I have not done much on photographing cosplay events. The few that I was able to experience seems too rushed and people rushed from one event to another between posing for visitors for pictures. I was able to photograph a few models & speak with some of them on their fascination for cosplays.
Prior article: Fascinating World of Cosplay, Makeup & Costumes Part 1
I spoke with some of the artists. I spoke to a few parents who were accompanying their teens, some of them first time, to experience these events. Such parents, though they may not favor this hobby, feel that events like these at least gave their children one slim opportunity to express themselves.
Many of these kids are very shy and have few few friends at school and hence something like dressing up pretty and be caught up in that imaginary world was often the only option.
I met a young couple, newly married who met at one of these conventions, behind heavy makeup & masks, and immediately fell in love with the person who stood behind their most beloved character.
“Masks make me feel safe & give me the confidence to talk to someone, knowing my avatar would do just that”, said one couple.
All cosplayers, no matter what their background is,seem to have two fascinating aspects – they all use their avatars to gather their strength & confidence to overcome some sort of personality issues, though all of them seemed to be very thoughtful, cheerful & young at heart, often using the guise of cosplay to ignore the more brutal reality of daily life.
And secondly, they are completely dedicated to everything cosplay, often spending all their money to buy their makeup or get to the next cosplay convention. For the couples, these cosplay conventions are as good as our vacations often spending their savings not only in attending but also buying up gears, memorabilia & making friends.