[2025-12-30] Cosplay Matsuri 2025 (day 3)

[1]
As a hobbyist who advertises shooting for free, I get approached by cosplayers with varying levels of experience. Admittedly, directing models is one of my weaknesses as a photographer, and that's why I appreciate it when I get to work with people who already have a good idea of the shots that they want to get.

[2]
My setup was mostly the same as what I had utilized for day 1, but I think the output for day 3 was improved by flagging the umbrella and Flashbender to prevent light spill on the background. Also, I used a circular polarizer as an ND filter to cut down ambient exposure by about 2 stops, and this allowed me to use the RF 28-70mm f/2.8 STM wide open.

[3]
For day 3, I was able to secure a spot at the photographer's area which was later shared with 2 other photographers. Special thanks to Robin Nightschooler and Vérité Imaging for making this event much more interesting than usual since I rarely get to work with other photographers to this extent.

[2025-12-29] Cosplay Matsuri 2025 (day 2)

For day 2 of the event, I failed to secure a spot for shooting, so I had to resort to the more mobile 1-light setup since photographers were prohibited from putting up light stands outside of the designated photographer's area. I've been avoiding this technique lately due to its physically-demanding nature, but for this instance, I also had to carry the weight of the unused 2nd light stand.

Fortunately, I think these shots turned out okay despite the constraints.

For this occasion, I also used the EOS R6II instead of the usual PowerShot V1 for the one-handed camera operation since my left hand was busy holding the light stand. Unlike before when I used the full-frame camera with a heavy Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 G1, my current RF 28-70mm f/2.8 STM lens is much lighter, so the setup isn't as demanding on the forearm and wrist.

[2025-12-28] Cosplay Matsuri 2025 (day 1)

This convention marks the first time I had used the RF 28-70mm f/2.8 STM for shooting cosplay. The 28mm wide end works well enough for shooting portraits from orthodox camera angles, but the field of view is a bit lacking compared to the 24mm of the more common 24-70mm lenses for dynamic low-angle shots where I try to exaggerate the limb proportions.

To compensate, I brought the Canon PowerShot V1 as a secondary camera. I still prefer the proportions rendered by stereographic fisheye lenses, but compared to that setup with the EOS M50, the PowerShot V1 is lighter, less bulky, and it can also zoom in to 50mm equivalent in a pinch (albeit being limited to f/4.5 at the telephoto end).

Cosplay Matsuri 2018 (day 3)

Cosplay Matsuri 2018