Belfast Comic Con 2016

wilt

wilt

Messages
1,449
Name
Steven
Edit My Images
No
I always liked the comic con scene but thought it was going to be very amateurish in N.Ireland compared to the ones held in larger cities, so i never went (poor assumption on my part).
After seeing dancook's post of his images from a Comic Con he attended last year and was mesmerised by how good they looked, i decided i was going to go to one the first chance i had.
On the build up to the Comic Con i also seen Michael Sewell's composite images taken and was blew away by them, I knew they were definitely out of my league.
Still recovering from and ankle operation and on a chemotherapy drug, i hauled my ass to one held in Belfast's Titanic exhibition Centre, the past weekend (14th/15th).
I'd seen that dan had used a beauty dish with great effect, unfortunately my beauty dish is 55cm and far from portable. I opted for a 24"x24" folding softbox on a Godox flash bracket, with a Godox AD360II all mounted on a manfrotto monopod (battery pack and all)
To say it was a bit hard to handle with one hand was an understatement, but when fully extended it could rest on the floor and be 6' tall. An assistant would have made my life so much easier, but i was there alone and wasn't going to leave without at least trying it out.
I was initially nervous of how big the setup was, how'd i'd operate it with no hands free and how'd i'd approach any of the cosplayers for photographs. This nervousness disappeared almost straight away when i seen how friendly and approachable they all were.
It was bedlam with the shear amount of people in the centre and the amount of people wanting their picture taken. I lasted just three hours before i had to call it a day, although i'd have loved to stay longer. My ankle and the rest of my joints had felt like Mike Tyson had been punching them repeatedly the whole time.
Despite the exhaustion, i can honestly say it was one of my all time favourite photo sessions. I'm very pleased with the images i took, they might not be to everyone's taste or standard but i done the best with what i had.

A selection of some, the rest can be viewed on my Flickr page or facebook page www.facebook.com/stevenfergusonphotography/

DSC_5617 by stevenferguson, on Flickr
DSC_5596 by stevenferguson, on Flickr
DSC_5586-Edit by stevenferguson, on Flickr
DSC_5575-Edit by stevenferguson, on Flickr
DSC_5551 by stevenferguson, on Flickr
DSC_5540-Edit by stevenferguson, on Flickr
DSC_5518-Edit by stevenferguson, on Flickr
DSC_5498-Edit by stevenferguson, on Flickr
 
I'm not great in photoshop, so 90%+ of the processing is done in lightroom. Boosting blacks and brushing over the really noticeable background distractions.
It really depended on how much space i could get to take the images, some have people right beside or behind the Cosplayer. But it wasn't too bad to remove the most of it.
A fast shutter speed to kill the ambient, f11 upwards and a ton of light on the subject, made it pretty dark where the light didn't hit.
 
Last edited:
•



Brilliant collection of very convincing
characters and great renditions, Steven!
 
Awesome work :) I don't need to go now.. (oh belfast... they still need me in london..)
 
A great set my friend.

Used to attend these events a few years back (user photo is from a similar event) and Cosplay has certainly increased in popularity and judging by these photos, quality too!
 
Just to echo what everyone else has said above Steven, outstanding piece of work, particularly like the lighting in all of them, very well handled.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top