in the direction of the flash. In the case of on camera flash, it means you can't look at the camera. Look elsewhere and act your character as if nobody was watching.

Photographers :
- don't use auto mode for flash ! Either force it on or off depending on what you want to do and what the cosplayer wants. Use high ISO if needed (esp. if you have a DSLR or some other large sensor camera). Built in flashes produce rather bad light and are actually mostly useful as fill in when shooting in bright sunlight.
- if you want to use flash, get one you can bounce, bounced light is a lot less agressive to the eyes AND looks a lot better. If you can't bounce it off a wall or ceiling, use a bounce card (find yourself a tutorial on the 'net to build one yourself if you're on a budget).
- next step is using your flash off camera : get yourself a lightstand and an umbrella (or a foldable lightbox), and some radio triggers if your built-in flash can't be used as a transmitter

[Luckifrog]

Hiya! I'm a new, soon to be cosplayer.
And I was just wondering what camera's people use to take those amazingly clear pictures that, well, just look amazing.

So, could someone just give me a bit of advice? Like names of good cameras, and costs?
{I am aware that they cost a lot}

I would /greatly/ appreciate it!!! ^^;

[Av4rice]

Originally Posted by Luckifrog

Hiya! I'm a new, soon to be cosplayer.
And I was just wondering what camera's people use to take those amazingly clear pictures that, well, just look amazing.

With good light and proper focus and exposure control, you can get good results out of pretty much any consumer camera, including point & shoot cameras in the cheaper $100 range and cellphone cameras. Better cameras/lenses make a bigger difference in the less than ideal situations, e.g., not-so-good light or fast moving subjects, or for accomplishing things like narrow focus depth.

The typical serious choice you see at cons (and in the photography world in general) are in the SLR (single lens reflex) class. There are a lot of them, but pretty much any SLR from the major brands (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony) is good, including older used ones from about 2005 or newer. An entry-level SLR kit runs about $600.

If you're looking for a good compact, consider the Canon S95 at about $450. Fits in a small pocket but has a relatively large sensor and high quality lens compared to other cameras at that size/price.

It's a big market so I'm leaving out a lot--I can't really summarize it all. Luckily most choices are pretty good. I would recommend avoiding "superzoom" cameras, which typically advertise "10x zoom" or more, because they tend to have smaller sensors and lower quality lenses (because the quality is sacrificed to achieve the big zoom). To put that ratio in perspective, most SLR zooms are never over 3x, and the best quality SLR lenses don't zoom at all.

[Ashurachan]

To elaborate on the "how to make these images", a good camera is not enough, knowing how to use it is actually the most important. A DSLR in full auto mode won't do much better than an average P&S... If you don't know what the technical specs of a camera or lens mean, chances are you won't be able to use it at its full potential.

Also, keep in mind that most of these images have also been post-processed. Not necessarily heavily modified, but a few cursors in Lightroom and a couple of filters in Photoshop can really change the look of a photo.

[brucer007]

Learning at least photography basics can be your biggest improvement, like understanding shutter speeds, lens openings (Fstops), light sensitivity (ISO), composition, exposure, exposure compensation, color balance, and lens focal lengths, etc. Understanding how these effect your image is the key.

Learn your camera better. You might have more manual controls to make adjustments when automatic doesn't give you what you want.

I agree with Ashurachan. Much of the quality you see can come from post editing. I very rarely find that a photo comes out of my camera looking good enough to not need editing, and I use good cameras and good lenses, with decades of professional experience.

I am not advocating shooting sloppy and fixing it later, but sometimes there is very limited time to work with cosplayers, so we don't have time to get everything perfect in the camera. My main goal is to get it close enough that it can be edited with great results. If my settings are too far off, then I will need to make adjustments and take another photo.

Color and brightness correction can take time to learn to do well, but there are some good tools to make a variety of adjustments.

[Access]

Today a lot of us use DSLRs, and occasionally you see a 'mirrorless' type or something like that.

