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Guidelines I follow when doing cosplay and convention photography

Here’s a video talking about photography at Anime Central 2023. Midway through the video I talk about guidelines I follow and suggest that people wanting to do photography at conventions also follow. This applies to attendees with smartphones as well as general photographers unfamiliar with convention photography. I’d hope that convention and cosplay photographers already keep these considerations in mind!

Photography at Anime Central


Pretty simple, but a good way to have fewer issues and not accidently make the convention a bad experience for others.

In my vertical YouTube Short I condense the video so it’s focused on the guidelines aspect.

  1. Ask for a photo. Avoid taking candid photos. I often motion with my camera and they give me a nod or whatever which works too.
  2. Don’t ask for a photo when cosplayers are eating, on the phone, or clearly in a rush. I also tend to not ask when they appear to be in a serious conversation with someone.
  3. If there is a big group taking photos already, then take a simple snapshot or wait your turn to ask. I tend to take a snapshot instead, but waiting works too if the cosplayers are not in a rush.
  4. Be considerate of other attendees by asking the cosplayer to stand to the side of busy pathways so you don’t end up blocking them from getting through. It’s so awkward when a big traffic jam happens due to someone asking for a photo and then literally blocking people trying to go both directions.
  5. Don’t ask or take photos in places where there is nowhere to move to the side. At Anime Central there are certain pathways you should not take photos on. The outdoor sidewalks are bad and especially the narrow areas of the enclosed “skybridge” that connect hotels to the convention center.
The vertical YouTube Short focused on guidelines.

That’s pretty much it! Have fun and stay awesome.

Maybe I’ll cover private photoshoots and group cosplay photography meetups in the future if people are interested in those subjects. It works totally differently and there is more to consider.


Check out the related video on YouTube with a mix of POV footage and photos:


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