Should I offer to do (paid) cosplay photoshoots at cons?

So yeah, what is this?

– Well, it's exactly what it sounds like, but I'll explain anyway!

For a long time now I've been noticing that some of my friends, along with some other congoers have, along the years, been asking me to photograph their cosplays more and more often at cons. People seem to appreciate my photography skills, although I can't claim to be a professional or anything of the sort, but I'm not a camera-know-nothing either! I've gone a photography course in school (that I got the best possible grade in) and I don't really think that people constantly compliment my photos for no reason either.
I do have an artistic eye and I'm willing to try new and crazy ideas to get good and unique shots – I mean, photography is a form of art as well! 
Yep, so while most people know me as a cosplayer I am a photographer as well.

So yeah, the thought of doing some kind of more "official/public post" about the fact that I'm open for cosplay photography at cons has been lingering around in my head for months, maybe even years. Yep, I'm basically saying that it would very well be possible to hire me to be the camera man for you!

Just don't have any super unrealistic expectations – I'm a hobbyist who loves photography, not a professional who does it for a living. At least not yet, hahah.

I can also offer to do the photo post-processing (aka editing) if you either can't do it or don't feel like doing it for whatever reason.

Just showing my current camera!

You can see a few photo examples of my work over at Hasakitsuki's and FankiKitsune's blogs etc. Don't take these as a limit to what I'm capable of though, just as general examples – I can and am willing to try many new things, the sky's the limit! I'm constantly improving and trying to challenge myself! (note: all these photos were taken back when I only had the default Nikon 18-55mm f/3,5-5,6G lens)

I don't have any assistants though so it's a bit limited what I can do, because I assume that I'd be photographing alone most of the time. :/ It would be convenient to have an assistant... But nonetheless I'm all up for helping any cosplayers (everyone is welcome!) getting photos of their costumes and improving my camera skills along the way! Win-win!

But then... there is that last question, the one that is rather touchy to bring up – should I or should I not charge for my service?

I've gotten the impression that there is quite a lot of talk about this and mostly in a negative tone. People, especially cosplayers, seemingly expect all photographers to always work for free (because their friends and some others photograph them for free) and if they charge then they are stupid or just not worth it. We photographers do find it fun to photograph but just because we enjoy it doesn't mean that we should always do it for free, now should we? It's kind of the same as expecting wig stylers/commissioners to style your cosplay wigs for free because they find it fun and are good at it. Same thing with art commissions etc. See where this is going?

In a way I feel like it's a bit too much to ask for any really proper payment because I don't have any high-class education or anything that would justify me charging money for my time and besides, most congoers are young people who probably don't really have much money to spend and might not be willing to pay a photographer...?
But at the same time I don't think it's all wrong to ask for a small sum ("vaivanpalkka" as we say in Finnish, if nothing else) for a photo session –say, for example 5 €– with a minimum duration of approximately 1 hour, or is it?
From a general standpoint – the thing with paying a photographer is that they would be willing to shoot anyone, not just their best friends. So would I – if you pay me I will photograph you to the best of my abilities, no matter if you started cosplay yesterday or if you've been at it for years; I won't shut down anyone's offer. I will also make sure that you like the outcome (aka taken photos) before I call it quit for the day.
Also, speaking generally again, if you pay it shows the photographer that you are serious, value their work and that you are interested in getting good photos of yourself and that you are damn likely to show up during the planned time too. And of course the photographer will "pay you back" by sending you the final photos in a timely manner, doing their best to make sure that both are satisfied etc. I think that charging a fee –even if it's a small one– is a way to make a sort of contract that both the photographer and the cosplayer will do their best to make the experience as hassle-free and pleasant for both parties.

Sorry for this post being a bit fuzzy and all over the place, but I guess you understand what I'm trying to get at. >°< By the way, if you are curious there's a very good post here about why some cosplay photographers charge for their time and I think that it's definitely worth a read!

I really don't mean it to come off the wrong way; it's just that when you do your work it's nice to get something back in return – I think everyone agrees on that. It doesn't even have to be money! Yeah I know, it's not really my "work" because I am a hobby photographer but it's still something I pour my heart and passion into – and I do make sure that everyone I take photos of is satisfied with the final product.. even if I end up standing behind the camera longer than planned.

I really want to hear your thoughts on this!

Should I charge for photoshooting someone or not and, if I should, how much do you think is a reasonable price for a non-pro/hobbyist/aspiring photographer?

