Comicpalooza 2016

Comicpalooza 2016 was another great experience as a photographer and a nerd. I met many new people I can now call friends, I got to learn more useful tips on when and where to shoot especially at a convention hall that was huge! I learned where to shoot which will help me at next years comicpalooza. Here is a video I created of my experience at Comicpalooza 2016. Here some of the shots I took while at Comicpalooza 2016!
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Space City Comic Con 2016

Space City Comic Con 2016 was an interesting experience. It was my 2nd comic con experience.
Don't get me wrong I had an awesome time, but as you may know there were some not so good things that happened at Space City Comic Con that shouldn't have happened at all.

Here is a video I created of the experience I had at Space City Comic Con 2016 minus all the drama.


Besides all the Drama I had a great time meeting new cosplayers, hanging with old friends, and diving into the world of cosplay via Video and photography. I managed capture quite a few cosplayers and here is what I ended up with.    
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Raiding Tombs for Dragonballs

I had the pleasure of shooting a new model I haven't shot with before. Veronica Brightman is a fantastic model and we both had fun shooting 2 very unique cosplays. Rise of the Tomb Raider's Lara Croft and Dragonball Z's Android 18. 

A Massive shoot

I have been scheduling with Mechelle for several Months since her last shoot to do another shoot. We brainstormed a couple of cosplays that we thought were interesting enough to tackle. I wanted to make her trip worth while and picked several cosplays to develop.

This shoot was extremely large because of how many cosplays we wanted to tackle and the quality of some of the cosplays.

The first cosplay we chose was Assassin's Creed III Connor Kenway. I was waiting to do this one for a while and wanted recreate some of the famous poses from assassin's creed III. I took a while gather all the props and costume. I was lucky enough to find some really great weapon props on etsy. The famous Tomahawk, Bow and Arrow, and a flintlock pistol. I also managed to find a US Betsy Ross Flag that we also used as a prop. The Images came out fantastic!

 

We then shot the Batman v.s. Superman Wonder Woman. This costume was really high quality hand crafted from an etsy store. It looked fantastic. We had a little problem getting it on because of the way it was designed as a corset. I had fun creating the scenes for this shoot.

                       

 

Sailor Moon & Frozen Shoot

I had a blast with Megan Booth shooting two really cool cosplays. We first shot Disney's FROZEN Elsa cosplay. I really enjoyed creating the snow FX and making the image look cold and frozen. I loved how the images turned out!

We also shot her as Sailor Moon. I tested out a few things with her hair. Since Sailor Moon always has flowing hair in the tv show I thought we should try to blow it around a bit. I tried using an industrial fan but it wasn't flowing like I wanted. I then used some chip clips to hold her hair up attaching them the the light stands and positioning them the way I wanted. This gave me more control of the hair and made the final images look awesome.

tried using an industrial fan but it wasn't flowing like I wanted. I then used some chip clips to hold her hair up attaching them the the light stands and positioning them the way I wanted. This gave me more control of the hair and made the final images look awesome.

Alice in Wonderland

Mechelle also brought her Alice in Wonderland cosplay. I created an Alice in Wonderland composite before this shoot with my niece so I had some idea already of what create with this shoot. Last time I shot this cosplay was with my niece. I created a composite with her looking at the Cheshire Cat (My cat Pixel). This time I used the same image of my cat but made the background a little more interesting.

Sitting on the ground was easy for Mechelle, but we tried something a little more difficult for this next shot. I wanted to portray that she was falling into the rabbit hole but spinning in mid air. I had her lay on a bar stool and had the help of her husband holding her so she didn't fall backwards. This technique worked very well and I believe we came out with a great shot in the end.

The last shot in this series was really fun to do. I always wanted to shrink someone down to the size of a small fork. I used a reference image from the real alice in wonderland movie. I took a photo of my wife's china as the saucer and tea cup. I made sure the angle was correct and matched the angle of Mechelle. This creates the illusion that she actually is small.

