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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. https://youtu.be/n_3U2ofvwlE In my vertical YouTube Short I condense the video so it’s focused on the guidelines aspect. 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. 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. If there is a big grou

This is a free event photographers from the Midwest have been hosting at Anime Central since 2015. Vontography is the person that has been handling all of the details and administration of the event. A special thanks to him for all of his work managing this event.  Video still frames from the event. We just had the 2018 event and it went well! Here is a link to my behind-the-scenes photos of the event. Here is the BTS video I put together: Here is a quick description of the event from his event page : The Acen open shoot is returning for its fourth year! For those of you who haven’t attended any of the previous shoots, here’s the lowdown. We photographers would love to be able to work with as many cosplayers as we can at a con, but obviously, there is only so much we can do given the limited time we have. Likewise, for cosplayers there are a plethora of limitations. The aim of the open shoot is to try and fix some of these problems, all while making new connections in the process. So

I was able to attend c2e2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo) on 4/7/2018 thanks to my friend Kale. My two other friends Nick and Roger also went. It’s around a two hour drive, so carpooling is a great help as I’m not a big fan of driving around downtown Chicago alone.  Me at c2e2 (thanks to a friend for taking the photo) That gave me the opportunity to do some convention and cosplay photography. In this case I went with as little equipment as possible so that I wasn’t bogged down. Thanks to Roger also taking photos and being enthusiastic about asking cosplayers for pictures, a lot of the effort I have to usually put in was handled! A few highlight images from the convention: I ended up only bringing the Fujifilm X100F camera. No lighting or modifiers (see the linked Youtube video for details on that) . That basically meant being at the mercy of the convention hall’s lighting. I had gone there in 2011 and knew about the carpets, but I didn’t expect it to be as bad this year. I was r

I attended Anime Central 2015 on May 15th and 16th. I have a few general hallway style photos as well as quite a few from photoshoots. Photo links: Facebook Gallery Here are a few highlight images from the convention: I tried to stay pretty mobile camera equipment wise as usual with conventions. I brought the Nikon D600, 50mm f1.8g, and two Yongnuo i-TTL flash with wireless triggers. I used the flash quite a bit, mostly when I had helpers to hold them.  Lightstands would have been helpful, but it’s added bulk I don’t want to carry around. In the future, I’d like the find something even smaller than those mini-lightstands, but so far I don’t see anything on the market that would fit the bill.  I think the photos turned out pretty decent considering the limited equipment and time. I hope everyone who attended ACEN had a fun time.

I was able to attend Anime Central on the 16th and 17th. Most of my time spent was with private photo sessions, but I did take some hallway cosplay photos when I had free time. Facebook General Gallery Facebook Lolita Fashion Show Gallery Facebook Photo Session Favorites Gallery A few highlight images: I decided to focus on camera equipment and not lighting for this convention. A Nikon D600 with a 28mm f1.8 lens and a D7100 with a 50mm f1.8 lens. I also used a small reflector a small handful of times when I was able.  The vast majority of the photos were taken with totally natural light and edited in Photoshop to my preference. 

I was around Anime Milwaukee on Saturday the 15th for a few hours. I didn’t have plans to attend, but on a whim, I was able to attend with a few friends that had planned on going. Check out the photos below. Facebook gallery As for equipment, I used the D600 and 50mm f1.8 lens exclusively. I had brought along a small wireless flash setup, but didn’t end up using it at all.

I attended Anime Central 2013. A few hours on Friday, all of Saturday, and Sunday until around 2pm. Facebook gallery (tag-able) Here are a few of my favorite photos of ACEN 2013: I think I might start focusing more on private photoshoots at future conventions. 

A friend and I went to a large cosplay related gathering last weekend. It was located at Navy Pier in downtown Chicago. Here are the photos I had taken: Facebook Gallery (tag-able after “liking” the page)  Navy Pier Overall, the meetup went well. We had quite a few hours to take photos and enjoy what the location had to offer. There were some issues toward the end, but that related to what one would expect from Chicago and how they treat a large group of people with many in costume. I’m not fond of Chicago and their policies related to photographers, so it is better I don’t get into ranting mode and will leave it at that. The weather was somewhat drab and cold, but not bad enough to hinder anything. Actually, the overcast clouds are good for photography because you can avoid having harsh contrast you would expect to get in the middle of the day this time of year.  The event group. My camera gear consisted of: Nikon D600 Nikon 50mm f1.8 Nikon SB-800 flash   I did have two wireless flas

I attend Katsucon with a friend. This convention is located in National Harbor Maryland, which is at least a 13 hour drive from Northern Illinois. The main draw of this convention has been cosplay making it a good convention to visit. My decision to go was really abrupt, but it worked out pretty well. Check out my convention report for more general talk about the convention! Facebook  (you can tag yourself after liking the main page): Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday National Harbor Katsucon is a convention that is appealing to a person who likes photography. The event location is amazing with both great indoor and outdoor locations. The hotel has a large open area with a glass roof, so sunlight is amply available and the outdoor harbor location is also great for photos (as long as the weather hold up). Cosplay is especially big here, which means you have a large number of potential photo ops and should stay busy throughout the entire convention if that’s what you like doing.  Nice wea

I ended up with around 715 photos and a few video clips. My technique was varied and depended on the level of effort at any given point in time. I didn’t bring my manual flash and RF triggers. They take a certain level of effort I don’t find that enjoyable for quick hallway cosplay photos, so moving forward, I probably won’t use them that often for this purpose. I was lucky enough to turn my remaining consignments into a 1-to-1 trade-in for a SB-800 flash unit. I am very happy with the results and simplicity it brings to the table.  Facebook Galleries (tag-able):  Friday ,  Saturday ,  Maid Cafe ,  Masquerade , and  Sunday The SB-800 was used to create a balanced foreground and background exposure. Friday: I arrived pretty late to Arizona and only attended the convention around two hours. I decided to go simple with the Nikon D600, SB-800 flash, and 50mm f1.8 lens. This combination allows for a large amount of general versatility and especially good at night time without too much of a