COMPOSITION REFERENCE GUIDE

COSPLAY ZINE PROJECT

This guide is a visual reference for the various compositions I intend to shoot. Due to my lack of experience, directing and communication are going to be the biggest challenges for me going into these photoshoots. I’ll do my best with my prep work, but it’s still going to be a learning process. My hope is that by showing you ahead of time how I intend to frame the various shots (full length, mid-length, headshot, etc), it’ll make that process a little smoother. So when I say, “Let’s try a mid-length shot,” you will already have a rough idea of what will be in the shot and what will be out of frame.

COMMUNICATION. I like using the metal pillars in the convention hall to create a clean background, but I need to frame the shot pretty tight because they aren’t very wide. When Vincent (@vinhikaru) initially posed, his gun hand was quite far away from his body. It was a great pose, but if I stepped back and went wider to include the gun in the shot, I would also show the edges of the pillar as well as everything behind it. So I asked if I could take one more shot, except this time, one with the gun brought closer to his head. This small direction made all the difference.

COMPOSITIONS. These are the main types of compositions I’ll be shooting for. By varying the shots in this way, it creates an opportunity to showcase both the cosplayer’s costume and their character’s personality. (Not pictured: tight headshot, detail shots, conceptual shot)

For the full length shots everything will be in the frame, from head to toe, props included. No restrictions, but keep in mind when using props, the further your prop extends away from you, the wider the shot will have to be and the smaller you will appear in the frame and with more negative space around you.

The mid-length shot will be composed from the head down to usually around mid torso or just below. This shot will showcase both your expression and gesture. When posing, keep in mind that whatever gesture you do with your arms, hands, and prop, anything that extends a little past your shoulders will be out of frame (turning your body into a 3/4 quarters stance can alleviate this).

The detail shots will focus on various parts and details of your costume, hair, and prop. These compositions tend to be a little more abstract, showing only bits and pieces of your cosplay within the frame.

The headshot will showcase your facial expression, makeup, and hair. These shots will be composed from the head down to the upper mid-chest. Any kind of gesture with the hands will only be seen if brought close to the face or upper chest. This set will give the cosplayer an opportunity to show their character’s personality/attitude through their facial expression and gesture. Is your character intimidating or carefree and aloof, intense or stoic, tragic or happy? The compositions may appear to be limiting in terms of gesture because of how tight the framing is, but by doing something as simple as slightest tilting of the head can convey so much alone; tilt it upwards and curl your lips and you have a cocky attitude, tilt it downwards and knit your brows and you have an intimidating glare.

The photos below by Richard Avedon are examples of what I had in mind for those tighter headshots.

found in ZINE PROJECT