Cosplay Live Magazine 2017

Page 78

Our first issue for the year is packed with cosplay fun and goodies. We’ve 

interviewed some brilliant new talents and caught up with fan favourites. 

Before doing this issue we talked about what we want to give back to the 

community. What is it we can contribute? Tips? Ideas? Sure, we can do 

those things but what’s really important is promoting the actual cosplay 

community. The very people that make Cosplay Live what it is, an amazing 

mix of talents from cosplayers, to costume and prop makers to the 

photographers that spend thousands on gear and then hours and hours 

learning to fine tune their art. 

Often it’s the cosplayers where it all starts though, the idea for the costume 

or character. Then comes the hours, weeks and often months of toiling over 

sewing machines, heat guns and the many other tools to create costumes 

that pay tribute to their inspiration. Colouring, weathering and sometimes 

even starting the whole damn thing again is what drives cosplayers to 

create their costumes so that they are as accurate as possible. 

For their dedication to their craft - we salute the cosplayers, the prop 

makers, the makeup artists, the photographers and of course the fans who 

follow with passion. 

This issue also asks cosplayers and photographers the big question: Can 

you make money from cosplay? Perhaps the other question is : Should you? 

Take a look at their answers. 

We hope you enjoy this issue, we loved putting it together. 

Rob Jenkins 

Editor and Publisher 

Editor: 

Rob Jenkins 

Art Director: 

Giselle Capobianco 

Contributors: 

Charlotte Nicholson 

JusZ Cosplay 

Mike Rollerson 

Tiffany Dean 

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www.facebook.com/HarleysJoker

In a previous issue of Cosplay Live 

(2 years ago almost to the month) 

we spoke to Harley’s Joker, a brilliant 

designer, photographer and 

Joker themed cosplayer who goes 

to incredible lengths to create art 

that shines in the world of cosplay. If 

you’ve ever thought about undertaking 

a cosplay project that is complex 

but ulitmately worth it, this is the artist 

to follow. We caught up with him 

recently on his latest project... 

Your latest project is a wonderful 

tribute to the original, did you do the 

graphic art too? 

Of course I did, and thank you very 

much. I’m extremely protective (and 

a bit obsessive) of my projects, and 

typically wouldn’t feel comfortable 

letting anyone else handle them. If 

it’s something I put out there, well 

over 90% of the time I’m the one behind 

the whole thing. I think my obsession 

over details simply comes 

out of the premise I apply to these 

projects, which is “if this were real, 

and a camera was simply there to 

capture this moment, what would it 

look like?”. I want the pieces to feel 

as if the original comic book art to 

which I am paying tribute is actually 

a drawing based on this photograph, 

instead of the reality which is the 

other way around. I hope that made 

sense. 

You’re doing brilliant and complicated 

art projects, does that cut into the 

time you’d perhaps spend at Cons? 

Not at all. Keep in mind none of this 

is employment - these are all just 

different hobbies that occur in my 

spare time. 

Let’s talk design for a minute - the 

comic covers - how long does it take 

to do one? 

Every project is different in terms 

of scope and time, though each 

is approached the same way. I approach 

them a bit like film making. 

Most of your time is spent in development 

and pre-production. A very 

small, dense, but occasionally costly 

amount of time is spent in production 

(shooting the material). Lastly 

a large chunk of time is spent in 

post-production, editing. Recreating 

“The Killing Joke” cover took a couple 

weeks. “Trophies” took about a 

month. “Five-Way Revenge” took 

over three months, primarily because 

I had never done any sort of 

3D design before, so I had to teach 

myself as I went along, running in to 

MANY roadblocks and speed-bumps 

along the way. 

How do you source the additional 

graphics such as fonts and images? 

There’s no sourcing going on, I want 

to create everything from scratch. 

That’s why I photograph as much as 

possible. In “Five-Way Tribute” I photographed 

the Joker, Batman, the 

playing card, the sky, phosphorus 

streetlamp lens flares, automobile tail 

lights & headlights, and even bits of 

graffiti. If you look VERY closely you 

can even see a poster on the side of 

one of the buildings for “Amusement 

Mile in Old Gotham”, styled like a vintage 

circus poster complete with a 

clown painted on it. I actually painted 

that with watercolor, scanned it 

in and shrank it down. However I will 

confess to using some stock images 

for things like asphalt and concrete 

textures. And all the fonts in this image 

aren’t “fonts” technically, they’re 

illustrated letter by letter, just as Neal 

Adams himself did when he drew the 

original in 1973. I used to do playbills 

for theaters and would do all the lettering 

by hand. I even worked for a 

while when I was much younger at 

a Trader Joe’s as the store artist 

creating the signs. The truth is I’ve 

been drawing since toddlerhood. 

Art and design come very naturally 

to me. This isn’t to say that they’re 

easy tasks that don’t require a lot of 

effort, simply that given enough time 

and focus I’m determined to achieve 

it “baking from scratch”. 

For readers who didn’t read our first 

interview 2 years ago - tell us how 

you got started in cosplay and cosplay 

art creation and where does 

your partner Joker’s Harley fit in? 

Cosplay happened sort of by accident 

for me. Halloween was always 

my favorite holiday, and (to make a 

very long story quite short) I spent 

about a year off and on working on 

a Joker costume intended for Halloween. 

I decided instead to wear 

it to San Diego Comic Con in 2012, 

and the internet went kaboom. The 

art pieces were a natural way for me 

to connect my lifelong passion of art 

and photography to something else 

I love that had developed an online 

following: the cosplay. Joker’s Harley 

(or “Alyssa” as I’ve always known 

her) is not only my partner in costume, 

but in life. We’ve been in love 

for five years now and counting. She 

is a very talented artist and designer 

in her own right and we really have 

found a great way to support each 

others projects. I know I can always 

trust her eye on something, and I’m 

fairly certain she feels the same way 

about me. 

Ok, a bit of a personal question if I 

may, when I’m working on photography 

post processing I usually have 

headphones on and blast music, 

what do you do? Also what equipment 

are you working with? Some 

of those projects would be memory 

intensive so I’m guessing you’ve got 

some sort of system that can handle 

moving all those pixels around? 

I will usually listen to music. Often 

if I’m editing I’m home alone, so no 

need for the headphones. Until recently 

I have been using the same 

computer since 2009. However this 

Christmas I got myself a new present: 

debt. I applied for a credit card, 

discovered I have a dangerously 

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high credit score and was given far 

too much spending freedom, and 

am now the proud owner of a total 

beast of a machine. To be fair, I do 

a decent bit of video editing and effects 

work as well, nowadays usually 

in 4k resolution, so I need it. I’ve got 

64GB of ram, an 8GB Nvidia Quadro 

graphics card made specifically for 

graphics rendering, and an 8 core 

liquid cooled Intel processor. And, 

again, a lot of debt. 

What’s next in the immediate future 

and for the rest of 2017? 

I actually make my living as an actor. 

It’s my greatest passion. I’m still 

climbing the entertainment ladder, 

one slow passing rung at a time. No 

one knows what the future holds, 

we’ll just have to keep out eyes 

open. 

