Chandra by dizzyispixelated

Tifa Lockhart – FFVII by Miss-Alice-Monster

Harori of Dragon Nest by kurorochan

Red Wings by y-o-s-s-i

Simone Daldosso Zack Fair 8 by SimoneDaldosso

DRAMAtical Murder, Virus + Trip by fritzfusion

Lightning Returns: Equilibrium by JoviClaire

Kid Icarus by EminenceRain

Shiki – Seishirou and Chizuru Kirishiki by Melali

Sengoku Taisen – Takeda Shingen’s woman by alberti

Loki 03 by drkitsune

Poker Face by LMKusanagi

Super Sailor Neptune by MelfinaCosplay

Alone|Hades – Saint Seiya by Pugoffka-sama

Mutual Heaven by Yume-ka

Bleach – Ichigo Kurosaki by KuroSeirei

PantyStocking by Wan-Mei

Zone-00: Senryou by AmethystPrince

Do not stand in my way by PhantasmagoriaSaturn

Story of Evil by Andy-K

Macross Frontier by josephlowphotography

Genjo Sanzo by Shazzsteel

Cosplay – CodeGeass C.C. by Korixxkairi

chained by desire by DaisukeDano

Trinity Blood – Esther Blanchett by Melali

Tomb raider lara croft by chongbit

Magi – The Labyrinth of Magic by Arulithia

Alice and Queen by Nattokun

super mario female by chongbit

Cersei Lannister by BelleDameSansMerci

Actually, during the last months, we had quite a hectic period that translated into publishing a new issue of the re-launched Otaku MAG and, most recently, the organizing of the 7th edition of one of our local conventions, Otaku Festival. We are really happy because we had as guests REIKA from Japan – we are glad that our country was the first European country she ever visited, and we hope to see her again here – along with Julia Laurant from Singapore/Denmark, and Nikita and Sikay from France. And we would like to thank them for being such wonderful guests.

Now that the waters on our seas are still, we can finally continue our work on issue #06 of Cosplay GEN. We are more enthusiastic than ever and be sure that we will make up for the long break and we will bring you awesome content and surprises. More details to come soon!

Thanks a million to all our readers, contributors and partners for supporting and keeping this independent magazine alive.

A lot of fans came dressed up, so we had the chance to say hello to various characters, from Black Cat to Luigi. East European Comic Con also hosted a cosplay contest, with an international jury. While taking a sneak peek in the backstage, we talked a bit to Livia Viziteu, a cosplayer herself, who was in charge with organizing the cosplay cosplay contest and shared with us some info and opinions.

Cosplay @ East European Comic Con

CG: Who was in the jury and which were the selection criteria?

Livia: We had a jury made of five members and we tried to bring cosplayers experienced in different fields. Paine Cosplay, a very skilled cosplayer, participated in international competitions (EuroCosplay, ECG) and she was also part of the jury last year in ECG. Manuel D’Andrea and Okkido Cosplay participated last year in EuroCosplay and they had among the best costumes there; and EnjiNight Cosplay is very well-known internationally. Ken Huegel (Volguus), has been making props for more than 20 years, with extensive knowledge in the field. Another criterion was to have them all friendly and sociable, to be able to interact with the public and people attending the convention – on stage and around the convention, but also to be able to discuss with the contestants and give them feedback on their costumes.

CG: You are a cosplayer yourself, but now you were in charge with organizing the cosplay contest. What is your opinion regarding the backstage work?

Livia: It’s not the first time organizing a cosplay competition, but this time the event was bigger, hence… more things to take care of and more stress. I think it is important as a cosplayer to see what the other side goes through, the struggles, the problems, what is needed; to understand the whole process. Sometimes cosplayers are really demanding at competitions, without understanding the actual effort put into it. On the other side, as an organizer, it is important to know the point of view of the cosplayers on the competition and all the things they might need in the process. Having knowledge of both sides helps a lot!

Cosplay @ East European Comic Con

CG: What were the criteria for judging, and what were the main elements to emphasize?

