Today, I'm gonna talk about the behind the scenes of actually running around the country and shooting this project. What you see above is basically the same set-up you see at all the cons I went to in 2009. It is a simple seamless background paper (Thunder Grey) on a c-stand with a 25 pound sandbag on one of the legs - safety ! I didn't want the whole thing to fall over. I have also a Rubbermaid 2-shelf cart that I rent from local camera houses. Then you see my light - which is a Profoto 7B battery with a beauty dish and a grid attached to the dish.
After the jump, I'll walk you through how I figured what to bring and how to pull it off.
First things first - the lights. I use a Profoto 7B which is a portable power pack that weights around 30 pounds ! I carry extra batteries with me - well, actually two in total. The Profoto head is attached to a beauty dish and there's a grid attached to the front.
Now, I personally love Profotos though I can't for the life of me, afford one - by the time you get everything it is over $10,000 ! Pretty much that is why I rent them. Now, I could do the same set-up using Dynalite but the thing to consider is that I wanted to be portable. I couldn't be hunting for a plug somewhere. Besides Profoto, there's also Hensel and Elinchrom Ranger that are portable-powered.
These I rented from a local photography rental house in Los Angeles. In most of the major cities, you'll find stores that will rent you photo equipment. Check your local camera store - they may have a rental dept. You just need a credit card with enough credit to cover the costo f the equipment rented or have a photography insurance. Yes, there's a whole separate insurance just for photography. It covers cost of your own equipment, as well as rental and also liability. Don't worry about the photo insurance part. You don't need one unless you are gonna be in the photography business.
I decided to rent the lights and take it with me as there's cities where you can't rent this gear. Example : Balitmore. I couldn't find online any camera store renting Profoto in the city - the closest was in DC and I wasn't about to drive to DC just to rent lights. Simple solution, take it all with me ! The photo above shows what I carry with me.
The next thing I needed was to research online was where a local camera house is. Camera house is basically a camera rental facility. Pretty much it is for the video and film industry. You can rent video cameras, grip equipment, booms, mikes, you know, production equipment. Although in bigger cities, it gets more specialized, in more smaller cities, you can find everything under one roof. So the two c-stands, 25 pound sandbag and the Rubber Maid 2 shelf cart were rented from places I found via Google.
The last thing I needed would be to buy the background paper. These are usually called seamless paper (at least in the photo industry). There's two well-known manufacturers : Superior and Savage. My only problem was different cities carry different manufactures and they don't always carry the same color. I personally like "Thunder Grey" but there's other variations of grey such as Neutral Grey, Slate Grey, Pursuit Gray, and so forth. Luckily some camera houses carry these but sometimes, I had to drive to another store to find this.
My camera is pretty simple - my 4 year old Canon 5D with 28-70mm L series lens (they stop making this lens back in 2002 replaced with a 24-70mm). I know it sounds pretty expensive - 5D and L-series lens but don't let that discourage you - you don't need these high-end equipment to shoot. I do photography for a living so I get the best I can and use it till it dies. I could have shot the whole book on a Canon Rebel T2i body. By the way, the T2i has 18 megapixel sensor. My old Canon 5D is 12 megapixel :)
You can see above what I roll into the con with. Oh, the other not so good thing is that because the cart is that big, I had to rent a SUV at every city and those things can get expensive ! I also bought peanut butter sandwiches, bananas, energy bars and a big bottle of water to snack on. Y'all know how expensive con food can be !
So how did I set-up inside the con ? Well, one thing I learn at Anime Expo is that there's all sorts of photographers there - some with tripods, some with a 4x5 camera, others have camera flashes on light stands. I figured as long as I was out of the way and not bothering people I would be okay. Yes, security always comes up to talk to me but because I am not using the con's power (remember, the lights are battery powered) and I wasn't blocking traffic, I had no problem.
