My WORST Cosplay Photography Experience | Cosplay Storytime

Today we're spilling tea and garnishing with salt. ✨ Please respect photographers' work, they put in a lot of time and effort to provide you with nice photos. 😭

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[clairegolde]

Definitely have heard similar stories about people editing photos taken and edited by a photographer. I feel like if she was planning on putting a filter on it, she should have communicated that during or after the photoshoot, that way you wouldn't have had to waste your time. And in her caption she could clearly say, photo by you, edited by her. Clear communication is such a key thing to make sure no one's time is wasted and everyone's work is properly represented.

[ElDumarey]

Hiii, please never stop talking about things like this! As a photographer myself I understand how much work goes into editing. When sending the photo's out I always include a terms of use, and if people don't respect the boundaries I have set (editing over my editing or posting without credit, ...) I ask them to take it down. I think we should normalize crediting photographers much more, they put so much time and efoort into getting the cospmayer nice photo's!

[suzusparkles]

The problem with working with other photographers as a cosplayer is that your vision of what you want the photos to look like and what photographer wants it to look like can be so different. Some people also want their appearance to be edited because they feel self conscious about certain features but they feel uncomfortable to ask for it.

I had many experiences where I absolutely hated the result of the shoot and how I looked and it’s such a waste of time for both me and the photographer. So now I only shoot with photographers that will give me raws and I edit them afterwards myself. But it’s always discussed before the shoot.

[mocha]

It's good to see this video because I hadn't even considered it could be bad etiquette to put filters over photos taken and edited by others. I've never been on either side with this kind of thing but it makes sense that it would feel bad to have one's work edited and I would be horrified if I ever accidentally did that kind of thing to someone!

[IsNotAYeagerist]

I get so excited everytime you post a new storytime, your cosplay storytimes got me through my (chaotic) early cosplay years.

[saralada]

As someone who loves to cosplay, I agree with this. If I don't like the work I don't post it or tell them no photos. She probably did not know better, I would tell her your wants before taking photos. Having some thoughts on letting random photographers take my photos. I ended up wearing a bunny suit to a con for the first time & I got crowded at the entrance by a lot of photographers. They ask to see my tail so I turn very slightly so my butt is not in the photo and there was one photographer who moved all the way to the side to get more than I anticipated. I ended up wearing my bag to cover up the back whenever someone asked for photos. I would prefer a female photographer I pay honestly, especially for more showy cosplays I had a good experience with a female photographer in Japan. She was very respectful and gained my trust. My interesting experience as a cosplay lover.

[_Italianna]

I am so sorry this happened to you. I think a lot of people in the community really don’t understand how much work goes into photography, and it really shows! I really hope you can have some really encouraging experiences soon!

[victornikiforov]

i had a story like this where i spent so many hours editing these photos for someone because they paid extra for it i even went beyond and fixed the sky cause it was raining and i made it look like it was sunnyand a bunch of other things they asked me to do. only to have them use the raw photos and edit those really badly and didnt even touch any of the edited ones that i spent hours on

[reizak]

I think it's more just sad when people feel they can't post photos of themselves without a beauty filter. Natural faces are beautiful, people!

[drsteggy]

This is how you get photographers to stop taking free photos :(

I dink around with photos but if I’m paying someone or somebody rolls up with an actual camera- they are the expert and I would not dream of changing up an image I got as a result. I’m sorry this happened to you.

[ohnocrow]

I have high respect for cosplay photographers and have found out in a very awkward manner how difficult it is.

My friend is a cosplayer and photographer. One of our friends (and also the only other capable photographer) wasn’t feeling so good so had to go sit down. So he asked me to take photos of him. I tried really hard man but it just did not… He’s so talented but I somehow managed to make his hunting dogs cosplay look like the vampire from hotel Transylvania. I laugh every time I look at it 😭

[primabunny]

I've been on the other side of this, but this video made me reach out and apologise to the photographer who did an amazing shoot with me at a comic con once. When the photos were ready and came back, I was mortified with my body image, and the lighting at times I felt were super unflattering on my face shape. I did not want the incredible photos to go to waste, so I made my own edits, posted them but did credit the photographer. I did not know the unwritten rules about this kind of thing, but hoped that it would be seen positively. Looking back at it now I feel so mortified if the photographer felt their work was not up to my standards, because that's not the case at all, everyone i've worked with has been so amazing. It's really simply because I have so many insecurities that I am mortified to see sometimes when someone else takes a photo of me.