There is camera setup and there is also technique -- good technique used to be taught -- stance, posture, how and where you hold the camera, the position of your elbows and knees, breathing, heartbeat, how to use the shutter, and so on.

It's not just the camera but also the technique used, if you do things like hold the camera at arms length when taking a photo or jam down the shutter as hard as you can, your photos are likely to be unclear no matter what kind of camera you have. Likewise using good technique (even if your camera is only designed for consumer use) can help your photos to be less shaky / clearer.

[Luckifrog]

Thanks everyone. ^^ Your info was really helpful! 8D

[TheCosplayFox]

As a cosplayer I'd have to say that what I like the most when working with a random photographer is for the photographer to sort of be the one to make the moves and I'm talking about unpaid or unscheduled shoots. If I don't look busy it's okay to ask me for more photo's or to ask if I'd like to take picture over here instead etc. Also if you have a card that's even better it shows that you know what your doing and have experience and aren't a creepy person. I've actually on one occasion had someone ask me for photo's in a different area and they tried to go for panty shot's this was only once.

I also like it during a photoshoot when the photographer makes suggestions or will tell me if something looks kind of weird. It can help you warm up to the person so you don't feel so awkward along with producing better photo's. I'm pretty shy and also if I'm posing and my stance looks horrible or my arms just bent in a weird direction, I need to tilt my head a little bit more tell me. I can't see myself and I doubt that most people will take offense to it we trust that you'll know what looks better considering we are on the other side of the lens. You may not be familer with the char but that doesn't mean you still can't tell if something doesn't look right.

[sukotsuto]

Originally Posted by TheCosplayFox

I've actually on one occasion had someone ask me for photo's in a different area and they tried to go for panty shot's this was only once.

Did you see their photos afterward? I think that would really depend on the lens focal length and angle, because often to get a great photo it requires kneeling down. So the model might assume things, but it really isn't the case.

For example, this person made a comment about me knelling down for this photo, but she didn't know or understood that I was using a 40mm lens (60mm FF equivalent). It's understandable and not really avoidable. I did show her the resulting photos to dispel any worries.

[TheCosplayFox]

He didn't get the photo but he was defiantly trying to get a panty shot as he kept coming closer and closer while I was above him and moved back and he was below I asked what he was doing and he said "if you'd stop moving back I'd be able to get the underwear shot for my website."

So yeah he was trying to get a panty shot. I can understand being in weird angles but it was very obvious what he was doing before he even said it. Though I know that that was just a unlucky situation as other then that that's never happened to me before.

[Surfsama]

Originally Posted by TheCosplayFox

As a cosplayer I'd have to say that what I like the most when working with a random photographer is for the photographer to sort of be the one to make the moves and I'm talking about unpaid or unscheduled shoots. If I don't look busy it's okay to ask me for more photo's or to ask if I'd like to take picture over here instead etc. Also if you have a card that's even better it shows that you know what your doing and have experience and aren't a creepy person. I've actually on one occasion had someone ask me for photo's in a different area and they tried to go for panty shot's this was only once.

I also like it during a photoshoot when the photographer makes suggestions or will tell me if something looks kind of weird. It can help you warm up to the person so you don't feel so awkward along with producing better photo's. I'm pretty shy and also if I'm posing and my stance looks horrible or my arms just bent in a weird direction, I need to tilt my head a little bit more tell me. I can't see myself and I doubt that most people will take offense to it we trust that you'll know what looks better considering we are on the other side of the lens. You may not be familer with the char but that doesn't mean you still can't tell if something doesn't look right.

Nice feedback!

[Eurobeat King]

Originally Posted by TheCosplayFox

He didn't get the photo but he was defiantly trying to get a panty shot as he kept coming closer and closer while I was above him and moved back and he was below I asked what he was doing and he said "if you'd stop moving back I'd be able to get the underwear shot for my website."

Did you end the photo-shoot after he said that?