Suggestions welcome – don't be afraid to tell me what you have in mind! Would you be willing to pay a con/cosplay photographer in general, if at all? What reasons/criterias would you have?

Whatever the outcome is I am available, in case some cosplayer out there wants nice photos and doesn't have a camera savvy friend around and well, I happen to attend the same convention and they happen to read this. :) Just contact me either by commenting on this post or, preferably, by sending me an email. My contact email can be found to the left on the blog!

That's all for this time. 
I would really appreciate any comments regarding this, even if spoken from a general standpoint and not targeted at me. :) I'd love to hear your opinions!

Depending a bit on what feedback I get I'll make a follow-up post.

Thank you for reading! Bai bai ~

Cosplay with circle lenses – Necessary or not?

Hi everyone!

I've thought about making this kind of post for a long time now and that's because, well, I have quite something to tell about this whole topic! :'D You see, I realized that almost exactly 2 years ago from this day I ordered my very first circle lenses. Wow, can you believe it?? o_o

Khrmm, yes, the post for today will basically be about my life as a cosplayer before and after I started using circle lenses, along with how drastically my opinions changed along the way! This whole post will be based on my experiences and opinions only, your mileage may vary.

So let's get to the chase, shall we? ;)

*drops the bomb*

First off, I've been a cosplayer since late 2009 and the first time I wore a cosplay out for the world to see was on summer 2010. I remember being aware of cosplayers using colored contact lenses pretty early on in the hobby, but for several years I was strictly of the opinion that "it was not for me". Maybe it was out of fear of trying, maybe not. I don't know. We'll never knoooooooow...

I saw lenses as some do-it-only-if-you-have-the-extra-cash-to-burn thing that wouldn't even pay off and be worth it – unless the character had obviously unnatural eyes like screaming red or something, then I thought that maybe it could be needed. Maybe. But even so it was low-priority and easy to forgive if you didn't have contacts.

This so illustrates me and my opinion towards circle lenses pre-2013. xD

I used to think that colored contacts were one of those "optional but kinda pointless" extras that you could add to your cosplay if you had nothing better to spend your money on, basically. I kept this point of view from 2010 to the end of 2012 something; in the early 2013 I started slowly loosening up and changing where on the line I was standing. Black had started moving towards white; now it was gray and in the middle.

"Maybe contacts weren't so unnecessary and pointless as I had thought. Maybe wearing lenses was actually a more noticeable thing and could even give your cosplay a whole new level of feeling complete."

I believe that one of the reasons I started slowly to realize that "hey, having circle lenses for cosplay actually looks good!" was because some of my cosplay friends were using lenses and *gasp* it was actually one of the things I noticed first as I talked with them! No way! I mean, how could I have missed to see the bigger-than-usual eyes with pretty patterns and vibrant colors?

Before I had seen circle lens users in real life I had always thought that "nah, it's just the eyes; it's such a small detail that no one will notice it unless they're basically standing so close that they can see your nose hairs moving". Oh boy, how wrong I was.

So yeah, on mid or late January 2013 I had a cosplay coming that had obviously violet eyes. I thought that now was the time to step into new waters – it was "now or never" and "you couldn't know unless you tried" and all of those. It was unfair to judge without at least trying so now I threw myself in there too...

"Even though I had done a lot of research on how to wear and care for circle lenses I had to admit – I was scared. Really scared of wearing them for the first time."

Seeing how much I love circle lenses today it's unreal to think that I used to be so bleh about them earlier. But even I, when I started, was more scared of putting something into my eye than I'd like to remember lol. I remember that the first time I ever put contacts in it felt SO WEIRD. It surely took me around 10 minutes to get both of them in and I remember my eyes turning very red and watery and oh gosh, it took forever before my eyes returned to normal and it was horrible. xD I also remember my eyelid blinking and twitching like hell when I approached my eyeball with the "foreign piece of plastic", pff. But yeah, never underestimate the importance of hygiene when handling your lenses and remember, some people just can't wear contact lenses for whatever reason. Personally I don't have any problems with poking my eyes and so for me it was no biggie to get the lenses in the first times and yeah, when they were in it felt like a big fat slap in the face of my former ignorant self – circle lenses made my eyes pop and look really anime!! OヮO Definitely improved the overall impression of my cosplay!

Suddenly I had moe moe desu kawaii bling eyes... or something like that.