Your artwork is now available to buy, 

where can our readers go to buy and 

view your work? 

harleysjokerart.storenvy.com 

Editor’s note: 

If you’re serious about Cosplay - this is one 

of those artists you simply must follow. His 

dedication to his craft is second to none. 

Go here - like and follow... 

www.facebook.com/HarleysJoker 

See next page for 

final image! 

ONLINE: 

www.facebook.com/HarleysJoker 

harleysjokerart.storenvy.com 

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The original inspiration and Harley’s Joker’s tribute - right.

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Ireland Reid’s bio says: 

“I truly believe in following your 

dreams and that anything you 

want to do is possible. I love being 

a positive influence and making 

this world a better place.” 

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We just had to interview her... 

Hey Ireland, please tell us a bit about 

yourself, how you got into acting/cosplay 

and where you are based. 

Hi! My name is Ireland Reid and I currently 

live in Southern California in the 

USA. I have personally been involved 

in the cosplay community for about 4 

years now. Before being personally involved, 

in wearing my own creations, 

doing online tutorials and workshops, I 

worked on commissions for years for 

others in the community or other communities 

involving costumes. I have a 

background in 9 years in school/community 

theater along with mechanical 

engineering work experience. I am currently 

enrolled in my PhD program for 

Business Management. Outside of all 

this, I am a fitness enthusiast, and love 

reading Sci-fi books. 

One thing you talk about is making the 

world a better place through cosplay, 

it’s a wonderful passion, tell us about 

that. 

Cosplay is a person’s interpretation of 

how they view their favorite characters 

from a particular fandom or fandoms. 

I love being able to have not only the 

opportunity to create exotic & heavily 

detailed cosplay pieces, but being able 

to meet people all over the world who 

are into the same thing. Cosplay is like 

this worldwide community of amazing 

people, that thrive on art and personal 

expression within one another. It’s such 

a beautiful thing to see firsthand in person 

to be honest. I always try to be that 

positive light in the community, pushing 

that cosplay can be for everyone. 

You travel a lot for cosplay and events, 

what’s been some of the highlights? 

The biggest highlight is getting to be 

able to travel all over the world, meeting 

everyone & experiencing all new 

places & cultures. It is something that 

is pretty dear to me and I never take 

one second of it for granted. I love 

diving into learning about new cultures 

and I love meeting new people. 

What’s coming up in 2017? 

This year I am doing something a little 

bit different then I have done in the 

past few years. I am not traveling so 

much, but focusing on content more 

heavily for all my social media outlets. 

It will be more content as far as adding 

more cosplay videos and cosplay related 

education pieces to my YouTube 

channel. I will also be filming crafting 

and tutorials live via Twitch Creative, 

all the way to making more elaborate 

costumes to showcase my style of 

art & engineering. I have a few other 

things outside of the cosplay community 

which I am getting involved in, still 

in the spotlight per say, but they are 

pretty big projects. I will release more 

information when I can about them, but 

I am beyond excited to be part of them. 

Tell us about your favourite cosplays. 

Every cosplay build that I create, to be 

honest, is a love and hate feeling towards 

it. I challenge myself in different

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areas with each build, from overall design 

to time & costs involved. I try to 

always find the best way in both quality 

and longevity with all builds. Then I take 

what I have learned, and turn it into tutorial 

videos for others. This includes 

the horrible things that went wrong, 

to what is the best bang for your buck 

wise, and so forth. It’s all about growing 

together as a community and that is 

the part I love the most. 

You’ve got a huge following on Instagram 

and you’re also on Youtube, what 

sort of videos are you doing and do you 

have some advice for new cosplayers 

getting started in social media? 

I am always looking for ways to reach 

out to my following and connect with 

them more and more. I actually covered 

this part with some tips & tricks 

for building a social media based brand 

on my YouTube channel. I do this mini-series 

on there, where I break down 

little parts for someone, if they are 

interested in taking their craft from a 

hobby to a profession. One of the parts 

I break down is social media, from 

what social media outlets you need to 

get exposure in, to creating a uniform 

image of your name, (or brand in this 

case), and more. 

Who inspires you ? 

My mother. She is my hero and why I 

have the drive/motivation I have every 

day to push all limits within myself. I am 

extremely blessed to have her in my 

life. She taught me at an early age that 

if you want something in life, you have 

to work hard for it. 

Finally where can our readers go to 

find out more about you? 

I will admit that due to the nature of 

modern day social media, I am pretty 

much everywhere to be honest. I’ve 

created a “central hub” for all social 

media, cosplay tutorial videos, my 

blogs and much more just to help avoid 

confusion. You guys can find everything 

at www.irelandreid.com. 

ONLINE: 

www.facebook.com/OfficialIrelandReid 

www.irelandreid.com 

www.twitter.com/irelandreid 

www.instagram.com/irelandreid 

www.youtube.com/irelandreid27 

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www.facebook.com/abbypeeofficial

The amazing Abby holds a Bachelor 

of Arts degree in Visual & Performing 

Arts, and a first degree black 

belt in Tae Kwon Do. She hopes to 

use her talents to contribute a little 

something to this world... 

Hi Abby and welcome to Live Magazine 

and also Cosplay Live. Can you 

give us a bit of background on yourself? 

Thank you so much for having me! 

I’ve been in the cosplay game for 

a while but this is actually my first 

cosplay interview in a magazine so 

I’m really excited and honored to 

be a part of your publications. Really 

appreciate what Live Magazine 

and Cosplay Live is doing for cosplayers 

and the community! As for 

my background, I’m originally from 

Southern California in the U.S. where 

I grew up doing a lot of random hobbies 

other than cosplay. I grew up 

with strict parents so I guess I had 

to find my own ways to keep myself 

entertained at home. Once I got into 

cosplay, there was just nothing else 

like it and my passion for it grew 

and grew, simply becoming a part of 

who I was and am today. Along with 

cosplay, I run my own blog and two 

Youtube channels while also working 

full-time here in South Korea where I 

currently reside. 

Looking at what you do, you must be 

so busy. You’re a member of Honey 

Toast Cosplay - what does that entail? 

Honey Toast Cosplay consists of my 

good friends and I, and what it entails 

is simply the opportunity to be closer 

in the things we love: video games, 

anime, manga, cosplay, and more. 

We excitedly fangirl over things together, 

or plan out future cosplays 

and cons. We haven’t had much cosplay 

activity as a group recently because 

each member is busy saving 

animals as a vet tech, going to pharmacy 

school, or teaching English to 

school children in Japan and South 

Korea. Since Honey Toast Cosplay is 

something that is completely for fun, 

we freely and happily try to live our 

own lives and also come together to 

work on cosplays or attend cons together 

whenever we can. It’s always 

good to know we’ll have that special 

group of friends we can turn to and 

still talk to on the daily, and I love and 

appreciate my girls Ash, Moni, and 

Amelia so much for that. Hopefully 

we can show the world more of Honey 

Toast Cosplay in the future! 

