We post galleries from major cosplay shows all the time, and theyâre always excellent, but for the recent New York Comic-Con one photographer wanted to do things a little differently.
Wanting to try something beyond just taking nice photos, veteran photographer Andrew Boyle (disclaimer: I wrote the foreword for his book) thought that for this yearâs show heâd try to make the cosplayer âthe sole focusâ of his work.
âAfter my cosplay photo book âHeroes & Villainsâ came out in 2017, I thought Iâd relax it up a bit with the subject matter, but it kept pulling me back; the effort, the enthusiasm and the sense of community amongst the costumed fans,â Boyle tells Kotaku. âI shoot in a uniform style inspired by the portraits of Richard Avedon, so that the sole focus is the subject without background distraction.â
âI also work in collage pieces and motion, and I wanted to integrate a unique hand made feel for each selected subject. For some, I used cut out pieces that referred to the character, others were repetition of shapes, or color blocking with paper and textures. It was a way to differentiate from other cosplay photography, all of which has its own approach, and take a different feel to celebrate all the effort and energy the NYCC crowd brings. Plus, I love reading the reactions people have to seeing themselves portrayed in such a way.â
The result is this heavily-stylised gallery which, by removing the usual convention background, really lets each cosplayer, their outfit and their performance shine.