Okay so, first I only bought lenses for cosplay characters that had eye colors that were notably different from my own – red, gold and violet for example. I tried to limit myself to unnatural colors only because I thought that these would be the most noticeable, but at some point I started feeling like something was missing if I wasn't wearing circle lenses – even for characters with natural eye colors! *double gasp*
I ended up widening my self-put restrictions to also allow purchasing brown and green lenses before long, but I thought that I wouldn't really need blue or gray lenses because my eyes were blue-grayish to begin with – "why would I spend money on an eye color I already had?". Well, that didn't last long because when I had lenses of all colors –except those closest to my natural eye color– then it felt like all cosplays had that extra "oomph", except those that I didn't wear contacts to... yet. Something was lacking. I wonder what?

By now I'm wearing circle lenses of all colors and yes – to all my cosplays. I can't even imagine cosplaying without lenses because, after all, the eyes on anime/manga characters are usually a very important and noticable part of their visuals. Human eyes with normal-sized pupils just aren't always flashy and eye-catching enough lol. I actually feel kinda naked without lenses on my cosplays and circle lenses look especially amazing on close-up photos etc.

"Before I noticed it my opinion had drastically changed. I had gone from 'contacts are an almost pointless addition' to 'I can't even cosplay anymore without circle lenses'!
What you mean I went from black to white just by giving it a try?"

I think that about sums it up – quite a difference, neh?

I hope you found the read not to be a complete waste of your time and psst, any comments are very welcome! ^_^ Ciao ~

Valkoinen Samurai edition: Who ends up in my cosplay list and why?

Whazzup guys?

Last month I made this cosplay decision process post and –as some might remember– at the end of it I asked if there was interest for a follow-up about how I personally choose my cosplays. Well well, seemingly some peeps were curious so I'm gonna go ahead and make a hopefully not-too-long post about what kinds of character qualities and such tug on my "need to cosplay" strings!

Before I start I'd like to apologize in advance for eventually messy text coming through but oh well, it shouldn't be too bad I hope.
So, where to start huh? Hmm well, if we take it from the start; when it comes to series that I end up watching/reading I wouldn't be lying if I said that a big chunk of them have some sort of roots or at least references to Japan's history. I'm a sucker for history and historical figures to begin with so of course any series that has this will have additional appeal points from me! Oh, and we need not mention samurai series, these especially catch my interest before anything else does. But of course I still end up watching/reading other stuff – everything from Digimon to Uta no Prince-sama and Wolf's Rain. I can get interested in pretty much anything as long as there is at least something in the series that catches my interest, be it character design(s), art/animation style, plot or even a single badass weapon.

Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga sword is epic, hands down.

But when it comes to the characters themselves in any given series there are indeed some more or less specific things that can add to a more secure place into my ever-growing cosplay list.

Character personality: I have a rather noticeable preference towards more silent, calm, serious and/or distant characters, sometimes even outright "I'm better than you"-minded and possibly cruel ones like Sesshoumaru from InuYasha. Mysterious characters who you can't really tell if they are good, bad or neither tend to tickle my fancy... and so does anti-heroes every now and then as well. There are a lot of different character personalities that can appeal to me in all sorts of combinations so it's pretty hard to just say some traits because anime characters are sometimes very diverse. But I do often like characters who start off as almost emotionless/uncaring and cold and then gradually turn out to be or turn into a good guy in one way or another. Oh, and occasionally I will end up liking the seemingly mean/teasing/trolling one of the bunch, especially if they are anything like Okita from Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan who's often cracking jokes at the expense of others and such – I tend to like the sarcastic bastards.

Okita, y u so awesome?

Character story/background: Well, this is a pretty hard one to answer because it can be anything. For me the character's past isn't the most important part if I plan to cosplay them or not but it can be a nice bonus. But I must admit I'm a bit more fond of characters who've had a tragically spiced past, something that evokes feelings and makes one feel for the character. But yeah, I'm pretty much open to anything when it comes to character backgrounds. Then again, I sometimes tend to be a bit "meh" about characters whose background stories are never revealed or explained/developed enough. But most of the time, cosplay wise, it's not an issue – design and character personality comes first.

Character design: Okay guys, everyone better go hide away from Captain Obvious who will land on Earth just about now and tell you the fact that I am indeed very biased towards characters wearing kimono or Japanese styled/inspired clothing. Hands up if you honestly didn't see this coming!
*insert long silence here*
– No one? Okay, good, thought so.
Also I do like stylish outfits in general with details, armored parts and stuff – chains, belts, wings and flowy clothing parts give bonus points as well as jackets with buttcapes and such. There's a lot design wise that I find awesome. I also like fantasy style clothes or what to call it, especially ones with cool details like Reyson from Fire Emblem, for example. Oh, and speaking of which I dare say I often end up cosplaying pretty boys. There, I said it.