Also, you’re a cosplay ambassador 

for Kpop College - tell us about that 

too and also Andong in South Korea. 

I am that Honey Toast Cosplay 

member I mentioned in the previous 

answer who is currently teaching 

English in South Korea! With this 

job and living in another country, I’ve 

fortunately had quite a bit of free 

time to be able to continue pursuing 

my own passions and more. This 

includes starting a vlog channel on 

Youtube to share my experiences. 

And somehow, I also became the 

cosplay ambassador for Kpop College 

and an honorary ambassador 

for Andong, the city I’m living in here 

in South Korea. As a cosplay ambassador, 

I work closely with Kpop 

College thinking of ideas and carrying 

those out in order to create more 

interest and participation in cosplay, 

as well as share about the cosplay 

and con scene here in South Korea. 

And living here in Andong has been 

great because it’s a very comfortable 

city where I’ve made lots of 

memories. Andong is known as the 

capital city of Korean spiritual culture! 

If you ever visit South Korea, 

be sure to let me know and I’ll gladly 

share more about my city! 

Now if that isn’t enough, you’re also 

into Parkour which stems from your 

interest in Mirror’s Edge right? 

Yes, haha! I got really into parkour 

a number of years back which did 

stem from Mirror’s Edge. That game 

is still one of my favorites for its 

sleek aesthetic and gameplay, and I 

love Faith’s character so much. 

With parkour, besides the obvious 

fact that it just looks so bloody cool, 

it feels amazing when you’re finally 

able to perfectly land a move you’ve 

been working so long on. It’s also a 

great physical workout and you gain 

stamina and skills that are definitely 

useful for something like a zombie 

apocalypse, duh. But first and 

foremost, parkour has always been 

a freeing discipline for both body 

and mind. It’s scary to try something 

we’ve never done before - jumping 

over a huge gap or clearing a high 

wall. But as we train, practice, and 

build confidence, we can eventually 

make it over to the other side. That 

same philosophy can be used in 

life. Sadly though, my knees haven’t 

been in the best shape as the years 

have gone by, so I haven’t trained in 

forever! 

You’re living in South Korea but are 

from the U.S. - how did you and why 

did you move? (As in, how does a 

person get resident status in South 

Korea?) 

I have a work visa! It was a really 

long process, and there was so 

much paperwork and documents 

involved, but all was made possible 

through the teaching program I 

came through. As for why - I’ve always 

wanted to try living and working 

in another country (South Korea, 

especially!) as a challenge and new 

adventure, and being able to do so 

by teaching kids has been so fulfilling. 

Ok so on to cosplay, tell us how you 

got into cosplay and what your first 

cosplays were... 

I think I was in high school - I came 

across cosplay photos online and 

just thought it was the coolest thing. 

I think it also stemmed from me just 

loving the characters in a game I 

played or an anime I watched SO 

much that I wanted to literally be 

that character myself. So I knew I 

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Andrew Pandes: www.andrewpandes.com

had to try cosplay eventually. My first 

cosplays were at my first cons: Tifa 

Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII: Advent 

Children, Haruhi Suzumiya from 

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, 

and I think Misa Amane from Death 

Note. 

Do you make your costumes and 

what’s been your most difficult cosplay? 

In my earliest years of cosplay, I 

didn’t even know how to sew or 

make props, so I would commission 

outfits or customize and put pieces 

together, in addition to buying wigs 

or any other necessary accessories. 

For many years now though, I’ve 

learned to sew entire costumes and 

create any accompanying props 

or accessories. Making my own 

costumes is always exhausting or 

stressful when there’s a time limit for 

a con or photoshoot, but I love taking 

that opportunity to give all of my 

love and hard work into something I 

care so much about, and then wearing 

the final product. I’d say the most 

difficult cosplay so far has been my 

Crimson Akali (League of Legends) 

because of all the components and 

details, which also makes it the one 

I’m still most proud of so far. 

Who inspires you in life and in cosplay? 

In life, I’m inspired by my parents and 

pretty much anything around me - 

music, other artists, even the other 

teachers I work with and the kids I 

teach. In my earlier cosplay days, 

I remember being inspired by Li 

Kovacs aka “PikminLink”, Jin Joson 

aka “behindinfinity”, and the Japanese 

cosplayer Kipi. I’m also inspired 

by my fellow cosplayer friends and 

seeing other cosplayers at cons just 

having a fun time. 

You run a successful blog and social 

media sites - do you have some tips 

to share with new cosplayers wanting 

to do the same? 

Sure! I guess for starters, think of a 

fun name you’d like others to know 

you as. 

For me, I started off with the online 

alias “hellozombie”, which is the username 

I used for my deviantart.com 

account and cosplay.com account, 

and then later, my blog. It was really 

strange but funny when I’d hear 

random people yell “ARE YOU HEL- 

LOZOMBIE?!” at cons, haha! So I just 

went with that for a while. 

A major tip I have though, is to stay 

true to yourself and to your art. For 

me, cosplay has always existed as a 

fun, creative outlet where I can also 

utilize the things I’ve learned from 

the random hobbies I grew up doing 

(they turned out useful after all, yay!), 

to my skills as an artist, martial artist, 

and lover of music, singing, dance, 

and performance, all the while paying 

tribute to a character I love so 

much. That genuineness will show 

on your blog and social media sites 

if you stay true to your passion! Stay 

humble, be kind, maybe study a bit 

of design, HTML, and CSS (or get a 

friend to help you), and most importantly, 

have fun! 

Some fun questions - 

Tell us 3 things you can’t live without 

Food, sleep, music 

Tell us 3 movies you just love 

Titanic, 500 Days of Summer, Princess 

Mononoke 

3 Books you just love 

Harry Potter (all of them count as 

one), Life of Pi, The Architecture of 

Happiness 

“Stay true to 

yourself and 

to your 

art ” 

Thanks so much for being part of 

this issue - can you let our readers 

know where they can go to find out 

more about you? 

Blog: abbypblog.tumblr.com 

facebook.com/abbypeeofficial 

youtube.com/byebyezombie 

Email: official.abbypee@gmail.com 

Thank you again for having me! Really 

enjoyed the interview, more power 

to Live Magazine and Cosplay Live, 

and much love to all my fellow cosplayers 

out there! ‘Til next time! 

ONLINE: 

www.abbypblog.tumblr.com 

www.facebook.com/abbypeeofficial 

www.youtube.com/byebyezombie 

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Marvin K. Sola: www.facebook.com/MKSolaPhotography

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Priscilla Vesper: www.facebook.com/priscillavesper

Jim Lee: jimleephotography.zenfolio.com 

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Shaun Anderson: shaunandersonphotos.wordpress.com

Jim Lee: jimleephotography.zenfolio.com 

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One of the best things about publishing 

a cosplay magazine is talking 

to both established cosplayers and 

those who are fairly new to it. Today 

we spoke to someone we admire 

for their honesty and passion... hello 

Suddenly Green, Tell us about yourself 

- where you’re based and how 

you got into cosplay. 