Every con has a spot where cosplayers usually hang out at. Anime Expo is in front of dealer's hall. Otakon is by the fountain. So I just found that spot, set up my background and wait and ask cosplayers to take their photos. That's it. Pretty simple eh ? Can I take your photo ? The added bonus of setting up in one place for 3 days straight also makes it VERY easy to find me.
I usually arrive before they open the dealer's doors and I set-up. My schedule is pretty much keep shooting until something runs out - either memory cards, battery or there is just a lack of cosplayers around. I get there around 8 or 9 am in the morning and shoot until 6 or 7 pm at night. I shoot quick. I know people may be going somewhere so I try to be respectful of their time. If the cosplayer was into it and the shot was going well, I'll keep shooting. I average close to 250 folks photographed per convention. At the end of the day, head back to the hotel where I spend a few hour or so, download and keeping track of model releases so they correspond to the right person. Yeah, it is kinda like a job :) Clock in, clock out.
As for the actual taking of the photos - given that the background paper is 4 ft wide - it means I can't get full length as you'll start seeing the wall behind the paper. As for poses, I ask for a few poses - cosplayers always have them - and remember to memorized a few so when you get approach, you can easily just do it. I try to give a little help when I see that if they move their arm or hands a bit, it would work better for the camera. I also ask for a few funny shots - making faces, throwing up the V-sign, sad face, happy face, etc. There's two reasons : 1) I think they're fun and 2) it helps make the person feel more comfortable - I mean, wouldn't you giggle a bit if you made faces ? A more comfortable person in front of your camera helps get better images.
Remember, taking a photograph is a relationship between the photographer and the subject. There is push and pull. You need to be able to work together. For example, I don't like to get too technical in front of a subject - then, they feel that I pay more attention to the camera and lights than them and the truth is, they are the important part ! Now, I take one or two shots in the beginning to check the lights. Once I'm satisfied, I don't look at the camera again. I feel that if I keep glancing at the LCD on the back, then I am not directing my attention to the subject. Now, this is my personal feeling and I'm sure different photographers do different thing. Once there's a person in front of me, that person is the most important person in the world. There's a certain rhythm to the photo shoot - and you'll know when you reach the apex. I usually shoot fast because I know what I'm looking for and I can get it within a few frames.
When I started photography, I shot a lot of film (this is before digital). I was young and inexperience and I didn't know if I got the shot I wanted so I over shoot. Now that I have years of experiences, I know better. I can usually get what I want pretty quickly. I already know the angles because I've done those over and over again. Yup, practice makes perfect.
How did I learn all this stuff ? Honestly I learn from shooting. Shooting constantly, shooting for years. I'll look at my images after the shoot and figure out what I like and didn't like - then made sure to try not to repeat it again. I tried different lights, different set-ups, different ways. I pretty much made every mistake in the book but that's okay. To me you have to shoot as much as you can so you can work out all the mistakes that are inside of you.
What also help me out - and you'll gonna laugh - is reading comic books as a kid. I thought I wanted to be a comic book artist though I couldn't draw. Despite that, I would do my best to copy from the pages of the comic. By copying, I learn about body placement. I used to read Spiderman and look how the artist would draw him swinging around. My suggestion ? Check out some figure drawing books at your local bookstore.
I made mistakes on this first time in 2009 but I've tweaked them so when I come back out in 2011 with my set-up I'm better prepared. Yes, next year in addition to just selling my book, I'll be offering my service to take your photo in the same exact style as the images in the book. You'll get 10+ images at 10x15 inches (300 dpi) email to you in a few days for $20 bucks. In most cases, I'll be in the dealer hall with Epic Cosplay wigs in their booth. Now some of the cons I'll be going to, I will be in Artist Alley which means I can't shoot during the AA hours. I'm thinking of working out schedule to do the shoots after AA closes but I think it'll be a per-con basis.
Hope y'all enjoy a bit of what I went through for the shooting part of the project ! Future posts I'll talk about editing the book together.