I've been learning a lot about compositing as I continue to create these pieces. Every shadow, light ray, dust particle, perspective, blur, hue, shade, and position matter in a composite. If any of these key components are incorrectly placed or adjusted it would throw off the illusion and the composite would just become a collage. That is the real difference when it comes to defining a composite. It has to become real for the viewer as it is real in my head when I create it. I continue to enjoy making these and continue to learn along my journey as a compositor.

The Loud Assassin

Model Mechelle was very good at quickly striking different poses. Her natural ability to strike a pose and move smooth and quick helped me to get the perfect shots efficiently. This shoot was hilarious because every time Mechelle moved her arms in a 90 degree angle her Assassin's Creed bracers kept sliding off and hitting the ground. They must of hit the floor 5 or 6 times. I told her "Assassin's aren't loud." We both laughed and blamed it on Amazon which is where we purchased the bracers. Mechelle did awesome with this shoot despite the mishap with the bracers.

This shoot went very well and we captured some great images. We used the ladder a lot to get the effect that she was either climbing a wall or jumping down onto her next target.



The composites came very natural to me because I remember playing the Assassin's Creed video game. I remember birds in the game and thought it would be cool to add birds as to hint at that the Assassin always seemed to have a birds-eye view of the city.

Mechelle and I have already made plans to do a future shoot as Kenway from Assassin's Creed III. So stay tuned for some very patriotic shots!

"New Birth" Maternity Shoot

I had the pleasure of doing a maternity shoot with my friend Kendall. I have done a maternity shoot before, but that was before I started doing epic cosplay compositing. I was look ing forward to this shoot especially since it is so different than regular cosplay composites.

The first image I created was focused on her and her belly. I wanted to spice up the image with some beautiful color pallets that would compliment her gorgeous blue dress. Kendall requested a Mother Nature feel to the images so that's what I did. These first 2 really give off the love! She also requested waterfall backgrounds. The first image on the left I made the light come in from the right. The image on the right I made the light come in from behind giving it that powerful yet beautiful look.

This next Image was done the be a landscape to show off the beautiful fabric blowing in the wind. I also added a castle and flocks of birds in the background to add a little interest to the area near her face. I made sure the fabric curved in such a way that it draws the viewers eye around the canvas and back around to her. 

This shoot went fabulous mainly because Kendall is such a great friend and fun to work with. I wish her the best with her new baby and can't wait to shoot with her again. You can see more Maternity photos in my gallery.

The Force is Strong in Houston

I admit it! I'm a Star Wars Nerd. Star Wars was the first nerdgasm experience I have ever experienced as a kid. I love everything about it! So when I heard about Ashliee's little event I naturally reached out and said hey can I be one of the photographers? And boom (like the deathstar) I was in!

I was really in awe of all the cosplayers and their valiant cosplay skills. Everyone really was a pleasure to work with. The first shot of the day was the big group shot overlooking the city of Houston. The group shot didn't take long to shoot and it came out great. Everyone looked so awesome! The Force is strong in Houston!

I also did a special group photo of the Mandalorian Mercs that were there. I can't wait to get my armor done! Hail to Mandalore!

We finished off the group shoot with a massive battle scene shot. Dark Side v.s. Light Side. This composite took me a while to complete. I made sure there was lots of blaster fire and explosions. 

Here the rest of the shots. I enjoyed myself a lot with this shoot and made a lot of new friends! May the Force be with you all!

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Veterans Day "The Fallen"

To all the Veterans and Service men and women who have served including both my Grandpas. And to the fallen - Thank you! I dedicate this recent cosplay composite of Captain America called "The Fallen" To those brave men and women.

Masha and "Poison Ivy"

Masha really brought some great poses to the shoot. Her PoisonIvy cosplay really was stunning. I put a lot of Reds and Greens into the image to give it that poison Ivy feel. We did a lot with Artificial plants which gave Masha something to interact around. Having props really helps the model dive into that character and help to bring out the scene.