I’m an Adelaide based cosplayer 

who, as a child, always had a love for 

costumes and dressing up. Cosplaying 

as specific characters started for 

me as something I did at home with 

friends or at theme parties. My public 

Instagram account began getting 

popular for my gaming content and 

unique personality, and when I started 

posting photos of my cosplays, 

I received overwhelmingly positive 

support. I have only started cosplaying 

publically at conventions over 

the past year, and the community 

has been so friendly, welcoming and 

supportive that I wish I had started 

sooner! 

What are your favourite cosplay 

characters, and why? 

I’m drawn to characters that are of a 

stark contrast to my own personality. 

I love the crazy obsessiveness of 

Harley Quinn, the psychopathic Joker 

or the seductive sultry Poison Ivy. I 

love to cosplay characters that allow 

me to experience something new, or 

become a person I would otherwise 

never become. 

Being in Adelaide, do you go to any 

of the cons that are on during the 

year? 

Absolutely! This year I’ll be at Oz 

Comic Con, AVCon and Supanova in 

Adelaide and I may even make it to 

PAX in Melbourne and Supanova in 

Sydney. 

You’ve got a large Instagram following, 

do you have tips for new models 

or cosplayers just starting out? 

Social Media is about engagement. 

I always engage with my audience. 

My online friends and followers are 

real people and I’m very aware of 

that. I always do my best to interact 

with people on a personal level. Your 

content should also be clear and 

concise. I try to stick to only a few 

subject matters, that way I can properly 

cater to my audience. 

Ok change of direction - who inspires 

you? 

My cosplay idol has always been 

Jessica Nigri and I was so grateful 

to meet her when I attended Tampa 

Bay Comic Con in 2016. She has always 

shown her true self and can be 

silly and poke fun at herself without 

worrying who will freezeframe on an 

awkward facial expression (in fact, 

she encourages it!) and I can really 

relate to that. Jessica shows brilliant 

craftsmanship with her work and 

has so many incredible talents. Plus, 

she touched my butt... What’s not to 

love?! 

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Steamkittens: www.facebook.com/steamkittens 

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Sean Pualic Photography: www.facebook.com/shoottothrillbyseanpualic 

What are you reading, watching? 

Right now, I’m reading these interview 

questions and watching my 

tray of chocolate truffles disappear 

before my eyes. Oh, you meant geek 

related! 

I’m rewatching Attack on Titan in anticipation 

of Season 2 and actually 

on the hunt for some new Anime’s to 

get hooked on. Recommendations 

appreciated! 

What 5 things would you take to an 

island? 

Chocolate, chocolate, Jason Momoa, 

more chocolate and... My filtered 

water bottle. 

Finally where can our readers go to 

find out more? 

@suddenlygreen on Instagram and 

Snapchat or people can follow my 

new Facebook page specifically for 

my cosplays www.facebook.com/ 

suddenlygreencosplay 

ONLINE: 

www.instagram.com/suddenlygreen 

www.facebook.com/suddenlygreencosplay 

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SFX Images: www.facebook.com/SFXImages 

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First up - tell us a bit about you. 

Where you live and what you do. 

Hello. My name is Tatiana DeKhtyar 

and I am an actress/model/ 

producer/cosplayer from Los Angeles 

ca. 

You’ve got a huge resume of 

skills - how did you learn all that 

and did it take long? 

I do enjoy expressing myself in 

various ways and utilizing different 

creative outlets. Most of my 

skills I just picked up naturally at 

first, due to having a predesposition 

to such. However, once I got 

in too deep - I educated myself 

to take my skills to the next level. 

Most of my skills I learned and 

perfected on the job. So technically 

I got paid for learning them, 

which is awesome. Some of the 

things that I have done include, 

but not limited to: photography, 

makeup, wardrobe styling, graphic 

design, most, stunts, acting, 

modeling (yes, it is a skill, it is not 

enough to look pretty in front of 

the camera, there is a lot more to 

it than meets the eye... ), and of 

course among honorable mentions 

I could list a few funny hobbies, 

such as writing poetry, songwriting, 

singing, cosplay, dancing, 

martial arts, cooking (occasionally 

these days, but I had a phase 

when it was a “thing” hahaha), 

drawing and painting, handling 

various weapons and massage 

and healing techniques. And the 

list goes on... but I think we will 

stop here for now. 

Tell us about getting into movies/ 

TV - is that difficult and what was 

it that got you started? 

Embarking on any new journey is 

difficult at first. But perseverance 

and determination work wonders. 

If one is loyal to their dreams and 

is persistent in the pursuit of their 

goals - they will succeed. There 

is a will - there is a way. Just find 

out what is it that you want to do 

and keep moving towards that 

goal. I started getting into the TV 

SHOWS and FILM through my 

modeling career. And eventually 

transitioned into acting. It went 

well for me right away. The very 

first audition I went to was for 

a lead part in an indie film and I 

booked it right away. Since then 

I had added a several TV shows, 

Feature films, award-winning 

Short films, best actress nominations, 

viral web-show appearances, 

national commercials to 

my acting resume. And now I am 

ready for the next round. I am 

very excited to see what this year 

has to offer. There sis only one 

rule: once you set sails - never 

give up ! 

What’s been your favorite role so 

far? 

Oh goodness, it’s hard to pick a favorite... 

Each one of them means 

so much... There is a whole world 

around and within each character 

I portray and I am a traveller 

and adventurer at heart, so I 

love exploring those new realms 

.... If I had to choose my favorite, 

I would have to go with Wonder 

Woman that I portrayed for the 

“SUPER POWER BEAT DOWN”. 

Never thought we had so much 

in common until I have done my 

research... What a remarkable 

character she is! So many amaz-

39

ing traits... Larger than life and yet 

still so relatable. I wouldn’t mind 

exploring her further and in more 

depth... I do hope that I will get to 

cross paths with her in another 

project in the future. 

What about coming up in 2017, 

anything you’d like to share? 

2017 is shaping up to be a great 

year so far. There are a few new 

projects cooking in the oven that 

I am not yet at the liberty to discuss, 

but I will mention a few: “Bat 

in the sun” studios has teamed 

up with “VALIANT’ entertainment 

to deliver an amazing new web 

series “NINJAK VS THE VALIANT 

UNIVERSE” that is coming out in 

2017. I had portrayed the role of 

Colonel Capshaw in I this project 

and while not giving away 

to much, I ca tell you that this 

action packed new super hero 

web show will definitely satisfy 

your craving for some intense 

awesomeness ! Featuring such 

amazing actors as Jason David 

Frank, John Hennigan, Kevin Porter, 

Mike Rowe and Derek Theler, 

among many others, it really does 

deliver some amazing action going 

hand to had with great acting 

and, of course, the greatness 

that is “Bat in the sun” production 

studio work ! These guys always 

deliver amazing stuff! 

Another project I am excited to 

see grow rapidly is one that I happen 

to be a co-creator of, which 

you may already know of as it 

has been aggressively winning 

the hearts of the geek community: 

“HEROES WITH ISSUES”, the 

web show that puts Heroes and 

Villains alike on the shrink’s couch 

and makes them work through 

their problems... We have a lot of 

new episodes lined up and you 

will see more of me and our other 

core cast members in the upcoming 

episodes in 2017. 