Livia: First of all, we had the craftsmanship and performance categories. For craftsmanship, the emphasis was more on the costume (75%), and less on the performance (25%). The costumes should have been made by the cosplayers and the jury took into consideration the amount of work, the techniques, how well was the costume made and how much the final result resembled the reference. For the performance category, the costumes could have been purchased – that did not happen, though – but the performance on stage was the most important (60%) – how they moved on stage, how much they were in-character, if they used any props.

Winners of the cosplay contest: Craftsmanship

I – Marilena Ghita – Bellatrix Lestrange – Harry Potter

II – Diana Streche – Barris Offee – Star Wars: Clone Wars

III – Constantinescu Mircea – Kenpachi Zaraki – Bleach

Best Prop: Gustav Ljungdahl – Dr. Gordon Freeman – Half Life

Performance: Cojocaru Stefan – Dr. Gordon Freeman – Half Life

PHOTO CREDITS: N8e cosplay photography

The Violet Queen by seseostara

Mononoke Hime by Shioji

League of Legends Ahri – cosplay by Korixxkairi

Aion, Wizard 4 by Anita-Lust

SABER by yui930

Evangelion: 3.0 by shiroang

Zone00 – dangerous pair by FiriKururugi

MLP: Celestia and Cadence by Amapolchen

Senbonzakura by Inushio

Yoshi’s Island – Egg Bomb by Another-Rose

macross frontier by abbottw

Servant of Evil / Daughter of Evil 02 by emi-liaricx

Berserker by MiciaGlo

Sailor Jupiter cosplay by Kawaielli

Juliets Bed by mila-tiemy

Little Sister by thecrystalshoe

BIOSHOCK: One big happy family by Benny-Lee

BLAME! PCell by itsL0KI

American dream by karenkasumimatsumoto

Pokemon White – Hilda / Touko by beethy

Hijikata by Wan-Mei

Kaname Madoka ver 3.0 by MissAnsa

Miss Fortune’s dangerous eyes by ely707

Opera: Milian before the Ball by ElenaLeetah

Lilith #5 by Mnguyen8097

Mari Makinami Illustrious by DigitalHikari

Will you give your world to me? by Alexia-Muller

Princess Kaguya by DigitalHikari

: E V E R L A S T I N G : by wildmushrooms

Noah’s Circus: Doll by Vavalika

Merida – Brave in the woods by my-little-shua

HARORI by kurorochan

Vocaloid: Gumi [Camellia] by =theDevil1412

Wheatley and GLaDOS Portal 2 by Tenori-Tiger

Sakizo: Stay Classy by Stealthos-Aurion

Art of Almost by *fotofong

Gumi [Karakuri Burst] by zeleftenant

Maetel by Lady-I-Hellsing

Dante DMC3 Cosplay by Leon C.