I hope you understand that the girl you took photos for did not mean anything malicious when she edited the photos, I know how much it sucks to be insecure and use filters and such. I do think however she shouldn't have pressured you regarding a time limit, especially if it's for free. I think sometimes it's a nice lesson to learn, and had I known sooner how photographers feel about this kind of thing, I wish I could've done something about it at the time.

[wow__mel]

Yayyyy I made it early this time! It’s really unfortunate how people treat photographers. My best friend is a photographer so I hear all kinds of stories of entitlement and rudeness. It’s such a shame! I’m sure the photos you took were beautiful the way you edited them 🥲

[chronicallyonlineena]

i can’t imagine the pure amount of pain you gotta get hit with after you spend so long editing only for someone to completely disregard it!
the punch in the gut was the cosplayer not even crediting you that felt so low😭specially cause you did it for free, if someone helped me take photos at no cost i’d thank them a million times over haha

[lorelaimorace-kkxz]

YAAAEEES photos (idk what to say but this is gonna be good)

[Guidrysphotography]

Making clients sign contracts is crucial, and in those contracts make sure you specify that photos cannot be edited or tampered with in any way. Regardless of if the shoot is free or not it’s still your work, have them sign a release form. Photography is art. An artist wouldn’t paint a picture for free to give to someone else just for them to add to the painting or paint over it. I completely agree with you! Don’t listen to the negative comments! - (Me, a portrait / cosplay photographer)

[MC]

I do feel you on this, even though i do also feel i had worse experiences as well.
I always done free photoshoots, its a hobby of mine so i dont ask for money. I bring my camera to conventions because honestly i just want to mix both of my hobbies.
But what really has made me want to stop is how deeply unthankful people are. As a cosplayer myself id be so happy to get a free photoshoot, when i know most photographers are quite booked out and costy (location, etc). I take care to edit pictures, removing tattooes, fixing cosplay errors (like makeup smears and missing pieces - upon discussion with the cosplayer) and it takes houuuurs.

Im bothered when they ask for the pics within like 24-48h and claim if they post anything later on instagram its no longer "relevant". And they wnat like 30 pictures or what not. I think i do like 10 for each person as a general rule, sometimes 15-20. And i had plenty of people complain that is not enough and they need to keep posting pictures all year round, so they need more. So far people have credited me but i can clearly see that most people dont care and the pic of the cosplayer has like 50k and the picture on my instagram has like 3likes. Which is fine because im not big on social media and all, it just does sting a bit given how much work i put in too.

It bothers me less when they throw in a filter on top, if they disclaim that.
However one girl was really taking it too far. She would constantly complain about the work i sent to her, saying it needs to be edited more to make her "prettier" and skinnier. It was beyond any reason and i told her i wont go any further. So she went on and put an extreme filter on that made her unrecognizable and also washed out all the colour. I moved on from that though because it was clear she had insecurities and i decided to instead always clarify that i do minimal beauty changes because i think people are beautiful despite their crooked noses and freckles and what not. Only when they clearly want one specific thing removed (like tattooes) will i do that but i need to know beforehand.

[klsmuddluvr]

Thanks for sharing this story! Always love the cosplay storytimes but also this super important to talk about so everyone can learn and be better. I have my second photoshoot at the end of this month and am so worried about offending someone or not having the proper etiquette on things like this.

[jewzor]

You should use an Escrow so that the cosplayer cannot run off with your photos and further edit / add filters to them. As an Artist, when I make paintings for people we agree on a certain cost (call it a down payment) that has to be met before I make a single stroke on a canvas. If the patron flees in the middle then I still get the money for making an attempt! (I am very much a door mat and people have taken advantage of me in the past, but that doesn't happen anymore.... well not as much!)
Great video and story! Hope you keep this channel going!!! 🙂

[SeerOfTime]

I'm so sorry this has happened so many times, Anya! Thank you for shedding some light on it. Wishing you all the best. <3