You can view more of Masha's work at https://www.facebook.com/Masha2633/

Megan as Supergirl "In Flight"

The Supergirl shoot was a thrill to do especially since Megan was in full Super Hero attire. I really want to capture the power, strength, yet beauty of Supergirl. Megan was very powerful and elegant with her poses which helped the image a lot.

Lighting and color adjustments were a big reason these images look so great. I made sure there was a lot of blue and red in the image. Blurring the cape a bit gave it motion and the light enhanced Supergirl's stance and gave it power. 

It was a pleasure to work with Megan and she really brought Supergirl to life in these epic Composites. Check out her portfolio. www.meganbmodeling.com

It's all green! Jeff "HULK vs Banner"

I took my time on the HULK composite especially because we took shots of him in a compression shirt. Later I decided that editing the compression shirt didn't look quite realistic enough, so i edited the HULK pose so that it would blend well next to the realistic looking Banner.

The final composite turned out great and really shows off the pose he was in against the back of Banner. The composition is powerful and to the point. Jeff's expressions were priceless and he really took on the character of the HULK. I accentuated the colors of green and yellow to depict the Gamma radiation he was experiencing when transforming into the HULK. Enlarging HULK enough so that banner looked like a normal human height was key to creating the HULK composite. All the muscles had to be exaggerated so that the HULK looked like he was going to burst out of the Canvas.

Super Fun Experience with Jeff "The Savior"

Today was an amazing shoot! Jeff Caperton came in and modeled some really fun cosplays. He brought not only superman, but HULK, Captain America, and even a full Spidey Costume. This was a really great time to flesh out some fantastic composite ideas.

It was a pleasure and privilege to work with Jeff. He is a Hollywood actor and model, and has a lot of solid talent. Our main goal was to get a shot of him tearing open his shirt and revealing the Famous Superman S. This shot was simple enough and didn't take much effort. We did several versions of it. One with glasses, positioning to tie, stretching the shirt more or less and also posing his head to look off into the distance.

In the end we came up with some great shots and the final composites came out great!

The Process and what it takes "Polar Princess"

To give you a little taste of what it takes to make an image like this. This image is comprised of 40 different layers, 16 different images, Recreated clothing, additional jewelry, makeup touch ups, and several color gradient changes, temperature adjustments, and light enhancements. An image like this takes me any where from a few hours to a full day to create.

To the Right is a before and After Image to give you an idea of how much can be done with some photoshop love.

Hannah's Shoot "Angel, Devil, Alice, & Cinderella"

The month of Halloween is the perfect time to get people to come into the studio with their cosplay (Halloween Costumes). My niece had picked out a darling devil costume for Halloween so I had her and her mom come over to the studio to shoot.

I had already done some research on some reference images with devils. But I thought the devil costume alone would not be enough. I had Hannah bring over 3 costumes. One being the devil, angel and her daily wear. This would help create a great composite of her looking at the devil and angel on her shoulders.

I then used her angel costume and repurposed it for several very different composites. That is one thing I learned from this shoot is that you can use one costume for a lot of different characters. I went ahead and used that costume for the angel, Cinderella, and Alice composites. I was very pleased with this shoot and gained some great experience.Type your paragraph here.

Custom Star Wars "Galyk Lightguard"

My first complete composite was a self portrait yet I was completely covered in a custom character cosplay. The costume was made up of 2 different colors of Burlap. Tan and a gray color. The burlap was ver itchy and shredded a lot. I had an airlift mask, a gray hooded shirt, 2 arm gloves with burlap wraps, Black cargo pants, black boots wrapped in burlap, Shoulder armor, and a Saber Forge Lightsaber

The main obstacle for this shoot was that I had to shoot myself and I was in complete costume while doing so. It was hot and sweaty running back and forth from the camera to the backdrop. I had the 10 second timer on the camera so I could have enough time to run over to the backdrop.

This first image was achieved by incorporating my cutout shot of my cosplay, 2 Different rocky backgrounds, a Landscape, A space shot, A planet, a holocron, and a Ship. I also did plenty of adjustments to hue, brightness, contrast, and layered smoke FX. I was very pleased with this image in the end.