Aside from that and a few other 

projects I can’t yet mention, there 

is one more that I am looking forward 

to, which is “Tales of the 

Frankenstein” feature film that 

consists of three parts in one of 

which I played the wife of Professor 

Frankenstein portrayed by 

the amazing Len Wein that most 

of you may know as the creator 

of the original X-men (Storm, Colossus, 

Nightcrawler, Wolverine 

and many others). Working with 

the director Donald Glut and my 

amazing scene partner Len Wein 

was simply a dream come true! 

One of the most wonderful experiences 

I had on set to this date! 

Some of your photos are in costume 

- have you done cosplay at 

events or is it mainly modelling 

shots for editorials? 

I love doing cosplay. It is one of 

my favorite things to do. So if you 

ask me. - I would do grocery shopping 

in a superhero outfit (which I 

have, so check that off my bucket 

list lol). I managed to incorporate 

a lot of it into my career 

and have done appearances in 

costume at various conventions, 

even though I was listed as an actress... 

I just love to play dress up! 

YOLO! Gotta do what makes you 

happy... And I do a lot of modeling 

shots, creating cosplay artwork 

and filmed a bunch of projects 

that are superhero related. 

Any advice for people starting out 

in this sort of career direction? 

Absolutely! If you have chosen 

acting as your path - you must remain 

adamant about it. There is 

no place for doubt, once the decision 

is made. Get on the path and 

stay on the path! Learn, strive for 

higher levels of accomplishment 

and achievement! Work hard. 

Never stop. It is the only way. All 

in or all out. Give it your best shot. 

Repeatedly. Success will come. 

Finally where can our readers find 

out more about you? 

You are welcome to visit my website: 

TATIANADEKHTYAR.COM 

As well as follow my social media: 

facebook.com/tatianadekhtya 

Instagram: @tatiana_dekhtyar 

twitter.com/tatianadekhtyar 

patreon.com/tatianadekhtyar 

youtube.com/tatianadekhtyar 

I am very grateful for all the blessings 

that I was granted in my life 

and am looking forward to what 

future holds. Wishing everyone a 

blissful, joyful, fortunate and prosperous 

new year! 

40

Photo by Aaron Schoenke (IG: @batinthesun) ; Edit: QPQ STUDIO (IG: @qpqstudio) 

ONLINE: 

www.tatianadekhtyar.com 

www.facebook.com/tatianadekhtyar 

instagram: @tatiana_dekhtyar 

www.twitter.com/tatianadekhtyar 

www.patreon.com/tatianadekhtyar 

www.youtube.com/tatianadekhtyar 

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42 

Photo by Aaron Schoenke (IG: @batinthesun) ; Edit: QPQ STUDIO (IG: @qpqstudio)

Photo by Aaron Schoenke (IG: @batinthesun) ; Edit: QPQ STUDIO (IG: @qpqstudio) 

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Photo by Nelson Seralbo (IG: @ nels._ )

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46 

Welcome to Live Skyler Jean! 

Can you tell us a bit about yourself 

and where you’re based. 

In my free time I love to play video 

games and work on new cosplay 

ideas. I also volunteer at a Humane 

Society where I help cats 

get adopted. I love volunteering 

for non profit organizations and 

doing things to help improve the 

community. 

Growing up I was very much of 

a tom boy, loving superheros 

and comic books. I also grew up 

around mostly boys; one of which 

was my brother who is 5 years 

older then me. He introduced to 

me video games at a very young 

age and never let me win or went 

easy on me. This made me try 

even harder to become better 

then him.I was born and raised in 

California (in San Diego County). 

I am now working towards a degree 

in hospitality and management. 

How did you get into cosplay and 

when was that? 

Most girl’s fairy tales are about 

a princess finding her prince, yet 

mine where about superheros 

and characters in games coming 

to life. Later on I discovered cosplaying 

and I had always wanted 

to try it. A little over a year 

ago I had finally created my first 

cosplay. 

Do you visit cons and what’s been 

your favorite so far? 

I love to visit as many conventions 

as I can. My favorite so far 

has been Nerdcon 2016. It was 

a smaller convention but I loved 

how nice and interactive everyone 

was. 

Speaking of favourites - what’s 

been your favourite cosplay? 

Based of off the character I would 

have to say Samus, but if we are 

going off of comfort it would be 

Supergirl. Plus the cape was fun 

to take photos with. 

Who inspires you? 

Honestly meeting genuine people 

in the cosplay community and 

seeing how much they love what 

they do really inspires me. Even 

meeting children that are so excited 

to see a character makes 

me want to go to even more conventions 

and make new outfits. 

What cosplay’s are you working 

on next? 

That is top secret information. ;) 

I am currently working on several 

different cosplays. 

Do you have some tips for new 

cosplayers attending their first 

con? 

I would say definitely go with 

someone who you are comfortable 

with (like a friend or family 

member). Also the night before 

think up some poses and practice 

them in front of a mirror so you 

see what you would like in photos. 

It doesn’t matter how many 

photos are taken of you or if any 

are taken of you. Just remember 

to have fun and make friends with 

like minded people. 

Ok, 5 quick questions for fun: 

1 - Who would you love to sit and 

have dinner with - past or present? 

My best friend because she 

will never judge me for what I eat. 

2 - Your heading off into space for 

a year long journey - what book, 

movie and music do you take? 

For a book I would say Harry Potter 

because I have never had the 

time to read it. The movie would 

be ether Pirates of the Caribbean 

or Grease. The music would defiantly 

be any of Michael Jackson’s 

albums. 

3 - What sci fi character would 

you love to be? If it had to be a girl 

then Princess Leia, but if I could I 

would be Han Solo. I most relate 

to him.

Brian Calilung | www.instagram.com/briancalilung 

4 - What super power would you 

wish for if you could have just 

one? Shape shifting would be the 

best. 

5 - You’re going on holiday - what 

destination would you choose if 

money were no object? I have always 

wanted to go to the U.K. 

Finally where can our readers go 

to find out more about you? 

I have an Instagram which is: 

Skylerjeancosplay 

I will soon be making a facebook 

page for my cosplay. 

ONLINE: 

www.instagram/skylerjeancosplay 

47

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Brian Calilung | www.instagram.com/briancalilung

Brian Calilung | www.instagram.com/briancalilung 

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51

MIKE 

ROLLERSON 

PHOTOGRAPHER 

Harley Quinn (Suicide Squad) by Nicolette Fornasari 

52

Mike Rollerson is a long time favourite 

of ours. If you browse his portfolio, 

like the one on Flickr you’ll see a 

consistancy in his work. The style remains 

true to his vision and the processing 

is just right. Never too much 

or under done. His photography and 

particularly for us, his cosplay photography 

shows a real dedication to 

the artform. We do our best to catch 

up with Mike a couple of times a 

year and find out what’s happening 

in his world all the way over in San 

Diego... 