X-men Phoenix by Rukiii

Zone-00 by shuichimeryl

Trigun: Wanted! Dead or Alive by twinklee

Saeko- EBK by KannonKosplay

Morrigan cosplay by ThelemaTherion

Guild war 2 by yukigodbless

Secret Police – Hatsune Miku by Pugoffka-sama

FATE ZERO SABER by shuichimeryl

Colorful x Melody by studioK2

Look to the future by Aniki-Fair

Zhao Li Fei by lina-no-uta

Enma Ai 2 by YuuGray

M I S E R Y by Rurupon

Sora [Halloweentown] by Midgard1612

Luminezence – Irisviel von Einzbern by Avrasil

LAGRANGE: Kyouno Madoka by mikuen-drops

Captian Liliana by TophWei

Carefree by gk-reiko

Magi: King and General by zimiel

Ada Wong (Resident Evil) I by AndyWana

xxxHolic: Witch by Eternal-Jesus

FLCL – Ride On Shooting Star by AmenoKitarou

Code Geass by shiroang

Type 0 :Sice by studioK2

Original cosplay Harley Quinn by TaisiaFlyagina

diablo 3 wizard cosplay by SakuraFlamme

Princess Sakura -TRC by Neferet-Cosplay

Yukimura Sanada 18 by Shino-Arika

Desenchantee by Wan-Mei

Dhalsim – Street Fighter by big-pao

Archbishop and Shura III by calssara

Queen Grimhilde by Maxsy66

Sadness by Princess-ValeChan

Cold feet by Su-rine

Sailor Moon Super S by shiroang

Kilik – SCV by big-pao

Dead End by Witchiko

Hellsing Ultimate:Draculina by TraumaCentreGrrl

Fields of Gold by UxiCosplay

ASOIAF – Play the game by Limnauth

I dance with light by o0oFairyo0o

Dark Phoenix by ~Psyfrostcosplay

Trinity Blood Cosplay: J.J. Jocelyn by alberti

Sucker Punch/BABYDOLL/SHOW GIRL01 by ou-oneone

Versailles – Kamijo by Pugoffka-sama

Candy Addicts by louixa

Mirabel – Breathing life by CalipsoCosplay

Mio and the Gazebo by Lumis-Mirage

Crystal Peace by Indie-vampire

Uta no Prince: Tokiya by HAPPYHAHA

Sorceress Ultimecia [Katsucon 2013] by pixiekitty

Granado Espada . Warlock by Elektra86

Strider Hiryu – Watching by effektdmentality

Mell: Sakura Gate 7-3 by mellysa

Saber bride cosplay / fate extra by SelenaAdorian

JX3-COSPLAY by LALAax

Kagamine Rin Vocaloid by kirawinter

Final Fantasy XII – Sky Pirate by AmenoKitarou

AmeComi Cheetah Cosplay by the-mirror-melts

GHOST IN THE SHELL Motoko by an09

A Summoner’s Call by DigitalHikari

The Hobbit: Bilbo by JoLuffiroSauce

Bad touch by shamblesofhearts

Casino Royale by Luvnatsu

Kaya cosplay by Squalo-Superbia

Alexiel – The Soldier Who Defied Heaven by etaru

The REAL Ladies of FF7 by crystalcosfx

Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck by DigitalHikari

Flower and Willow by Luvnatsu

Roses by Squalo-Superbia

TOBI battle pose by Rnamon

Fake Kyoshi Warriors – I by DarkmoonKidara

Dark Aristocrat by Squalo-Superbia

Lisette, Huntress [Ludwig Kakumei] by ChikaraSan

I was told that I have a very classic portrait photography style; how true is that? I will leave it to the viewers to decide, as I believe art is very subjective and sometime down the road you will further develop your style or a change of style altogether. As long as you like it, it’s good enough. Photography is supposed to be fun and a means to express yourself.

Smallw as Olivier Mira Armstrong (Full Metal Alchemist)
Photo by Shiro Ang

lolitaMYangel as Police Panty
Photo by Shiro Ang

Hukoyee as Rin Kagamine
Photo by Shiro Ang

 

Light – This is one of the most important aspects in portrait photography; the ability to read the light, the power of the light, and the warmth of the light. How strong or how dim do you want the light to be? Fully balanced on the model? Half? Partially? There’s no right or wrong answer, it all depends on how you envision your image. Just experiment and try to achieve the image you had in mind. Generally, my favorite kind of light is the early morning soft light, and the evening golden light – or, in short, what they call the “Golden Hour”.
Other traits of my portrait photography style consist of fitting into a harmonious background for the overall photo mood, and, to a certain extent, of looking to achieve a vacuum/spiraling effect and patterns that will “suck” the viewer into the photo.

Currently I’m attempting to do more of a “movie poster” kind of shot, dynamic, of impact, and “WHAM!” in your face shots. I find it very interesting and fun to try it out!

2 Main Lighting Styles

Natural lighting

This is usually the case for most of my outdoor shoots, as I prefer working with natural light, especially on a day with good weather, and nice soft light with blue sky.
It will be easier and with less manpower options to shoot, since we are primarily working with the sunlight and the surroundings.

Which is a good thing, as you can spare yourself the extra weight and equipment you need to bring, and, of course, the costs of your overall equipment.