Reyson.

Character props: Let's say this – if I like a character enough to consider cosplaying them it doesn't have any big significance anymore if they have a prop or not. Sure thing that a guy wielding a badass sword that eats half the universe because it's so awesome has a higher chance of ending up in my cosplay list than, say, someone who only has pockets to put their hands in but well, some characters are awesome as they are... even without a weapon or whatnot. So yeah, characters with props might be more interesting but I'm not gonna dismiss otherwise likable characters just because they don't have a weapon or whatnot to tell me how they are 20% cooler.

Yuan from Tales of Symphonia is one of my favorites in the game and one of the extra reasons I want to cosplay him is because of that huge epic weapon!

Hmm, I guess that about sums it up shortly. I have a feeling in my stomach that I might have forgotten something but anygays, I feel pleased with this for now. I hope those who wanted me to write this this found it interesting as well as whoever ended up reading this thing! :D

Valkoinen Samurai leaves the building!

Guideline approach: Cosplay decision process

Hello everyone!

Now -for a change- I'm going to write about how I personally choose my cosplay candidates - also known as "how I decide on who/what to cosplay?" :'D This is mostly just for fun and yeah, I am going to list my cosplay decision process generally; this is just my way of doing it and by no means am I saying that it's the only way or something! Everyone is free to cosplay and have their own decision approaches as they see fit and all that jazz that we should know by now but hey, now I'll tell you how it works for me! .. and it might work as a sort of loose guideline for newcomers to the hobby as well. Maybe.

Get ready, here it comes!

• First things first, number 1) I need to find a character to cosplay. How do I go about doing this?

It's obvious enough for everyone and their uncle's dog - I watch anime, read manga, play video games, watch movies or do anything else where you have characters that could make my "I like this guy" meter go up. No, not in that way. Oh, and if I'm honest sometimes I tend to pick what anime to watch/manga to read partly based on if there's any interesting character designs in the source material. :-D Yeah, that feeling when you watch/read something and then first you go "oh, this character looks cool, I want to know more about them" and then later have it evolve into "I fucking need to cosplay this character because their design is fabulous and so is their personality/story/whatnot aghdsjha;sgjh". In short, don't cosplay a character that you don't care about. You will likely regret it at some point; for example not having inspiration to work on the costume and you might even have your con experience suffering because of it in the end. So yeah, choose a character that you like! (and it doesn't matter if they are popular or not)

• When I have my eyes on likable character X it's time for number 2) Do I like this character enough to want to spend time/money on making the costume?

This should be obvious because cosplays don't get magically delivered to you from the sky by the Cosplay Gods sometimes you wish they would when you have decided on what costume to make. Either you decide on busting your ass off sewing, burning your fingers with hot glue and looking for the cheapest way to make that mega-armor-futuristic-super-samurai-guy come alive or.. you order the cosplay from an online cosplay store, hire a commissioner or buy/modify ready-made clothing parts. Whichever one you choose to do (or even a mix!) they are all good approaches to get closer to your cosplay. All these options have one thing in common -at least- and that's the sad fact that you will have to open that wallet of yours. Yes, the one that saw its grim fate approaching far too quickly after you started this wonderful hobby.. according to you, that is; I'm pretty sure your wallet has been crying and befriending spiderwebs in it's echoing cave since then. Money dear, I miss you, come back soon okay? It's cold and empty in here... *sob* The silliness aside it's pretty clear that if you don't like the character enough you won't be too happy about spending your hard-earned money (and limited time on this Earth) on making the costume or well, at least I wouldn't. I know I wouldn't be too keen on spending 500+ € or something on a cosplay that I would wear just once and then have it spending the rest of its life as just another dust collector in that graveyard-y part of the wardrobe. Brrrr.
So yeah, before I think so much more about how to make/get the costume I decide if it is worth the money, time and effort for me. And rage. 

Oh, and for the love of pasta, when you have decided that the cosplay is worth it then START WORKING ON IT IN TIME. Don't procrastinate for four of the five remaining months.. even though we end up doing it anyway because little pesky procrastinator goblins live full-time in us.. or well, in me for sure.