Mike, what have you been doing recently 

and what’s next for you? 

Over the past 6 months I’ve had the 

opportunity to work on a lot of really 

fun projects and can’t wait to share 

some of the upcoming content. I’m 

a big horror fan, so September and 

October were filled with shooting 

haunted houses during the week, 

some horror cosplay on the weekends 

and getting into a bit of video 

work. Shooting video has been a really 

interesting change, but a lot of 

fun. I won’t be giving up photography 

for it, but with most DSLR’s able to 

shoot some very high quality video, 

it’s a lot of fun to add on to any project! 

Most recently I’ve had the opportunity 

to work with a steampunk-themed 

circus, covering their 2017 production 

for the past few months and 

I’ve been having a blast with it! The 

event mixes some of my favorite 

things (event photography, cosplay 

and special effects) into a really fun 

show. 

camera and lighting systems and 

these should give a great opportunity 

to put them to use! 

Also how’s the Polaroid project 

going? 

Besides the digital work, I’ve been 

pushing forward with shooting instant 

films (Instax Mini and Instax 

Wide) on a regular basis. I tend to 

take a couple instant cameras along 

with me to shoots and events as 

they provide such a unique look from 

the digital files; I’ve built up a small 

collection of cameras (and large 

collection of film!) this year and still 

use them all multiple times per week. 

Having a one-of-a-kind shot is very 

neat and I’m hoping to put these together 

as part of a larger project later 

this year. Knowing the limitations 

and unique benefits of each camera 

(such as being able to sync with studio 

lights) can give some really great 

results! 

Right now is the start of the “Convention 

Season” with lots of local 

Comic, Video game and Anime 

events coming up over the next 

few months. I recently upgraded my 

ONLINE: 

www.facebook.com/MikeRollersonPhotography 

www.mikerollerson.com 

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Catwoman by Sarah B 

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Hotline Miami by Kawaii Queenyan

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58 

Loki by Loki Hates You

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Mad Moxxi by Enasni Volz

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Mariachi Samurai by Luis Projects

63

Vanellope Von Schweetz by Dumbfounded Duo 

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Grab your Pop Club from your local store & receive your 12 th Pop! FREE! 

67

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A while back Live Magazine spoke 

to Hiryuu, an Australian photographer 

with a nice cosplay portfolio. 

We asked Hiryuu what’s been happening 

and what’s next... 

What was your favourite shoot from 

last year? 

One of my favourite cosplay shoots 

for 2016 was shooting in Malaysia at 

a cosplay studio called Cupcat Studio. 

The studio had multiple amazing 

theme rooms to fit different types 

of cosplays. I was lucky enough to 

use it and shoot alongside cosplayer 

‘Moko’: 

www.facebook.com/moko63cos 

and photographer ‘Annahem Photography’: 

www.facebook.com/annahem.photography 

Some photos from me that I took at 

the studio are here: 

facebook.com/pg/hiryuucos/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1196717030414016 

and 

facebook.com/pg/hiryuucos/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1195341290551590 

What are you looking forward to in 

2017? 

The most thing that I will be looking 

forward to in 2017 is going over to 

Singapore and attend Anime Festival 

Asia 2017. 

Check out Hiryuu’s work on Instagram: 

www.instagram.com/hiryuux/ 

and also on World Cosplay site here: 

worldcosplay.net/member/hiryuucos 

ONLINE: 

www.instagram.com/hiryuux 

worldcosplay.net/member/hiryuucos 

69

At every con you can see them doing 

the dance. 

Cosplayers and photographers mixing, 

sometimes awkwardly and sometimes 

not. The newbies are the most hesitant 

at the dance. They can be nervous at 

first. Will there be rejection? Is he (or 

she) a creepy photographer or, on the 

other side of the fence, a cosplayer 

who simply wants to be the centre 

of attention, look at me and take my 

picture damn it! I worked hard on this 

costume! 

Now before you head out to the shed 

and find your pitch forks and light up 

those torches to come hunting for me 

and call me a heretic or something 

similar, let me explain. First up not 

everyone is like that - of course... 

The great majority of cosplayers and 

photographers I’ve met are artists who 

love what they do. They mix well and, 

as I said, the “dance” together just fine. 

The cosplayer works hard on their costume 

and when they turn up for XYZ 

Con, they love to meet up with photographers 

and, other cosplayers and 

have a great time. Yes, they do want to 

show off their costume. Who wouldn’t. 

After spending months, creating their 

costume, they want it to be appreciated 

by their peers and by fans. 

Photographers too should be respected 

for their hard work. They buy expensive 

equipment and spend a lifetime 

learning the craft of photography. Believe 

me it’s not a thing you do a couple 

of Youtube videos and you’re now 

an expert. It takes time to learn about 

light, posing, composition and relationships 

and that’s all before you download 

a single frame onto your computer 

for post processing. 

So we have a perfect mix in many 

ways. Those who love to be photographed 

in costumes that let the photographer 

either capture a nice portrait 

of a cosplayer who stops and poses 

or, if both are wanting a more involved, 

70 

COSPLAY 

a more creative photograph, they can 

spend time working together on a photo 

that tells the story of the character. 

But back to the newer cosplayers and 

photographers. Sure it’s a journey, you 

learn your craft, learn to use materials 

to create, learn to use your camera to 

create, your computer or tablet to process. 

The cosplayers and photographers 

as they grow make decisions 

about themselves. Where am I going 

with this? You create a social media 

profile and pages or sites to share 

your art. You develop your brand in the 

same way celebrities create and work 

on their brand. Think of Justin Bieber 

or Beyonce or Rhianna or, Miley Cyrus, 

all very different people with different 

personality types and I bet as you read 

each name you probably had a mental 

picture of them that represented who 

they are. 

Cosplayers and cosplay photographers 

are kind of the same. Think of 

the best cosplayers on the planet, who 

do you think of? Do you think of Yaya 

Han or Jessica Nigri or perhaps Spiral 

Cats? It doesn’t matter, they all have 

their own brand. And that brings me to 

the point of this article. Once you have 

your brand worked out, what next? 

Is cosplay or cosplay photography a 

career choice, a hobby, an artistic passion? 

We decided to ask a few cosplayers 

and photographers what they think... 

“ 

Interview & Story by: 

Rob Jenkins 

Charlotte Nicholson 

”

FOR CASH 

Tell us about yourself... 

I’m a semi-professional cosplayer and 

host. 

How often are you cosplaying? 

Depending on the time of year I am 

usually shooting cosplay at least once 

a month. Sometimes I have multiple 

shoots in a month and sometimes I 

go a month or two without shooting. I 

usually attend around four conventions 

a year but now that I’m the Championships 

of Cosplay host I will be attending 

upwards of seven a year. 

