Ever since people have been taking photos, they have been editing in some way; whether that was scratching out details in the very early days, to exposing sections of an image differently in the dark room, and now in the digital age of photography, Photoshop and other similar applications allow us to see things in our images that may never have been possible in reality. Photoshop is a huge part of my post processing workflow, especially in my cosplay photography. Hardly ever does a photo not end up in Photoshop for some form of retouching, creative editing or adding effects.
It’s always been fun to post before and after shots on social media and engage in conversation about editing, and sharing ideas with other creative people.
Looking back over your own work is always a great way to learn, improve on what you do, and see how far you’ve come. The danger of, ‘I’ll just fix it in Photoshop later’ way of thinking and getting lazy while on location is always a difficult balance, and looking back at your images allows you to see what you can do better.
I hope you enjoy this selection of before and after images as much as I do creating them.
Warcraft: orcs vs Humans
7 July 2019
World of Warcraft
I’ve been playing Blizzard games since Warcraft: Orcs vs Humans in 1994, and played World of Warcraft since 2004. To be able to capture this image with these amazing cosplayers Henchwench Cosplay and Scrapshop Props, is a dream come true.
Colour and scene were so important here, Henchwench and Scrapshop Props had already done the really hard work by creating these phenomenal costumes with all the detail and paint work you could possibly want when coming to edit an image such as this.
The edit took about 6 hours to complete. Every detail mattered.
Black Widow - JusZ Cosplay
24 April 2019
Wakanda
Avengers Endgame was released this week, so I had to go back to a previous shoot with JusZ Cosplay and edit another image of her awesome Black Widow cosplay.
We did shoot this outside and put up my backdrop to help cut out JusZ and the foreground in post. The wind was a problem, and I had effectively put up a sail. My sandbags worked overtime as did my assistant Not Alice Costumes to keep them from blowing over onto JusZ.
The edited photoshop file for this got close to 3Gb in size with all the different elements and layers being used to put together the scene.
Tigra - Miss Zorel
24 March 2019
Dark Jungle
I would always like to get it right in camera as much as possible; however, even though we were in a forest, we had full sun to contend with. This creates hotspots on the ground and on your model. Shooting upwards and not towards the ground where possible removes some of those problems, other times, and without a scrim, it was a waiting game for clouds to pass by.
I’m constantly considering my post processing while shooting and always keeping my minds eye on the image I imagine it to be.
Witch - CatRoulette
13 January 2019
Speaking of hotspots on the ground!
Finding a way to edit out these in a way that looked natural was one heck of a process. Most of the time it’s not a simple adjustment of exposure; colour, details, and saturation all change in different light, especially in extremes like the ones in this shot.
In my first edit, I hadn’t removed the hotspots, and coming back to the image the next day and with fresh eyes, they stood out like spotlights on a stage. Thankfully, working in Photoshop and non-destructively, it was only a matter of determining the best place amongst the layers to address the problem - nothing was lost in the re-edit.
Black Widow (Infinity War) - JusZ Cosplay
18 August 2018
Edinburgh’s Waverley Train Station
Of course we didn’t have access to the actual train station, but we did have a location that was a nice substitute. Here I was editing a daytime shoot to be darker as the scene was filmed in the evening.
The batons actually lit up, which you can see in the before image, but flash will almost always overpower these lights. Photoshop to the rescue.
Bringing in that cinematic colour palette.
Vikings - Leon & Tanith
21 April 2018
Melbourne Supanova
First time travelling interstate for a convention, and I got the chance to capture some awesome cosplayers and create some wonderful images and memories. This is one of my favourites. I couldn’t pass up the chance to shoot these guys, and they are just the nicest people. And talk about a look alike for Ragnar!
Batman - A Death in the Family - Melbourne City Batman & Bad Luck Cosplay
21 April 2018
Melbourne Supanova
Speaking of favourite images from Melbourne. This was the first one I edited when I got home; it just couldn’t wait.
Most of my focus was removing distractions from the shot (dirt, leaves, assistant, etc), making the shadows more dramatic and a bit of colour work.
Sometimes the image just speaks for itself, and I was honoured to be asked to capture it.
Aloy - Tiffany Dean Cosplay
2 January 2018
Horizon Zero Dawn - Bandit Camp
Lots of environmental elements to bring in: fog, mist, rain, rain on various surfaces, fire, smoke, sparks, glowing ear pieces!
This was shot in a children’s nature playground in a conservation park, so we couldn’t very well light up a huge campfire — no one had brought any marshmallows. Onlookers at a shoot are always fun, and for the kids looking on, they thought we were there officially promoting a new game; Horizon Zero Sunset anyone? Guerrilla Games shared this set across social media, so I guess in a way, we did.
Mikky Dyer Cosplay - Korra (Book 1)
6 August 2017
The Legend of Korra
Just needed a dark place to shoot this. Carparks can be great for this sort of stuff.
This was a fun quick shoot, and one that I have the privilege of my god son coming along to help as he is really interested in what I do.
Mikky is always a pleasure to work with and her passion for the characters she chooses to cosplay is infectious. Every character has a special meaning for her, and Korra is all about strength.
Tiffany Dean Cosplay - Rey (and BB-8)
12 February 2016
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
We didn’t actually have a BB-8 at this shoot, so I took a gym ball along to sit in as it’s size was exactly the same as BB-8 (yes, I researched this). I had been at another shoot previously with an actual BB-8 present which someone here in Adelaide had built. I had taken a few stock shots of him then (you never know when you’ll need them).
The forest was also not green enough to match the scene from the film. All in all I’m exceptionally happy with how this shot turned out.