• Okay, character X is awesome enough to be worth the last of my last savings. But money isn't the only thing, so here comes number 3) Do I have enough skills in sewing/crafting/whatnot to make this costume? (only applies of course if I decide to make the costume. Duh. But in most cases I end up making the cosplay so I'm going to take it as the default on the follow-up "guidelines")

Sure, "you won't learn much if you don't try new things" in all its glory and all that but if I know where my current limits are I'm not going to jump straight into the massacre of Complicated Small Details of Hell.. even if I would love the character enough for it to be worth the eternal tantrum-cryrages it would take to eventually finish the costume. I'd rather take it a bit safer and build up my skills over time with more and more challenging projects. Also, I guess I wouldn't be all that happy if I made a complicated cosplay that cost me half my limbs and then, a few years later, want to burn the whole thing on a bonfire because it's falling apart of bad material choices or/and crappy craftmanship. And guess what, if I still loved the character I would maybe want to remake it with my improved current skills and well.. have to pay with my remaining limbs. Wonderful.
In other words - I'm going to pick my cosplay candidates based on current skill level in addition to the love for the character/design.. which means saving the hardcore costumes for when I have hardcore skills.

• But we are not done yet! Number 4) I like this character, I have the money and the skills to make it.. what am I missing? - It's called your own comfort zone, dude.

At least for me it is a rather important thing to consider how comfortable I would feel/be in the cosplay when I finally get to wear it. It doesn't always have to be about pure physical comfort (I get it, we've all probably had that cosplay with the shoes that killed our feet..) but mental comfort as well. The most common example would be if the character is wearing an outfit that you might not feel perfectly at ease with, for example too high amount of skin showing or having their hands constantly bound or something. Sure I know some people find it more of a challenge to actually go past their comfort zones but personally I'd rather stay in mine.. for now, at least. Thing is, I've had a few instances when I cosplayed a character that I liked and everything was all fine and dandy.. until the con morning when I had to wear the costume to a place where people would be looking at me and then realize that, well, I wasn't actually at ease with how some parts of the costume looked on me or whatnot. It can be anything, really. Sometimes you just don't realize how much some small things can start to eat at you after a while. Then again, I do try to figure out what the costume will look like on me before I start working on it but sometimes you still get these not so funny "surprise, motherfucker!" moments when you just go self-conscious for reason Y and Z and, well, you are already at the con so not much you can do. Not like I've personally had a bad case but there are maybe a few costumes I've made I wouldn't wear again just yet because of comfort issues.
Make sure that the cosplay you are doing won't make you feel too uncomfortable when you actually have to wear it. Focusing too much on what is bothering you can take the fun out of wearing it - no matter if it is uncomfortable shoes, the sixpack that is shining with its lack of presence or a part of the cosplay that you think just looks unflattering on you. 

Sometimes you can fix the issues but then again, most times people won't even care/notice the smaller things that bug you as much as you do.
*lifts index finger* Not to mix things up but remember - never let things like age, gender, height, weight, skin color or anything else that you have little to no control over affect your cosplay choices, everyone can cosplay and screw the people who say otherwise!

• Guess what, guess what? We actually have another one! Bonus final number 5) With all the brainwork done, all the sewing/crafting/online shopping/waiting/thrift storing/whatever done and the cosplay is ready and the con is closing in. What now?

Okay, so you are dressed up as probably one of your favorite characters from whatever fancy you have for the moment and ready to show the world what you've accomplished and you've likely been severely sleep-deprived because of last minute sewing through the last night, but let's pretend cosplay is always wonderful, okay? So, the con is this weekend and you know that soon it's gonna be one hell of awesomeness with friends and fellow cosplayers. There's only one thing left to do - wear your cosplay with confidence, enjoy your time and remember to be a good peep to everyone else!

And when the con is over and you've survived the post-con lag and possibly depression then it's time to roll over and start anew with another cosplay to put on the table of creative.. creations. If you want to make another one just yet, that is. It's just as fine to be green in this hobby as well - recycle your cosplays as long as you find the sparkle of joy in wearing them.

Now I've told most things that I can think of for the moment and I've spammed you with Pokémon gifs and whoever actually read it all gets a virtual cookie from me! :'D I might have missed something but I'm too brainfried to think any longer and I'm freezing to death. Oh well ~

Oh, one last thing! If anyone's interested I could do a follow-up post to this one where I write more personally about what kind of characters/series appeal to me cosplay wise and make me inspired to cosplay them; personality traits, clothes, weapons and stuff like that. :'D Shout out if you want to read about this in the future and I might make it happen!

Live and cosplay guys! <3