I think cosplay as a career is comparable 

to a lot of artistic endeavours 

and even modelling: if the opportunities 

are there and you can be selected 

for them, then there is a possibility 

to make an income from it. Similar to 

art and modelling it relies on a combination 

of what people like, what is 

currently popular and your abilities and 

personality. All those factors make it 

very difficult to have a steady income 

stream from cosplay and it’s why the 

most successful cosplayers are attending 

conventions multiple times 

a month and working on a number of 

different projects almost constantly. I 

believe there is the possibility of a part 

time income if you’re good at what you 

do and have an interested following, 

but it’s not easy and requires plenty of 

dedication. 

www.facebook.com/JusZcosplay 

Do you think there is a career opportunity 

in cosplay? 

71

(Our favourite master of horror - photographer) 

Hey Mike tell us how you got into cosplay 

photography. 

Cosplay Photography has always interested 

me since it’s so different from 

the “traditional” genre’s out there. I was 

never interested in landscapes, weddings 

or headshots since there were 

generally rules on how shots needed 

to look and which shots you needed to 

get for clients. With Cosplay there was 

a lot more freedom and art involved. 

You have really interesting costumes, 

makeup and get to go all-out on photoshoots. 

Whether it’s in a grungy alleyway, 

shot at night with bright neon 

lights and fog machines or using effects 

to re-create your own “silent hill”, 

it’s always been a lot more enjoyable 

for me. 

clients who I regularly work with (typically 

shooting promotional photos for 

events and advertisements) but those 

are generally businesses rather than 

individuals. 

I think with how common photography 

has become over the last few years, 

it would be very hard to make a living 

off cosplay photography alone.. but it 

would make a great addition for photographers 

willing to focus on other, 

more traditiona areas (portraits, 

events, weddings and headshots). 

www.facebook.com/MikeRollersonPhotography 

Can you make money from cosplay 

photography? 

There are definitely ways to make 

money with cosplay photography 

(whether it’s doing paid photoshoots, 

selling prints or through outlets such as 

Patreon). I prefer to look at it as more 

of a hobby and focus on event photography 

as my main source of paid 

photography. 

Most cosplayers are in it for a hobby 

and it gives great opportunities to both 

them and the photographers to collaborate 

and create some great content. 

I do have some cosplay-themed 

72


I’m Tiffany Dean Cosplay and am a 

cosplayer :). I’ve not been doing it regularly 

for long (maybe 2-3 years). I have 

started dabbling a tiny bit in editing 

photos though too.. 

How often are you cosplaying? 

I cosplay pretty frequently (outside of 

full time work lol). I don’t shoot as often 

as I like but it’s normally due to the fact 

I’m crafting almost every day and photographer 

availability is super limited 

here in little ole Adelaide! 


in cosplay? 

www.facebook.com/TiffanyDeanCosplay 

I think there is but not readily in Australia 

yet. I think it’s very limited and 

currently not a realistic career goal as 

it’s so difficult. Facebook likes at the 

moment still seem to be what people 

judge work by before quality, so unfortunately 

if your name isn’t ‘out there’ 

it can be extremely difficult to find 

ways to start earning money through it. 

That’s not to say it’s impossible though! 

Things such as Patreon are becoming 

more popular, and for some people it 

can be a great income bringer... I think 

with cosplay it’s more viable as a career 

if you have more to offer e.g. You 

write books (e.g. Tutorial ones), or you 

have a strong YouTube following etc. 

Overseas (especially America) it 

seems more people are able to begin 

making careers through cosplay, so 

hopefully it continues gaining popularity 

so people can turn their passion into 

a career they love... 

73


My name is Adem and I do photography, 

videography and cosplay. My first 

cosplay was at AVCon 2007 as Black 

Haired Demyx. My business Partner 

Carl and I started JATSTV in March 

2014. Originally it was meant to be a 

tech and gaming news channel and 

figured we would debut at Oz Comic 

Con Adelaide, the video we took instead 

turned into a Cosplay Music Video. 

We got a very positive reaction to 

our video and have since done a couple 

a year. 

How often are you shooting cosplay? 

Ideally I try and aim to cosplay at least 

one costume and record a Cosplay 

Music Video per convention. Photography 

is subject to availability but would 

like to aim to have at least a shoot per 

month. 


in cosplay... to make it either a part 

time or full time income? 

For a cosplayer, this is an interesting 

question and something that seems 

possible recently, thanks to a rise of 

developer and publisher commission 

requests. I personally believe, much 

like someone who is trying to become 

big as a videogame streamer, needs 

to put a lot of work into self-promotion. 

Staying active in the community and always 

uploading new content regularly, 

adapting to hype and trends is a great 

way to get noticed. With that being 

said, could you make full or part time 

income? I don’t personally believe so 

without assistance by a 3rd party service, 

such as Patron. 

For a photographer or videographer, 

at conventions specifically, we volunteer 

our time to take photos and video 

footage and believe it’s a great place 

to market your services. Outside of 

conventions, you can offer more personalised 

experiences, such as on 

site and studio shoots. With that being 

said, could you make full or part time 

income? I believe you could but you 

may have a difficult time since, especially 

here in Adelaide, we have wonderful 

talented people who offer these 

services for free. 

www.facebook.com/JATSTV 

74


My name is Houng from HoungT Costography, 

I am a cosplay photographer 

originally based in Adelaide, now living 

in Melbourne. I started doing cosplay 

photography when I attended my first 

convention in Adelaide (AVCON) in 

2012 and have enjoyed every moment 

of it as it is not only a way of practicing 

our craft, but a good way to meet new 

people. 

How often are you cosplaying / shooting 

cosplay? 

I typically attend all of the local conventions 

in Adelaide including Oz Comic-con, 

AVCON and Supanova, and 

recently branched out interstate to 

Melbourne and Sydney cons such as 

PAX and SMASH. Now that I’m living 

in Melbourne, I’m sure I’ll be attending 

most and some in Adelaide (if time permits). 

So you could say, I do shoot a lot 

of cosplay at conventions, as well as a 

handful of on location cosplay shoots 

as well, outside of conventions. 

On the flip side, I am also involved in 

other genres of photography including 

traditional portrait and event/weddings. 

Cosplay photography has not only 

helped me expand my portfolio but also 

provided me experience in shooting a 

different genre of photography and 

doesn’t necessarily follow the traditional 

stylings/rules as traditional photography. 

This is something I think all 

photographers should experience, as 

a way to inspire but also expand their 

creativity as artists. (And of course to 

have fun) 




In terms of cosplay or cosplay photography, 

I believe it is difficult to predict 

whether or not this career opportunity 

is a viable option for income. Although 

we have seen many cosplayers rise 

and become famous celebrities in the 

pop-culture world, I believe it is becoming 

increasingly difficult to reach that 

level of fame with the ever increasing 

restrictions to social media marketing 

and promotional methods. 

However, so long as you are committed, 

target the right audience and 

have a good solid foundation and understanding 

of your career/business, I 

believe anything is possible. 

www.facebook.com/houngtcostography 

75


My name is Chris and I am the photographer 

behind SFX Images, based 

in SA. I’ve been involved in cosplay 

photography since mid 2015. 

How often are you shooting cosplay? 

I attend all the main conventions in 

Adelaide. I’m yet to travel interstate to 

conventions but that is definitely one 

of my goals. I do private shoots with 

cosplayers on average about 2 to 3 

shoots per month. 