But I almost always work with a reflector if I’m shooting in this scenario, to fill in for the subject’s face when I’m shooting with side or back lighting, to eliminate ugly shadows or to manipulate the amount of light I want. (The reflector also doubles up as a huge fan + umbrella, too; trust me, the models love it!).

blacklash90 as Sweet Pea
Photo by Shiro Ang

Jesuke as Miku Hatsune (Love Ward)
Photo by Shiro Ang

Arisa as Hitagi Senjougahara (Bakemonogatari)
Photo by Shiro Ang

 

Artificial lighting

Though I don’t really use lights in my shoots, I do have some experience working with them, from using cheap supermarket LED torchlights, to professional video LED lights, and even candles in one of my shoots.
Artificial lighting is almost a must if you want to do a night shoot, or a specific kind of shoot in other situations.

But the ability to shoot at night or in dark places is a huge plus, as it is possible to get the similar feel to a certain series or to a character which is depicted in a night or dark scene. And it is also possible to incorporate vibrant colors, from cityscapes, streets, moonlight, to ambience light from the surroundings, which makes it an interesting factor to the image.

With all the good things and flexibility to play with, good lights don’t come cheap or light-weight (with all the accessories and setup) in any form (speedlights, strobes, or LED lights), and one also needs light stands or tripods to mount them onto.

The extra weight to transport all of them is also another big factor to consider, especially if you are using decent strobes and LED lights.

Tips

1) Equipment

I will present some camera equipment, specifically for portrait usage.

For beginners and those on a budget, the following lens choices are a good and affordable add to your arsenal (assuming you already have a kit-lens) for most of your portrait range usage.

I will be discussing mainly on prime lens, which I consider to have a great value, good image quality, light weight, and big aperture. The pro quality f/2.8 zoom lenses (14-24/16-35, 24-70, 70-200), which come at a much higher price range than those I’m going to recommend, are heavier, and still lose a stop or more of aperture compared to the prime counterparts.

As for portrait photo-shoots, you have the time to change the lenses and the space to move in order to “zoom”; well, in most situations you can.

Weon Haur as Osiris, Kazuko as Isis
Photo by Shiro Ang

Kazeki as Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck
Photo by Shiro Ang

Astellecia as Ragnarok Online: Banshee
Photo by Shiro Ang

 

(Recommendation made for Nikon and Canon users, but I believe most manufacturers do have this range of lenses, or at least with similar focal length)

Below, there are some recommendations for those who prefer ultra wide angle lens, or want something wider than their kit lens. But this is where most lenses in this range start to get pricey, so I will recommend some mid-range priced ultra wide lens (that still produce good results nonetheless) in this category.

But for those who know exactly what they want or/and can afford, go ahead and get the pro grade lens; it’s a one off buy and most likely they will not let you down. Of course I’m speaking of those f/2.8 zoom lenses, and f/1.2, f/1.4, f/2 prime lenses.

K-iricos as Gumi
Photo by Shiro Ang

Houkiboshi as Snow White
Photo by Shiro Ang

Kotani as Edward Elric (Full Metal Alchemist)
Photo by Shiro Ang

 

2) Techniques

Hoshi as Elise (Sound Horizon 7th Story CD 「Märchen」)// Photo by Shiro Ang

Remember, these are only guidelines; just follow your heart and do what you feel is right.
Get your basics and fundamentals down, go out to shoot and experiment more, and develop your own style.
Lastly, have fun shooting!

Forever for you by hybridre

Vocaloid 3 – Oliver by miyoaldy

Shura – Ragnarok Online – Cosplay by Elffi

Distant Valhalla by kerubear

The Forest Spirit by SoulFirePhotography

Pris by fabiohazard

Edea and Rinoa by bellatrixaiden

Extent by l-Saya-l

Millenia by Psydis

Evangelion: 3.0 – 11 by shiroang

Grimmjow by Wan-Mei

Nami – Alabasta – One Piece by ShuxxCosplay

Sword Art Online Asuna: Run by thebakasaru

Nightraven Fiora by m-squaredphotography

Zack Fair by HeadphonesStudios

Warhammer 40K Ministorum Priest by Pugoffka-sama

Soul Calibur III – Kilik by AmenoKitarou

Ada Wong Mercenaries EX1 by 0kasane0

Asuna of the Flash: SAO by xxUchihaXXSakuraxx

Ready by koi-ishly

Snow white jewel by Miwako-cosplay

Hecarim by riskbreaker