PhotographyBanzai.com

Two friends and I recently attended a gaming tournament that centered around the game StarCraft II . We were only able to attend that Saturday and Sunday, driving all the way from Illinois. StarCraft II is a real-time strategy game that is popular in the professional gaming scene. This is the first gaming tournament I’ve been to and I feel it was worth the trip to try something new and just see what professional gaming is about first hand. A cool event!  This specific event was connected to the company RedBull that are famous for their energy drinks and sponsoring of non-traditional and extreme sports. The event location was well laid out and the live video production team they had was impressive. From a convention photographer’s perspective, I really enjoyed the high production values of the tournament. I also thought that the event staff I had interacted with were friendly, polite, and helpful when I had questions or needed something. Overall, it was a worthwhile experience for m...

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. 

Though I’ve used Photoshop in some fashion since the early 2000s, I’m always learning or re-learning things about it. To improve the speed of editing, there are a few things that make a big difference. I’ve been trying to incorporate the keyboard more into the editing process because it does speed up editing a lot. I use Photoshop CS5, so if something doesn’t work for you then there might be a difference in how things are done for your version. Holding the space bar down will allow you to drag around the photo while keeping your current tool. There is an application level setting that you can change to have the scroll-wheel perform zoom and it doesn’t change your current tool selected. I always enable that whenever I need to (re)install Photoshop. The clone stamp tool is my go-to tool for editing cosplay photos. It’s easy to clone out harder to manage spots and areas with this tool compared to the others I’ve used. It takes more effort to use than the other related tools, so I try to u...

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 decided to put another one of my books on this website. I wrote this back in 2010 – 2011. I’ve evolved as a (convention/cosplay) photographer a lot since then, but it is still worth a read. Check it out on Amazon:  https://amzn.to/4g0A7eC As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases!  I took this photo at Otakon. Description: Learn all about the exciting subculture that is convention photography! Straight from the experiences of a long time convention attendee, He has spent years improving his skills in all aspects of photography and how that relates to the convention scene. From tips and techniques to the best practices of cosplay photography, everything is here for your reading pleasure!  Whether you are interested in conventions in general or want to get into either cosplay or photography, this book is a great fit to help you further your goals or just expand your knowledge on the subject. 

We recently had a moderately sized meetup at a local garden. One of the photographers there also does videography and decided to put together a video featuring all of the photographers at the event.  The videographer is Charles R. and he goes by the handle “Hikikomorisama.” You can see more of his video work here .  EDIT: On the off chance cosplayers or photographers see this... know that you need permission, likely in the form of paid access to the garden. Especially true with a group. Over the years they had issues with this, so please respect the garden and its staff if you consider visiting with the intent of photography.  I was interviewed in the video.  Video created by Hikikomorisama. I’m featured around the 1 minute mark ( direct link to that time here ). Well done! I’ve tried a few convention scene related interviews in the past, but nothing with that level of production quality.  Here is the photographer interview on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19nHd-NCtlQ

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. 

I have an overview view of this reflector on YouTube. I have a small 12 inch Promaster reflector that has silver on one side and gold on the other. I also have a few Rogue filter gel rubber bands (2 work a lot better than one in this case). Put them together and it makes a pretty serviceable flash bounce. If you are interested in this product, find it on Amazon here . As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases!  Why I had never tried this before I don’t know… Basically strapping the reflector to the flash. Makes it multi-purpose. Check out the image below for a quick test of the setup: The Promaster reflector in its case. There are a lot of options added with a simple small reflector. A few things to note: The built-in bounce card also had the plastic diffusion panel covering the flash. In this case with a small room I think it worked a bit better than it would in most circumstances. The cloth diffuser/reflector has been my go-to accessory for the flash. I have used that ...

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...

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. ...