Speaking from a photographers perspective 

I think it’s difficult, but not 

impossible. I’ve had plenty of people, 

cosplayers included, tell me I should 

charge, and that is my goal at some 

point. So I certainly think the opportunity 

to make a small part-time income 

is there, but I don’t imagine it 

being something that could support 

a family, at least not in SA. Other areas 

in photography would need to be 

the main source of income, or other 

work. There are many views out there 

about whether cosplay photographers 

should charge for their services or not. 

These views are different among the 

photographers as well as among cosplayers. 

Another roadblock I see to 

making cosplay photography a realistic 

income is the amount of work that 

can go into producing high quality images. 

My particular style often involves 

big edits and composites, some of 

which can easily reach 10 hours of 

editing on a single image, even longer 

in some cases. If you worked that out 

to make a wage, for a self employed 

person that works out to quite a high 

cost for just one photo. That’s just the 

editing. Planning, finding locations, cost 

of maintaining gear and the shoot itself 

all need to be considered. My hope is 

to be able to find a balance between 

cosplay photography and other types 

of photography in regards to making 

an income. I’m passionate about photography, 

and i’m passionate about 

supporting the cosplay community. 

I have a real fear that if I started to 

charge for cosplay photography, that 

people would stop asking for shoots. 

There are so many excellent photographers 

that don’t charge, it’s not a difficult 

leap to wonder, ‘why would you 

pay’. This makes taking the steps to 

making it a career extremely difficult. 

www.facebook.com/SFXImages 

76

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77

One thing I hear a lot is something 

like “My photos just don’t look like 

the ones I love online!” 

But first let’s back up a bit to what 

many people do. They get a camera, 

a lens or two and they go out and 

take some photos. Not all of us are 

gifted artists. Sure, some people can 

pick up a camera and within a few 

weeks or months they are making 

photos that make you want to sell 

your gear and take up something 

like sky diving without a parachute. 

But that’s a rare person, the majority 

of us tend to go through stages of 

learning to create photos we’re happy 

with. But there are a few things 

that can help on your journey, some 

tips to get you going and stop the 

frustration. 

These are from my personal experience 

that make up my 15 year journey 

of learning and running a large 

photo group in South Australia. 

Lens choice. 

The one thing that I’ve found changes 

the look of my photos more then 

just about anything is getting a good 

quality lens that give you great looking 

bokeh. Bokeh?? Ok that’s is the 

out of focus (the blur) area of the image. 

Bokeh is pronounced differently 

depending on who you ask. Jump 

online and do a search for Bokeh 

and you listen to the different ways 

people say it. But what is it... take a 

look at the first two images. 

The first photo of Melody holding 

a scarf in front of her face has a 

very soft background - It has nice 

“bokeh”... it’s soft and the focus is 

on her eyes. The lens I used was (if 

my memory serves me correctly) the 

Fuji 56mm F1.2 and I shot this at an 

aperture of just 1.2 This lens is what 

is called a fast lens - it lets in a lot of 

light, and has a thin depth of field so 

if you don’t get the focus just right - 

you can miss the focus point and get 

a soft or out of focus image. 

The second photo is a black and 

white, again of Melody and I really 

didn’t do a good job. It has her sitting 

on a bench but because I probably 

used F5.6 or F8 we see much 

more of the background in focus. 

That in turn doesn’t really isolate her 

from the background and so, in my 

opinion, the photo doesn’t work. Too 

many things are fighting for my attention. 

So tip one - get a good lens that 

has some length and allows you 

to get good bokeh. This is a much 

deeper, and more complex subject 

then I can fit in a simple tip but if 

you want a great little video example 

check this one by Gavin Hoey... 

https://youtu.be/4zBfBDNyGpA 

For most photographers, a 50mm 

lens with an aperture of 1.4 or 1.8 is 

a good start to getting nice bokeh. 

The good old 50mm lens is usually 

quite affordable and is a must for 

those starting out. 

Photo One 

78

Photo Two 

79

In summary - have a fast lens like 

a 50mm 1.8 - but even better is an 

85mm on a full frame camera with a 

2.8 aperture. 

- Step back so that you are a bit 

of a distance then frame your subject 

with a wide aperture - like F2.8 

or F4... that way you compress the 

background like the first picture. 

Post Processing. 

One thing I hear a lot in our photography 

group is that people want 

to learn Photoshop or Lightroom or 

something similar because they’ve 

got this amazing new camera but 

they don’t know (yet) how to use the 

software. But... take a photo with 

your smartphone and upload it to Instagram 

with a funky filter and it can 

look pretty cool, pretty simply. Filters 

can add a look to a photo, but they 

are limited. If you use Lightroom you 

have much more control and can 

create your own looks. 

In the series featuring Mats you’ll 

see a flat looking original. Plus a 

few versions using only Lightroom 

to play with some looks and finally 

one with 2 Photoshop actions plus 

some grain and light added. Now you 

might not like them - that’s fine. They 

are there to show some examples 

of how you can experiment with different 

post processing software to 

get different looks. While I was experimenting 

I took into consideration 

the retro look of Mat’s clothing and 

the era we were working on creating 

- a 60s look. So I “crushed” some of 

the blacks in some examples to get 

more of a washed out look. Again... 

personal preference. 

Styling. 

You’ve got your camera, you’ve got a 

friend to model, you’ve got a fab lens 

but have you thought through your 

photo? What are you trying to do or 

say? Are you wanting to create a vintage 

look? Maybe it’s a bit of glamour 

or if it’s cosplay, maybe you’re 

trying to create a look that matches 

the character. So styling and add 

to that, location are so important. 

If you’re doing pretty portraits of a 

friend then maybe she needs some 

make up and hair styling. If you’re doing 

a Batman themed cosplay shoot 

- maybe you want a Gotham city feel 

- so a dark and dingy alley way would 

suit? Do your research and plan your 

shoot and you’ll get photos that give 

you a good base to work with . Then 

you can create some looks using 

Lightroom or Photoshop. 

The model. 

You’re model or cosplayer needs to 

come to the party and pose appropriately 

for the look you want. Batman 

might not sit with his (her) legs 

crossed looking nice and feminine. 

He’s traditionally portrayed as strong 

and powerful. If you’re doing a pinup 

look, take a look at some of the old 

style pinup art and copy the poses. 

Your photo comes together in stages. 

It’s rare you whip out your iPhone 

and take a snap and it’s a portrait 

for the cover of Cosplay Live. Plan 

out each stage, work it through and 

don’t forget to get help and mentoring 

if you really want to grow. Photo 

groups and clubs are a great way to 

learn from people who’ve been in 

the same place you are now. 

Most of all - have fun. It’s a beautiful 

journey, sure, frustrating at times, but 

rewarding when you nail that photo! 

Below - different Lightroom 

adjustments to give retro or black 

and white styled image. 

80

Original Photo 

ONLINE: 

www.facebook.com/robjenkinsphotography 

www.robjenkinsphoto.com 

81

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